8 takeaways from Packers’ initial 53-man roster

The Packers released Tyler Goodson and Patrick Taylor and kept only Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the roster at running back. Matt LaFleur’s team won’t go into a game situation with only two running backs, so there will either be an addition to the 53-man roster between now and Sept. 11 or the Packers will use practice-squad call-ups to navigate the first four weeks until Kylin Hill is eligible to come off the PUP list. This is why it’s called an “initial” 53-man roster. The Packers played with some numbers at certain positions in an attempt to keep the best players. It’s possible Goodson and Taylor will both return on the practice squad come Wednesday.

The Packers kept all 11 draft picks, including all four seventh-round picks. Brian Gutekunst picked Samori Toure over Juwann Winfree, Rasheed Walker over Caleb Jones, Jonathan Ford over Jack Heflin and Tariq Carpenter over several different safeties. General managers will always prefer draft picks, especially in Year 1. It’s an exercise in projection, and draft picks generally win out when it comes to upside. In the case of both Ford and Carpenter, it’s quite difficult to argue either played better than his positional counterparts during camp and the preseason.

Having major injury question marks hovering around David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins likely helped persuade the Packers to keep 10 offensive linemen on the first 53. Royce Newman, Yosh Nijman, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker can all play offensive tackle, providing insurance in case Bakhtiari or Jenkins isn’t ready early in the season. There is decent versatility here too. Walker, a seventh-round pick, won a roster spot late in the process with a standout performance in the preseason finale.

The Packers are relatively deep at some spots on the roster, including along the offensive and defensive lines, but a few notable weak points are concerning entering the regular season. The depth chart just isn’t strong behind starters at outside linebacker, cornerback or safety, three important defensive positions. The Packers might have to make a veteran addition at outside linebacker and safety before Week 1. The depth at safety looks especially barren, but a few quality veteran safeties were released on Tuesday, so there’s hope there. Overall, the defense is talented all over, but it needs to stay healthy in 2022.

The Packers signed Micah Abernathy – a former USFL player – on Aug. 10 to help bolster an injury-plagued safety position. Twenty days later, Abernathy is on the Packers’ first 53-man roster. He was excellent over three preseason games and earned the spot. If Brian Gutekunst doesn’t add to his safety group before now and Sept. 11, Abernathy might actually be an important player – both as a backup safety and on special teams.

The Packers activated Mason Crosby off of the PUP list at the deadline and held onto long snapper Jack Coco, at least for now. There are a few long snappers worth considering on waivers (Cal Adomitis?), but Coco fended off incumbent Steven Wirtel and was consistent during the preseason. Will the Packers bring back Ramiz Ahmed to provide a backup plan behind Crosby, who is coming back from right knee surgery at almost 38 years old? Probably a safe idea. As of now, the three-man specialist group will be Crosby, Coco and Pat O’Donnell.

The Packers haven’t had a player claimed off of waivers after final cuts since 2017. Last year, only 27 total players in the NFL were claimed after final cuts. In other words, claims are rare. But are there any candidates this year? Running back Tyler Goodson, receiver Juwann Winfree, offensive tackle Caleb Jones and defensive linemen Jack Heflin and Chris Slayton are possibilities. The growth of Matt LaFleur’s coaching tree (Nathaniel Hackett in Denver, Luke Getsy in Chicago) could up the potential of a team claiming a former Packer. The biggest risk might be Jones, who is a uniquely massive individual (6-9, 370) and put a bunch of good snaps on tape at left tackle this preseason. Teams are always looking for upside at offensive tackle.