The Green Bay Packers are going to rest their starters, according to head coach Matt LaFleur, in their second preseason game of 2024 versus the Denver Broncos. While you won’t get the chance to watch Jordan Love throw the football or Josh Jacobs carry the rock, there’s still plenty up for grabs beyond the first line of the depth chart.
Let’s take you through the 14 Packers players we’re going to keep an eye on throughout Sunday’s action, including the reasoning for these players’ roster bubble status.
- QB Sean Clifford, #6
- QB Michael Pratt, #17
The backup quarterbacks have already self-described their camp battle as a “healthy competition,” but the team is going to have to make a decision on the position over the next two weeks. Sean Clifford hasn’t run away with the job, in part due to the volume of interceptions he’s thrown in practice. On Friday, in a joint practice with the Broncos, he threw an interception on the first play of a two-minute drill, which certainly didn’t help his case.
Prior to the joint practice, rookie quarterback Michael Pratt, who has had more success on deep and intermediate routes than Clifford this summer, was actually taking over two-minute drills with the second-team offense, reps that usually went to Clifford. LaFleur has already stated that Clifford will start this game, but Pratt is breathing down the Penn State product’s neck for an opportunity with the second team unit.
- RB Emanuel Wilson, #31
Now that rookie draft pick MarShawn Lloyd is out with a hamstring injury, there’s a real opportunity for Emanuel Wilson to stick on the Packers’ initial 53-man roster, either as fourth running back or as an injury replacement for Lloyd if Lloyd lands on the injured reserve. In the preseason opener, Wilson led the Packers with 13 carries for 67 rushing yards and a score.
Last year, Wilson was able to turn 14 regular season carries into 85 yards (6.1 yards per carry), which was impressive for the 36 offensive snaps that the undrafted rookie took in 2023. The question is just whether or not his ball-carrying ability outweighs the fact that he’s not much of a pass protector and doesn’t contribute much on special teams.
- WR Grant DuBose, #86
- WR Malik Heath, #18
Malik Heath made the Packers’ 53-man roster last year as an undrafted rookie because of his willingness to do some of the dirty work at the position: playing special teams and blocking on the perimeter for skill players getting more touches than him. Here’s the problem for Heath: 2023 draft pick Grant DuBose, who missed most of last summer with an injury, is doing the same thing this summer but is also contributing more as a pass-catcher.
Versus the Cleveland Browns last week, DuBose caught five passes for 66 yards, both team highs. Ultimately, the sixth receiver spot could come down to which of DuBose and Heath are more productive through the air.
- OT Andre Dillard, #73
- OT Kadeem Telfort, #76
- OT Caleb Jones, #72
There’s a three-way battle going on in Green Bay for the top swing tackle job. It’s possible that only one of those players makes it through 53-man cuts, considering how many interior line players likely to make the roster also have a tackle background.
Andre Dillard got the snaps at right tackle with the first-team offense in the preseason opener, as an injury replacement for Zach Tom, but Kadeem Telfort and Caleb Jones have also rotated in with Dillard throughout the summer.
- DE Brenton Cox Jr., #57
Do the Packers need to keep a fifth defensive end? With Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare coming off of the bench this year, again, they have plenty of proven depth at the position.
At the same time, Karl Brooks (DT4) and Colby Wooden (DT5) have both spelled at defensive end this summer when veteran rest days have stacked up at the position. Brenton Cox Jr. isn’t much of a special teams contributor, which means that he’s going to need to make his case as a pure pass-rusher before cutdowns. Last year, after making the initial 53-man roster, he played just four defensive snaps in the regular season.
- CB Corey Ballentine, #26
- CB Kalen King, #34
- CB Robert Rochell, #22
After spending three draft picks at safety, on top of signing Xavier McKinney and retaining 2023 draft pick Anthony Johnson Jr., it’s clear that the Packers are going to keep plenty of safeties on their 53-man roster. The question here is what that means for the cornerback position, a spot where similar body types are used on special teams.
Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are virtual locks to make the roster at cornerback. So will the Packers keep five cornerbacks or six going into the 2024 season? Right now, Corey Ballentine is the team’s top reserve outside cornerback option, while Robert Rochell is arguably a better special teams player. Kalen King, who saw some reps in the slot earlier in training camp, is a 2024 draft choice, which may be the tie-breaker in this three-way battle. A big game from any one of the players in this trio could go a long way for them at cutdowns.
- K Anders Carlson, #17
- K Greg Joseph, #2
On the summer, returning starter Anders Carlson is 50 of 62 on field goals (81 percent) while the newly signed Greg Joseph is 52 of 63 (83 percent). The race is tight, if not impressive. At some point, one kicker is going to have to separate himself from the other. Maybe that’ll be Sunday night.
