A Packers 53-man roster projection following the 2023 draft

Now that the 2023 draft is over, the Green Bay Packers’ roster has taken a much more firm shape than it was in a few days ago. After turning in 13 draft picks, it’s clearer which players are going to make general manager Brian Gutekunst’s squad. With that being said, there are going to be some highly-contested battles in camp — notably on the offensive line and in the secondary.

We’ll take you through a position-by-position breakdown of the Packers’ roster as we make our choices for Green Bay’s 53-man roster. They’ll be in depth chart form, outside of the offensive line (left to right.) There are a few spots that are too close to call, but we’ll mention who is in contention for those battles in our notes.

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Quarterback

1. Jordan Love
2. Sean Clifford

Jordan Love is the quarterback of the future and there’s a very low chance that the Packers would release a fifth-round rookie quarterback, considering the alternative right now in the backup role is Danny Etling. While Sean Clifford wasn’t expected to be drafted, according to consensus draft boards, Green Bay’s staff reiterated multiple times on Saturday that they were unsure if he was going to be available at their selection. As general manager Brian Gutekunst put it, a run of quarterbacks they liked less than Clifford occurred just before Clifford’s selection. For a point of reference, Jack Haener, Stetson Bennett, Aidan O’Connell, Clayton Tune and Dorian Thompson-Robinson were all drafted at the position in a 14-pick run.

Running Back

1. Aaron Jones
2. AJ Dillon
3. Competition

Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are locks to make the 2023 team, barring some unforeseen trade of Dillon’s expiring contract. The third running back job is going to be a camp battle, though. The Packers just drafted Lew Nichols III out of Central Michigan in the seventh round, who could stabilize the depth of the position for the first time since Jamaal Williams left in free agency. 2021 seventh-round pick Kylin Hill was supposed to be that player, but was released by the squad in 2022 almost as soon as he was medically cleared to return from his 2021 ACL tear. Patrick Taylor took over the role as the team’s third back once Hill was out of the picture, but the team often called him up off the practice squad to fill that spot. The dark horse here is Tyler Goodson, a 2022 preseason darling who spent the entirety of his rookie campaign on the practice squad.

Receiver

1. Christian Watson
2. Romeo Doubs
3. Jayden Reed
4. Dontayvion Wicks/Samori Toure
5. Dontayvion Wicks/Samori Toure
6. Competition

Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs put up quality production as rookies last season and the team seems to like Samori Toure enough to keep him on the squad this year, too. On top of that, the Packers just drafted Jayden Reed (second round), Dontayvion Wicks (fifth round) and Grant BuBose (seventh round) in the 2023 draft. I would guess that the final spot at the position is going to come down to either DuBose or Bo Melton, the 2022 draft pick who the Packers took off of the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad in December.

Tight End

1. Luke Musgrave (F/Y)
2. Tucker Kraft (Y/H)
3. Josiah Deguara (H)
4. Tyler Davis (Y/H)

The double dip at tight end on Day 2 of the draft has cleared up the tight end position very nicely. Luke Musgrave, the team’s second-round pick, is going to be a mismatch player who has the potential to play as an inline tight end. Tucker Kraft, a fourth-round pick, is ideally an inline tight end who can also play on the wing. Josiah Deguara should remain a hybrid wing and fullback type of player for the team. Tyler Davis will likely continue his contributions on special teams and as a rotational inline and wing tight end to give heavy contributors some breathers.

Offensive Line

1. David Bakhtiari (LT)
2. Elgton Jenkins (LG/OT)
3. Josh Myers (C)
4. Jon Runyan (RG/LG)
5. Yosh Nijman (RT/LT)
6. Zach Tom (OT/C)
7. Royce Newman (OG/RT)
8. Sean Rhyan (OG)
9. Competition
10. Competition

Going into the 2023 draft, I thought the offensive line was a position that warranted either a big swing (for a left tackle of the future) or the team passing up on the position entirely. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Packers didn’t draft one this year. The top seven players at the position have all been contributors for the team at various times, as Green Bay returns all five members of its preferred offensive line. It’s also too early to think that Sean Rhyan, a 2022 third-round pick who ended his rookie year on the suspension list, is on the roster bubble.

Those final two spots, though, are going to be Hunger Games-level competitive in training camp. Don’t be shocked if the Packers end up trading some linemen for late-round draft picks, as they did with Cole Van Lanen last summer. Green Bay made it a point to go out of their way to hold onto four tackles from the 2022 class on the bottom end of their roster last season: Jean Delance, Caleb Jones, Luke Tenuta and Rasheed Walker. It’s also possible that Jake Hanson, who has experience as an interior lineman, could make the team — depending on if Tom is going to be used as the squad’s backup center.

Defensive Line

1. Kenny Clark (NT/DE)
2. Devonte Wyatt (DE)
3. TJ Slaton (NT)
4. Colby Wooden (DE)
5. Karl Brooks (DE)

Going into Day 3 of the draft, my biggest concern was depth on the defensive line. With the loss of Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry — who, to be fair, weren’t performing well — the Packers had plenty of snaps to replace at the defensive end position. They addressed that today when they selected Auburn’s Colby Wooden in the fourth round and Bowling Green’s Karl Brooks in the sixth round. I think Brooks has the best chance of any late-round Green Bay selection to make the team, due to the fact that third-string nose tackle Jonathan Ford and practice squad defensive end Chris Slayton are the alternatives for the fifth defensive lineman on the squad.

Outside Linebacker

1. Rashan Gary
2. Preston Smith
3. Lukas Van Ness
4. Kingsley Enagbare
5. Justin Hollins

The selection of Lukas Van Ness should be what ends up pushing 2020 seventh-round pick Jonathan Garvin off of the roster, at least after Rashan Gary returns to the team from his 2022 ACL tear. Gary, Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins were all contributors to last year’s team and the squad added a first-round pick to the position. This feels about as locked in as it could possibly be.

Inside Linebacker

1. De’Vondre Campbell
2. Quay Walker
3. Isaiah McDuffie
4. Eric Wilson
5. Tariq Carpenter

Inside linebacker feels like another position that is very firm. De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker are going to be the team’s uncontested starters and the other three players are big-time special teams contributors. For reference, seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter — who is apparently moving from safety to inside linebacker this season — played more special teams snaps than any rookie in 2022, other than long snapper Jack Coco.

Cornerback

1. Jaire Alexander
2. Eric Stokes
3. Rasul Douglas (CB/nickel)
4. Keisean Nixon (nickel)
5. Competition

The Packers’ cornerback depth was already good and they only added to it with the selection of seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine of Kentucky. Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas have always been contributors in Green Bay’s secondary and the Packers are emphasizing that Keisean Nixon — a First-Team All-Pro kick returner in 2022 — practices in the slot this summer. That fifth cornerback spot is going to come down to Corey Ballentine, Shemar Jean-Charles and Valentine. Ballentine was a significant contributor on special teams last season while Jean-Charles, a 2021 fifth-round pick, missed many games as a healthy scratch. Maybe this is the position that gains an extra roster spot while Gary is out, simply to extend that evaluation into the regular season.

Safety

1. Darnell Savage
2. Rudy Ford
3. Competition
4. Competition
5. Competition

No position saw more growth on special teams under Rich Bisaccia in his first year as special teams coordinator than safety, both in terms of the snaps played and the roster spots earned. The only roster locks on the team are Darnell Savage (returning starter) and Rudy Ford (spot starter and special teams contributor), but you can’t say that the Packers haven’t thrown bodies at the position. The team re-signed Dallin Leavitt, a special teams ace, and return Innis Gaines, who played special teams and limited slot snaps in 2022. Green Bay also went out of their way to sign Tarvarius Moore, a special teams ace, from the San Francisco 49ers in free agency this year. On top of that, the team drafted Anthony Johnson Jr. out of Iowa State in the seventh round.

Gutekunst also mentioned in his post-draft presser that the door is not shut on Adrian Amos, a former Packers starter, returning to the team for the 2023 season. Outside of the offensive line, this is the camp battle to watch in the preseason.

Kicker

1. Competition

Despite taking a sixth-round kicker in Anders Carlson, Gutekunst stated after the draft that Mason Crosby — the team’s all-time points leader — is still an option for the squad. If Crosby doesn’t come back, Carlson will still have to battle with Parker White, who the team signed to a reserve/futures deal after working White out in 2022.

Punter

1. Pat O’Donnell

Pat O’Donnell is your punter this year. Fin.

Long Snapper

1. Competition

Jack Coco, the 2022 starter, returns but is expected to fight for a roster spot against Matt Orzech, the Los Angeles Rams’ former starting long snapper who was signed in 2023 free agency.

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Scroll down to the comments and let us know if you feel any differently about the 2023 roster. Nothing is set in stone quite yet, as Gutekunst has mentioned that the team is still planning on poking around for veterans in post-draft free agency. Obviously, injuries could also impact these projections.