2025 Roster Prediction

Is it too early to make a prediction for what the Packers will do with their initial 53-man roster? The Packers still have one preseason game to go, and the deadline for cuts isn’t until the afternoon of Tuesday, August 26. It’s still possible that the Packers will see enough movement to make some changes.

But I doubt it. Looking back at the two previous roster predictions I’ve done since the 2025 NFL Draft, I just don’t see that much movement on this year’s roster. The Packers are flush with guys on rookie contracts. Brian Gutekunst went very heavy on draft picks in both 2022 and 2023 (and even 2024 to a lesser degree), and many of those players are still on the roster. There simply isn’t much room for undrafted free agents or other unexpected players to make a real run.

If you wanted to, you could probably make a pretty accurate roster prediction by just listing all of the Packers’ draft picks for the past three years plus any in-house player on a veteran contract. You’d probably be just about 100% accurate but for a couple of edge cases.

So here’s my shot at what the Packers will do this year.

Quarterbacks (2) - Jordan Love, Malik Willis

Analysis: This is the easiest position on the whole roster to predict. Love is obviously the Packers’ starter and Willis is a well-established backup. There’s no reason to go any other direction. Who do the Packers keep on the practice squad? The Sean Clifford experiment may have run its course, but I think he still has an edge over Taylor Elgersma, who clearly has tools but just as clearly has a ways to go.

Running backs (3) - Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, Chris Brooks

Analysis: MarShawn Lloyd isn’t leaving the roster, but I think it makes the most sense to have him start the season on injured reserve to free up a roster spot elsewhere. Outside of that, this is a pretty easy position to solve. Jacobs made the 2025 roster when the Packers signed him to a lucrative free agent deal in 2024, and Emanuel Wilson is a fine known commodity behind him. Utility back Chris Brooks can fill whatever need the Packers have until Lloyd is healthy.

Wide receiver (6) - Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams, Malik Heath

Analysis: Six might be too many, but I couldn’t find another player to keep elsewhere (though I’m pretty light on edge rushers in this prediction; maybe Arron Mosby makes sense there?) and the Packers are so banged up here that Malik Heath makes some sense just as a short-term stop gap. Other than that, this should be basically a slam dunk. Barring a trade (not impossible!), every other guy I see making the roster is a draft pick. There’s no reason to move on from any of them.

Tight end (4) - Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, John FitzPatrick, Ben Sims

Analysis: Kraft and Musgrave are no brainer picks here, and FitzPatrick is a special teams darling. I initially toyed with the idea of just keeping three tight ends, but Lloyd’s injury at running back frees up a spot if he goes on IR.

Offensive line (9) - Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, Jacob Monk, Donovan Jennings

Analysis: All things considered, this is a pretty easy position to predict — at least at the top of the depth chart. The top seven guys here are set in stone, barring a trade or something truly unexpected. You’ve got three big money guys (Banks, Jenkins, and Tom), two high draft picks (Morgan and Belton), and two well-established players (Walker and Rhyan) in that group.

Beyond that, I’m in the dark. I loved the idea of Jacob Monk immediately after the 2024 NFL Draft, but he hasn’t lived up to my hopes so far, even if he seems like a very good bet to make this year’s roster. The last spot would have gone to Travis Glover, but he’s done for the season with a lat injury. My guess for the last lineman is Donovan Jennings, but it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see a waiver claim fill a spot here as the Packers try to fill out their OL depth. Whoever it is, if the Packers are playing their ninth lineman early in the year, they’re in serious trouble. It doesn’t really matter all that much.

[Note: I wrote this before the Damian Kinnard trade went down, but I’m not going to update it to get a free prediction correct because I’m not a chump. I think Donovan Jennings is done for now, though.]

Defensive tackles (5) - Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse

Analysis: I don’t love this group beyond their top three; I still don’t know if anyone knows what Colby Wooden is, though I’ve read a couple of reports from people I trust who say he’s been better this summer than before. It’s a coin flip between Stackhouse (a UDFA) and Warren Brinson (a draft pick) beyond that, but we’re talking about a player with a ceiling of 8-10 snaps a game at that point, if he even is active on gamedays.

Edge rushers (4) - Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox

Analysis: Four seems awfully light, but I think the Packers can free up some roster space in the short term by moving Barryn Sorrell to IR with a designated to return tag while keeping Collin Oliver on the Physically Unable to Perform list while he ramps up from an offseason knee procedure. The players themselves seem solid here, it’s just a matter of what roster machinations the Packers want to use to get to 53. There are two really strong possibilities here for keeping a bit of extra space.

Linebackers (6) - Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Isaiah Simmons, Ty’Ron Hopper, Kristian Welch

Analysis: I thought this would be a much more competitive group, but we’re approaching the end of training camp with this position basically in the same place we found it. The expected top three linebackers will all make the roster easily, and Isaiah Simmons gets on based on his special teams acumen. Throw Ty’Ron Hopper in there, and you’ve already got five linebackers on the roster. I think Kristian Welch also makes it as a special teamer, and I don’t think anybody has ever regretted having him in that kind of a role.

Cornerbacks (6) - Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine, Kalen King, Bo Melton, Corey Ballentine

Analysis: Two of the nicest stories of the summer reside in the cornerback room. The first is Bo Melton, whose position change from wide receiver to cornerback very quickly moved from a novelty to a serious storyline. I think he makes the roster. Same goes for Corey Ballentine, who rejoined the Packers after collecting a decent-sized check from the Colts this offseason. He’ll play primarily special teams, but he’s a nice “break glass in case of emergency” guy at corner. We know he can be dependable over long stretches because we’ve seen him do it before.

Safeties (5) - Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, Kitan Oladapo, Zane Anderson.

Analysis: Johnathan Baldwin was an interesting option as an undrafted free agent, but I haven’t seen any reason to go with him over one of the established players. The Packers have plenty of reason to be optimistic about their safeties, given that they’re both experienced and reliable.

Specialists (3) - Brandon McManus, Daniel Whelan, Matthew Orzech

Analysis: This group was never in doubt. The Packers had no serious challengers in camp and these three have shown no signs of slowing down, individually or as a group.