GREEN BAY, Wis. – 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. 60: G/T John Williams
At Cincinnati, John Williams majored in aerospace engineering. A seventh-round pick by the Packers this year, his goal of working at SpaceX or Lockheed Martin is going to have to wait.
Williams is the quintessential offensive line draft pick for the Packers as a college left tackle with the skill-set to play other positions.
“He’s got great length, exceptionally bright – really, really, really smart,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “He’s got the versatility to play left tackle and guard. He probably could play center because he’s smart enough.
“He’s one of the few guys who can really play with full extension with his hands and is moving his feet at the same time. It’s unusual for a guy who can tackle and guard, play four spots for you, to be down there at that spot.”
Williams, who sat out the offseason practices with an undisclosed injury, said he practiced all five positions at Cincinnati. At the East-West Shrine Game, he played guard and right tackle.
“A big point for me was just my flexibility,” Williams said. “They want you to play multiple positions, which I think is probably why they picked me, just the ability to hopefully help out wherever I’m needed. I think that’s the biggest upside for me.”
Williams allowed only one sack and eight pressures as a senior, according to PFF.
“I think when you’re playing tackle at any level and it’s a one-on-one block, you’ve got to play with some confidence when you’re out there,” Bearcats offensive line coach Nic Cardwell said. “If you’re playing afraid, it’s not going to be good for you, but he plays with a great amount of confidence. He’s got great feet, a great punch, good hands, a good anchor. I think those are some of the things that make John very special at the tackle position.”
Williams is a big man with a big personality. Cardwell said he was one of the funniest people he’s been around.
“Fun definitely helps,” Williams said. “It’s hard to love the game if you’re not one who loves the game. But there are some things that aren’t fun. Some things are hard and they’re not fun and those are things that you usually have to do the best. So, yeah, obviously, I love to have fun. Everybody loves to have fun when they play football.”
No. 59: LB Kristian Welch
Kristian Welch was one of the great stories of training camp last year. Welch, a native of nearby Iola, Wis., was signed early in 2023 because of his track record on special teams.
From 2020 through 2023, Welch had played 44 snaps on defense in his career, including zero with Green Bay. Last summer, though, Welch proved he could play on defense, too. He had two interceptions in the preseason, including one against his former team, the Ravens, that he almost took back for a touchdown.
Welch was sensational. It wasn’t enough, though. Welch was the odd man out in Green Bay’s loaded linebacker room. He was claimed off waivers by the Broncos and ultimately ended the season back in Baltimore. He played in 15 games and made his first two career starts on defense.
With big-time backup Eric Wilson signing with the Vikings in free agency, the Packers re-signed Welch. Along with being a quality player on defense, Wilson was an excellent player on special teams. Welch can perhaps fill the void, though he’ll have to beat out former top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons for the right to join Quay Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper in a potential five-player unit.
“Each phase has its own challenges,” Welch said about special teams. “It's a very unique thing in football. It's just fun. It just presents a different challenge than any other phase in the game. Being able to understand each little nuance and get the techniques of a punt set down. And then get the techniques of a punt coverage down. And then being able to tackle in open space. All these things kind of bring it together, and that's what I really just enjoy.”
No. 58: DT Cameron Young
TJ Slaton, who started every game the last two seasons for the Packers, signed with the Bengals in free agency. Slaton was the mountainous man in the middle of Green Bay’s formidable run defense.
Who will fill the void? The only noteworthy additions were Warren Brinson, a sixth-round pick who started eight games in five seasons at Georgia, and Nazir Stackhouse, an undrafted free agent and lineman of Brinson’s at Georgia.
Enter Cameron Young, who was signed two weeks ago. He was a fourth-round pick by the Seahawks in 2023.
“This is as stout a player as there is in college football this year,” then-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after the draft. "He’s physical and tough. He’s over 300 pounds and he plays like it, and he plays really tough football. So, we’ll get the same kind of play.”
Added Seahawks GM John Schneider: “He puts his hands on people and they don’t move.”
Young played in 16 games with one start as a rookie. Last year, a knee injury limited him to only one game. The Seahawks released him before this year’s draft.
At 6-foot-3 3/8 and 304 pounds, Young doesn’t have Slaton’s massive size. But he’s got 34 1/2-inch arms and plenty of strength to perhaps grab a role.
“I like to describe myself as a dog,”Young said after being drafted.
No. 57: TE Ben Sims
With Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave atop the depth chart, it will be Ben Sims vs. John FitzPatrick as the front-runners to be the No. 3 tight end.
Sims played 224 snaps last season, moving up to the No. 2 role when Musgrave was out with an ankle injury. He played at least 12 snaps in 11 consecutive games, including at least 24 in three. He caught four passes for 42 yards.
“I don’t want to be someone I’m not,” Sims said last year after Musgrave’s injury. “I feel like I have my strengths. I want to be physical in the run game, I want to do what I can when my number’s called, and I want to give these coaches the trust in me and the ability to be able to call whatever they want on the call sheet when I’m in the game.”
Sims went undrafted in 2023 despite a solid track record at Baylor and well above-average athleticism. The Vikings released him at the end of his rookie training camp. While sitting in on a Vikings practice squad meeting, he learned he’d been claimed off waivers by the Packers.
“They said, ‘When can you get here?” Sims recalled. “I mapped it on my phone and I said, ‘I can be there in 4 hours.’ Coach (Matt) LaFleur goes, ‘Great. See you then.’”
At Baylor, Sims was a seven-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. When he wasn’t studying for class, he was studying 49ers star George Kittle.
“He doesn’t just get in the way, he wants to dominate you and he wants to put you on your back and he wants to be the guy that’s making that wide zone play work,” Sims said at Big 12 Media Days. “His energy on the field is unmatched, how he plays, the way he treats his teammates. He’s a great teammate and a great player and a great person. So, that’s what a lot of my game after.”
No. 56: QB Taylor Elgersma
You might be asking yourself why the Packers’ No. 4 quarterback – one who didn’t play college football in the United States – is ranked so highly. Simple. He’s a quarterback – and perhaps the Packers’ backup quarterback in 2026.
Malik Willis had a tremendous season last year and will be the backup quarterback again. However, he’s entering the final year of his rookie contract. Given the way he played in relief of Jordan Love in 2024, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Willis got an opportunity to start as a free agent in 2026.
That means the Packers could be looking for a long-term backup. Enter Elgersma, the touted Canadian quarterback who has a lot of talent and a lot more to learn.
Before he won Canada’s version of the Heisman Trophy, Elgersma was part of the CFL’s quarterback internship program. With the Toronto Argonauts, he learned under Mike Miller, who was quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals when Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.
“I think he’s like Kurt Warner-smart,” Miller told Packers On SI.
Say what?
“You asked me my first impressions. I think it was on the second night, I told RD (head coach Ryan Dinwiddie), ‘Look, I don't know what this kid’s going to be like on the field right now, but this kid’s crazy smart. He goes, ‘Oh, yeah?’ I go, ‘I’m going to say something here, but I feel pretty good about this. I think he’s Kurt Warner-smart.’ And he goes, ‘Really?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ To me personally, that’s the smartest quarterback I’ve ever been with. Every day with Kurt was like a PhD. I said, ‘Yeah, this kid’s special.’”
Elgersma performed in three U.S. all-star games, including the prestigious Senior Bowl. He went undrafted and unsigned; the Packers signed him as a tryout player at their rookie camp.
“We’re excited to add Taylor to the room,” new quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion said. “He’s got a unique background. He’s played Canadian rules football throughout college and being a hockey player until he was in grade 10, but he’s a talented guy. Came in and did a great job for us in rookie minicamp.
“For me, what was most impressive was his ability to learn and ability to retain information, his command in and out of the huddle because, like I said, it’s a unique background. There’s going to be some things that are foreign to him, but the way he was able to retain information, he’s got a lot of things to work on, for sure, but there was talent there.”
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