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 are ranking 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. 15: WR Matthew Golden
The Packers used their first-round pick on a receiver for the first time since 2002. The expectation is Matthew Golden will help a good offense take the next step toward greatness.
The top teams in the NFC all have a dominant receiver. The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl, have A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. The Lions, who won the NFC North, have Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Vikings, who had a chance to win the North entering Week 18, have Justin Jefferson. The rising Commanders have Terry McLaurin. The Rams added Davante Adams to Puka Nacua. The Buccaneers boast ageless Mike Evans.
The Packers don’t have that dominant receiver, and it’s hurt them at times. Maybe Golden can be the equivalent of a Jefferson or St. Brown, that go-to receiver who can win when it matters most and push the Packers to the Super Bowl.
“Definitely want to go get that (Lombardi) Trophy, man,” Golden told KPRC Channel 2’s Aaron Wilson. “That’s the question mark we got in our team room is just filling in that blank. That’s the last thing we need in that team room and, for us, that’s all we talk about at practice is getting that trophy. So, we’re doing everything we can each and every day to get to that point and just letting the rest be built up by itself.”
Golden’s got great speed, his 4.29 in the 40 at the Combine making him the fastest offensive player in this year’s draft. After transferring from Houston, he quickly built trust to become a go-to player in big games at Texas.
“He’s built for it,” said his receiver coach at Texas, former Packers receiver Chris Jackson.
Golden showed polish during the offseason practices that were open to reporters and could be a sudden-impact player instead of just a deep threat.
“Certainly, he’s going to be a speed threat right away, right?” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the end of the first round. “He is one of those guys that covering him from a man perspective is going to be extremely tough on teams. So, when we get to some of those third-down things where people are trying to mug us up and we need somebody to get open fast, he can do that.”
Recently, the Houston native held a football camp. No. 22 also took kids to Dick’s Sporting Goods for a $222 shopping spree.
“Always had that vision, to always give back to the community,” Golden told Wilson. “Just growing up, I always wanted things and not understanding why I didn’t have the things that I didn’t have and not being in a position to be able to do it. Man, it’s truly a blessing.
“That’s how I was raised, always to give back. If I was in a position to give somebody the clothes off my back, that’s what I would do. For me, I’m in a great position to do that and just be myself. With my mom, that’s how she raised me. Man, it means a lot to me.”
No. 14: DT Devonte Wyatt
A first-round pick in 2022, Devonte Wyatt has quietly emerged as one of the NFL’s better interior rushers. Don’t believe it?
Using 247 pass-rushing snaps – Wyatt’s total from last season – as a threshold, Wyatt in 2024 ranked 10th out of 76 interior defensive linemen in pass-rush win rate and fourth in pass-rushing productivity, a PFF metric that measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. In 2023, he was sixth in win rate and second in pass-rushing productivity out of 77.
Wyatt had 5.5 sacks and six tackles for losses in 17 games in 2023 and 5.0 sacks and nine tackles for losses in 14 games 2024, even though he missed three games and was slowed for a handful of others due to an ankle injury.
“I don’t like speaking on it,” Wyatt said this offseason of the impact of the injury. “I’m more of a go-out-there-and-show-you type of guy. But I’m pretty sure I would’ve had a great year if I didn’t get no injuries.”
A lot more will be demanded of Wyatt this year. After playing mostly on passing downs during his first three seasons, he spent the offseason working with the No. 1 defense. TJ Slaton started every game last season because of his toughness against the run but signed with the Bengals in free agency. Without Slaton, Wyatt and Kenny Clark figure to be the starting tandem and playing the lion’s share of the snaps.
“I think if he didn’t get hurt, I think what he was going to do was going to be huge,” Clark said. “He was making a lot of plays and all that kind of stuff, so just keeping that same mentality, keep working, keep grinding and keep on improving and he’ll be all right.”
No. 13: CB Keisean Nixon
Keisean Nixon beat the odds as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders. During his first season with the Packers in 2022, Nixon took over the kick-returning duties and earned All-Pro honors. In 2023, he was an All-Pro returner again while taking over as the nickel defender. In 2024, he was thrust into an every-down role at cornerback.
With each step, Nixon has eclipsed expectations. So, he’s eager to show what he can do as perhaps the team’s No. 1 cornerback.
“I think it hit my goals on a different level,” Nixon said during OTAs. “At first, I came into play nickel when I got here and then they moved me outside and I got comfortable. That’s what I came in the league as. I’ve never played nickel until I got to the Packers; I probably played like a game or two with the Raiders. Just honing on the technique of corner, that’s what I want to do.
“I’m here to work and show I am who I am and what I can do outside. I showed that last year, and just complete my resume. Everything they’ve asked me to do, I did it at a high level, whether it was just play kick return, I went All-Pro in that. I played nickel, I got paid at that. I’m here to play corner. That’s what I want to do.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Nixon gave up 56-of-82 passing (68.3 percent) for 501 yards and five touchdowns overall. Of 97 corners to play at least 300 coverage snaps, he ranked sixth with 8.9 yards allowed per reception.
Broken down, he yielded 30-of-44 (68.2 percent) for 274 yards (6.23 yards per target) and three touchdowns in the slot and 26-of-38 (68.4 percent) for 227 yards (5.97 yards per target) and two touchdowns on the perimeter. So, he was pretty solid on the outside. Can he find another level, just like he has throughout his career?
“I always knew what I was capable of doing. I just needed the opps to do it,” he said. “When I say I didn’t really feel like I started in the NFL until I got to the Packers, I felt like my fourth year was really my rookie year. So, this is really going onto my fourth year. Just me showing I am the type of player I say I am and show it on the field. I proved last year I can play inside/outside consistently against whoever’s the guy on the other team. The confidence level for me is through the roof.”
No. 12: WR Jayden Reed
The Packers drafted Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third round. They signed Mecole Hardman in free agency. The team’s best receiver and biggest threat in the passing game, however, remains Jayden Reed.
A second-round pick in 2023, Reed led the Packers in receptions and receiving yards in each of his first two seasons. In his draft class, Reed was the sixth receiver selected at No. 50 overall. He ranks sixth with 119 receptions, fifth with 1,650 yards and second with 14 touchdowns.
During the first half of last season, he looked like he could emerge as a legit No. 1 receiver. During the first nine games, he had three games of at least 113 receiving yards. He was only 49th among all players with 36 receptions but was 16th with 620 receiving yards, 10th with a 17.2-yard average and was first with 13.2 yards per target. His catch rate was 76.6 percent.
During the final eight games, he was 89th with 19 receptions and 82nd with 237 yards. His yards per catch plunged to 12.5, his yards per target tumbled to 8.5 and his catch rate fell to 67.9 percent.
Reed is too dynamic to post those kinds of numbers. Among 84 receivers who were targeted 50 times, Reed was sixth with 7.1 yards after the catch per catch. Among 72 receivers who were targeted at least 10 times on passes thrown 20-plus yards down field, he was first by a wide margin with a catch rate of 80.0 percent (12-of-15). Of 41 players who were targeted at least 30 times in the slot, he ranked 11th with 2.20 yards per route and first with a 137.1 passer rating.
That’s a lot of numbers to say something obvious: Reed is really good. If he can stay healthy and cut back on the drops – only Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb (11) had more drops than Reed (10) last year – he could be the go-to player the offense needs.
“Every day I’m on the JUGS machine so, hopefully, I minimize my drops. That’s more opps for me. That’s more plays made,” Reed said during OTAs. “Other than that, man, I’m just dialing in that playbook so I know what I’m doing and when I go out there, I can play fast. So I think that’s most important and then everything else takes care of itself.”
No. 11: LT Rasheed Walker
“Rasheed Walker is a left tackle for the Green Bay Packers.”
That’s what offensive line coach Luke Butkus said before the start of OTAs. Not the left tackle but a left tackle with Walker – a solid two-year starter – facing a challenge by last year’s first-round pick, Jordan Morgan.
For about a decade, Green Bay’s offense benefited from the Hall of Fame-level blindside pass protection provided by David Bakhtiari. When Bakhtiari tried but failed to restart his NFL career, Walker stepped in during the second game of the 2023 season. A seventh-round pick in 2022, Walker started 15 games in 2023 and all 17 games in 2024.
Last year, 67 offensive tackles played at least 500 snaps. PFF charged him with three sacks and 35 total pressures, ranking 41st in its pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-protecting snap. He was guilty of nine penalties. However, starting with Week 8 against Jacksonville, Walker was charged with one sack and three penalties. He allowed one pressure in five of those games.
“It all starts with his approach,” coach Matt LaFleur said in November. “I’ve noticed just how intentional he is in his preparation. We always talk about walk-through to indy, indy to team, and then team to gameday. I think he’s done a really good job with that, and it’s got to continue. Because I always tell them, I don’t want to pat you on the butt and you poop in my hands.”
The word “poop,” of course, was a substitute for another word.
“I’ve played for Coach LaFleur for almost three years and, as a young offensive tackle, you make a lot of mistakes,” Walker said. “And as time goes on, you clean up those mistakes. So, I think he just wants me to stay focused and finish strong, and then he’ll give me my props.
“But I think what he’s saying is, there’s a lot of football left, and he doesn’t want me to start drinking the Kool-Aid and getting complacent. He doesn’t want me to get comfortable and have him speaking too soon.”
There will be no comfort with Walker having to fight to keep his job. Walker hasn’t been Bakhtiari-level good. But he’s been good, and it would be a surprise if he’s not in the lineup for Week 1. As he enters his final season under contract, a big payday from some team awaits because of the importance of his position.
“He understands what this league’s about,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Every day, you’ve got to earn your spot, and that’s what I like about the competition that we have in our offense right now is everyone’s going to have to show up and play well in order to keep their spot, because there’s a bunch of good, young players that are hungry.”
Next. Part 15 of Our Packers Roster Rankings. Part 15 of Our Packers Roster Rankings. dark