Ranking Every Player on Packers’ Roster: Part 1

The Green Bay Packers will take a 90-player roster to the field for their first practice of training camp on July 23.

In a Packers On SI tradition, we will rank every player on the roster. This isn’t just a list of the best players. Rather, we take talent, contract, draft history, importance of the position and depth at the position into consideration.

More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about every player on the roster.

No. 90: K Alex Hale

Alex Hale probably isn’t what the NFL had in mind when it created the International Player Pathway program.

Hale was born in Australia. Because he’s Green Bay’s IPP player, he doesn’t count on the 90-man roster limit. Hale replaced defensive end Kenneth Odumegwu, who was born in Nigeria and whose first-ever organized football game came in the 2023 preseason, as the team’s IPP player. Hale, on the other hand, kicked at Oklahoma State, so he’s not exactly some neophyte learning the game.

Hale is a natural athlete with plenty of talent. He made a 51-yarder at minicamp with plenty of distance to spare. Brandon McManus, however, probably has the position on lockdown.

He trained with longtime NFL kicker John Carney.

“Several years ago, his parents kind of dropped him off at our gym and said, ‘Hey, we’re from Australia. His big brother played soccer for San Diego State. And he likes to kick football, so we’re just going to drop him off here and see what happens,’” Carney said.

No. 89: S Omar Brown

Omar Brown, who played at Northern Iowa and Nebraska, went undrafted in 2024 and was given $245,000 guaranteed by the Broncos. He failed to make their roster and landed on Green Bay’s practice squad.

“He’s got corner skills in a safety’s body. I think he’ll be excellent on special teams,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said of Brown before the 2024 draft.

He wound up playing in two games for Green Bay, with eight snaps on defense and 16 on special teams.

“He’s easy to like,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after Brown made his debut against the Saints. “He’s got a great personality, comes into work, always is busting his butt and working as hard as he can every day. What an opportunity for him. To get him in the game and have some snaps was big for him.”

Brown’s got talent but the Packers are loaded at safety.

No. 88: S Kahzir Brown

Kahzir “Buggs” Brown – the nickname is from Bugs Bunny – started his career at Maine and finished with one season at Florida Atlantic, where he had two interceptions (one against Michigan State) and eight passes defensed in 2024. He went undrafted and was given a $10,000 signing bonus by the Packers.

“I actually wanted to go to college for receiver,” he told TheLeagueWinners.com last year. “But most schools said they liked me better at defensive back because of my length and size. They thought I would have more production there than at receiver.

“At first, I was like, ‘I’m not switching there; I want to play receiver.’ But then I saw I wasn’t being recruited as highly at receiver as I was as a corner. I was going to multiple camps and a lot of places to get recruited for receiver, but everybody liked me more at DB.”

At 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds with 4.53 speed, his Relative Athletic Score was 7.30.

As is the case with Omar Brown, the talent at safety could be a roadblock.

No. 87: WR Sam Brown Jr.

Despite solid college production at three schools and a 9.91 Relative Athletic Score, Sam Brown not only wasn’t drafted this year but he wasn’t signed, either. Finally, the Packers added him to their roster toward the end of OTAs.

Brown was college teammates with first-round pick Matthew Golden at Houston; Brown had better production, by the way. Brown got open a lot and got plenty of opportunities during the offseason practices. If he can catch the ball more consistently, he’s got a chance to at least earn a spot on the practice squad at a deep position group.

“I treat myself like a pro on and off the field,” he told Click2Houston at the Combine. “I’m fully committed to the game right now. I haven’t reached my prime and my peak yet. At the next level, it’s not just about pure talent. It’s about consistency. Talent is flashes. Consistency is what you want to put behind your name. I want them to say: ‘Sam Brown is one of the most consistent and most productive wide receivers.’”

No. 86: TE Johnny Lumpkin

The Packers signed Johnny Lumpkin to the practice squad early last season. He lasted only a couple weeks, but they brought him back at the end of the season.

At Louisiana, Lumpkin caught 36 passes for 408 yards (11.3 average) and six touchdowns in four seasons. As a senior in 2022, he caught 16 passes for 143 yards (8.9 average) and four touchdowns. He went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the Patriots, then had practice-squad stints with the Colts and Broncos. In 2024, he wasn’t even in a training camp.

At 6-foot-5 3/8 and 264 pounds, he certainly looks the part.

“He has a lot of value for us for the way we run the football and the things that we do,” Louisiana coach Michael Desormeaux told The Advocate.

“For him, if he wants to play at the next level, his value is still going to be in the run game. You’ve got a bunch of guys in the NFL that are elite pass catchers and route runners, but every roster has two or three guys that they need to block the ‘C’ area (the gap between tackle and tight end).”

That was Marcedes Lewis’ role with the Packers. Can Lumpkin block his way past the likes of John FitzPatrick, another big-guy tight end?