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. 10: TE Tucker Kraft
Especially after adding Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in the draft, the Packers have an abundance of weapons in the passing game who need opportunities.
None are more deserving of more targets than Tucker Kraft, who is on the threshold of being recognized as one of the top tight ends in the NFL.
Last season, 43 tight ends were targeted at least 30 times in the passing game. Kraft ranked:
– 20th with 65 targets.
– 18th with 50 receptions.
– 7th with 707 yards.
– 2nd with 14.1 yards per catch.
– 4th with seven touchdowns.
Those are the top-line numbers. Digging deeper with PFF, Kraft ranked:
– First with 9.3 yards after the catch per catch.
– First with 15 broken tackles.
“The standard I play with is I make the first guy miss, don’t let a DB tackle you unless he has a sideline. Those are my rules,” Kraft said last season.
– Fifth with a 134.6 passer rating when targeted.
“Tuck’s going to be a big part of the offense,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “I think Tuck since he’s stepped on the scene, has shown who he is a playmaker and shown us reasons why we should just keep getting him the ball. I think a big part of going into this season is going to be finding ways to continue to get Tuck the ball, get him as many touches as we can in the game, because he’s a dynamic playmaker and does some really good things once he gets it in his hands.”
Kraft didn’t get many marquee opportunities. With only 10 of his 65 targets coming 10-plus yards downfield, most of his catches came after helping in pass protection and then leaking out into the flat. It’s noteworthy that the average distance of target ranked 38th at 5.0 yards downfield and yet he trailed George Kittle’s tight ends-best 14.2 yards per catch by about 1 foot.
“That was a discussion that I had with the coaches,” Kraft said at minicamp. “One thing I feel like I could’ve done better is separate in man-to-man. Most of my game was checkdowns underneath and my yards-after-catch ability, so I’m looking to put it all together.
“I’m looking to have every resource I need based off the repetitions I’ve gotten over and over and over this offseason. Last offseason, I had a torn pec. I didn’t get a chance to have an opportunity to do any of this, so really being able to apply my technique and stack reps, coverages and schemes and fronts, I just got a much better feel of the game this offseason.”
The Packers’ franchise records for a tight end are 61 receptions by Jermichael Finley in 2012, 814 yards by Paul Coffman in 1983 and 11 touchdowns by Coffman in 1983 and Robert Tonyan in 2020. With more opportunities down the field and with continued strength as a blocker, he could join Kittle as one of the NFL’s elite at the position.
Or, for an old-school reference, Mark Bavaro, who he watched at the urging of Rich Bisaccia.
“Last night, I got on YouTube and I looked up Mark Bavaro,” Kraft said early last season. “That’s just kind of the mindset I’m going with from now on. I’m going to be tough. I’m going to play through things.”
No. 9: CB Nate Hobbs
Charles Woodson was given jersey No. 21 when he jumped from the Raiders to the Packers in free agency in 2006. Same with Nate Hobbs as a free agent almost two decades later.
Is there pressure on the cornerback to perform like Woodson after signing a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency?
“Nah,” Hobbs said. “There’s a quote that Nipsey Hussle said. There’s going to be pressure, but if you believe in yourself and be where your feet (are) at and be in the moment, then it’s not pressure. But, obviously, Charles Woodson, the great Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it, I’ve got to pay him homage.”
Hobbs was a fifth-round pick by the Raiders in 2021. In four seasons, he played in 51 games with 38 starts. He has three interceptions and 19 passes defensed in his career. After four years of steady play, he’s looking forward to taking the next step – not unlike Woodson, who revitalized his career in Green Bay, or former Raiders teammates Josh Jacobs and Keisean Nixon.
“I think Green Bay’s a special place,” Hobbs said. “Green Bay is a place that players – a lot of players – have transformed maybe from a good player into a great player, to Hall of Fame players. I think everybody I’ve spoken to about it (says) it’s a special place. I want to be part of a special place.”
Hobbs’ versatility will be an asset in a cornerback corps that doesn’t have a lockdown defender or a lot of depth. Mostly, he played in the slot in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Mostly, he played perimeter cornerback in 2022.
“Nate can play outside and Nate can play inside. So, we’re going to have him do both,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “When you’re getting ready for free agency and you’re evaluating tape, it’s one thing that you love about him. He’s had a lot of success inside, and I thought his tape outside was equally as good. He is competitive, he’s tough, he is physical, he plays the game fast. You can tell he loves it. It just jumps off the tape.”
Last year, PFF charged Hobbs with a catch rate of 67.4 percent. That’s not very good. Sports Info Solutions, on the other hand, charged him with just 42.9 percent with 12 catches allowed in 11 games. That’s darned good.
Hardly a household name because of his lack of big-play production, he called himself an underdog even after signing a contract that ranks 23rd at the position in annual pay.
“I’m going to be an underdog if I was getting paid $100 million because I don’t see any articles or anything out of me being the top corner. Do you? Have you seen ‘Nate Hobbs is a top corner, Nate Hobbs is top five.’
“Nah, so even if I was a $100 million guy, in my heart of hearts, I’m an underdog, and I’m never going to forget that. And I could be the top corner, whatever the case is, still an underdog, because I had to scratch and claw and fight to get here. Nothing was given to me, everything was taken. I say, there’s two ways to get respect. You either earn it or you take it. I like taking it. I’m going to be an underdog till I die. That’s just me.”
Hobbs called himself a “super-competitor” who would “take the shirt off my back” to help a teammate. He was happy to reunite with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia – “I love him to death,” he said – and he hit it off immediately with Hafley.
“I don’t even know what words to use, honestly,” he said of stepping out onto Lambeau Field for the first time. “When I walked out there, it gave me a different feeling. It felt different than just walking on to another NFL field.
“Obviously, I came up watching football, watching NFL games, and Green Bay was always a different place. You’ve got the Lambeau Leap, Lambeau Field, all that stuff. When I actually got out there, I had to put my hand in the dirt and send a prayer to God and the people who I love who are not here and for guiding me here. I’m very appreciative, and it just felt different.”
No. 8: C Elgton Jenkins
In 1996, one year after Elgton Jenkins was born, Johnny Cash released his spin on “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
That song suits Jenkins’ career.
Jenkins started at center as a junior and senior at Mississippi State. A second-round pick by the Packers in 2019, he played almost exclusively at left guard as a rookie. In 2020, he played mostly left guard but also 297 snaps at center. In 2021, he moved to left tackle to replace David Bakhtiari. He played so well that he started the 2022 season at right tackle. He finished 2022 and spent all of 2023 back at left guard. He played left guard in 2024, too, though he did start and play 65 snaps at center in Week 9 against the Lions.
In free agency this offseason, the Packers signed Aaron Banks to play left guard, let Josh Myers sign with the Jets and moved Jenkins to center.
“We feel he’s got a chance to be an All-Pro center,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said.
On the offensive line, tackles get paid more than guards and guards get paid more than centers. At left guard, eight players average at least $13.0 million per season. At center, only four players are at that level.
Jenkins knows that reality, which is why he skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason and didn’t practice during minicamp. Jenkins is under contract through next season. In 2026, his base salary is set to soar to $18.5 million. As part of a 2022 contract extension, that lofty figure, A, inflated his average salary and, B, was meant to spur another extension.
Jenkins wants to be paid what he deserves and not have to accept less because he’s helping the team by changing positions.
“I expect him to be ready to go when we come back,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s a guy that I really respect how he works. The product, obviously, that he’s put out there from an individual standpoint has been pretty impressive. He’s fought through some adversity, but he’s going to be a big part of this thing.”
Next. Part 16 of Our Annual Packers Roster Rankings. Part 16 of Our Annual Packers Roster Rankings. dark