Packers Depth Charts Entering Week 1 of Preseason

This will be a critical week at Green Bay Packers training camp, with practices set for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before Saturday’s preseason opener against the New York Jets at Lambeau Field.

“We’re going to grind them pretty good in regards to how we approach this next week with two pretty heavy practices sandwiched in between two lower or light practices,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Family Night.

Saturday night’s practice was the ninth of training camp. That’s a pretty good sample size to base these projected Packers depth charts.

Quarterbacks (4)

Depth chart: Jordan Love, Malik Willis, Sean Clifford, Taylor Elgersma.

Going deeper: Typically, Clifford might get the No. 3 reps for one series and Elgersma gets them for the next series. Clifford, as you’d expect with his experience, has been the more consistent player, though Elgersma threw the only touchdown pass on Family Night.

Running Backs (7)

Depth chart: Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Jalen White, Amar Johnson, Israel Abanikanda.

Going deeper: Wilson and Lloyd were out with injuries during Family Night. Without them, Brooks got a bunch of first-team reps. Nobody has emerged from the young-guy group of White, Johnson and Abanikanda, with the winner in position to land a spot on the practice squad.

Receivers (12)

Depth chart: Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden, Malik Heath, Mecole Hardman, Savion Williams, Julian Hicks, Cornelius Johnson, Sam Brown, Will Sheppard, Christian Watson (PUP).

Going deeper: Golden’s place as No. 4 on the pecking order might not last long. He’s made plays throughout training camp, but the Packers typically are reluctant to give their rookies too much, too soon. Hence, why we have him fourth at receiver. With Hicks, Johnson, Brown and Sheppard, this list is based on seniority. They’ve all had their moments, especially Brown at the start of training camp. Johnson had a big day last week. Sheppard has picked things up quickly. Oddly, four of the five interceptions on Family Night were directed at Hicks.

Tight Ends (6)

Depth chart: Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, John FitzPatrick, Ben Sims, Messiah Swinson, Johnny Lumpkin.

Going deeper: FitzPatrick continues to get more opportunities than Sims on offense and has been sprinkled in with the No. 1s on some special teams.

Offensive Line (16)

Left tackle: Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, Brant Banks.

Left guard: Aaron Banks, Donovan Jennings, J.J. Lippe, John Williams.

Center: Elgton Jenkins, Jacob Monk, Trey Hill.

Right guard: Sean Rhyan, Jordan Morgan, Travis Glover, Tyler Cooper.

Right tackle: Zach Tom, Anthony Belton, Kadeem Telfort.

Going deeper: This is a bit simplified but is a reflection of Morgan getting first-team reps at left tackle and right guard. If the season were to start today, the Packers might go with Walker, Banks, Jenkins, Rhyan and Tom as the starting five with Morgan the No. 1 backup at every position but center. Belton, this year’s second-round pick, typically is the left tackle with the No. 2 line (with Telfort the right tackle) and the right tackle with the No. 3 line (with Banks the left tackle). Jennings has been getting a lot of work at center. Williams, a seventh-round pick this year, hasn’t practiced due to a back injury.

Defensive Ends (8)

Depth chart: Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox, Barryn Sorrell, Arron Mosby, Deslin Alexandre, Collin Oliver.

Going deeper: Gary and Van Ness are the starters. With the No. 2s, Enagbare works opposite of Cox and Sorrell on pretty close to a 50-50 split. Oliver, a fifth-round pick this year, is dealing with a hamstring injury and still has not practiced with the team.

Defensive Tackles (8)

Depth chart: Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Nazir Stackhouse, Colby Wooden, Warren Brinson, James Ester, Keith Randolph.

Going deeper: When the Packers do release a depth chart, it probably will show Brooks and Wooden as the top backups. For most of the week, though, it was Brooks and Stackhouse as the No. 2s, meaning Stackhouse has passed Wooden, a fourth-round pick in 2022, and Brinson, a sixth-round pick this year.

Linebackers (8)

Depth chart: Quay Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie, Isaiah Simmons, Ty’Ron Hopper, Kristian Welch, Jamon Johnson, Jared Bartlett.

Going deeper: Because Walker hasn’t practiced yet, the No. 1 defense has had Cooper and Simmons on the outside with McDuffie in the middle. When Walker returns and steps back in at middle linebacker, it will be interesting to see whether it’s McDuffie or Simmons to the sideline. Presumably, it will be Simmons. Why? When the team takes a linebacker off the field to go into nickel, it’s been Simmons to the bench and Cooper and McDuffie stay on the field.

Cornerbacks (11)

Depth chart: Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine, Bo Melton, Kalen King, Kamal Hadden, Micah Robinson, Isaiah Dunn, Gregory Junior, Tyron Herring, Garnett Hollis.

Going deeper: For most of camp, the No. 1 defense has consisted of Nixon and Hobbs at cornerback and safety Javon Bullard in the slot. Melton’s rise has been remarkable. Or it’s a sign of the complete and total lack of depth. There’s no denying that Melton has played well, though. It will be interesting to see how he does against some unfamiliar competition in the preseason. Hadden-King-Robinson could go down to the wire in the race for what could be the last spot.

Safeties (7)

Depth chart: Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, Zayne Anderson, Kitan Oladapo, Omar Brown, Johnathan Baldwin.

Going deeper: The anticipated battle between Williams and Bullard to be the starting safety opposite McKinney hasn’t taken place. Generally speaking, in nickel, Bullard is the slot. In base, Bullard is on the sideline. Most of McKinney’s No. 1 reps have been with Williams, but Bullard and even Anderson have taken some. Brown had three interceptions on Family Night, moving him to five for the summer, but Oladapo’s size and athleticism should make him a factor on special teams.

Specialists (4)

Kickers: Brandon McManus, Mark McNamee.

Punter: Daniel Whelan.

Long snapper: Matt Orzech.

Going deeper: No explanation is necessary here. The team is waiting on the arrival of the Irish-born McNamee, who is the team’s international player and is eligible for an exemption on the practice squad.