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Ranking Every Player on Packers Roster, Part 9: The Record-Setter

The Green Bay Packers are looking to fill out their depth charts at every position. While the shiny-and-new players tend to get most of the attention, don’t forget about the players who’ve been there and done that – at least on the practice field.

In Part 9 of our annual 91-to-1 Packers roster rankings, which are based on talent, production, state of the depth chart and importance of the position, we focus on five of those players.

No. 55: RB Damien Martinez

Can the Packers count on MarShawn Lloyd? That’s the big question at running back. In two seasons, Lloyd has played in only one game due to a long list of injuries. He had an encouraging string of offseason practices. If that continues through training camp, he will have locked up a spot on the final roster.

However, even in that case, the Packers better have a running back on standby. Martinez could be that player.

Damien Martinez was drafted in round 7 pick 223 in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 8.19 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 382 out of 2106 RB from 1987 to 2025. https://t.co/5U5494pqnC pic.twitter.com/zelt81ezf2

— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 26, 2025

Josh Jacobs, Chris Brooks and Lloyd are all in the neighborhood of 220 pounds. So is Martinez, who has an excellent blend of size and speed, which he used to rush for 982 yards with a 6.1-yard average at Oregon State in 2022, 1,185 yards with a 6.1-yard average at Oregon State in 2023 and 1,002 yards and a 6.3-yard average at Miami in 2024.

Martinez was a seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2025. He called himself “Beast Mode 2.0” in honor of legendary Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. He didn’t make their 53-man roster and didn’t play in a game, and he signed a futures contract with the Packers after the season.

“Just being able to play without the ball, and then, for sure being a better pass protector, pass catcher out of the backfield,” he told The Orlando Sentinel. “Everybody can run the ball, but in today’s league especially to a three-down back, or two-down back, you have to be able to do it all.”

Martinez missed the offseason practices due to injury but should be ready for camp.

No. 54: K Lucas Havrisik

Green Bay Packers kicker Lucas Havrisik boots a field goal in the win over Cincinnati. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Havrisik is strategically placed at No. 54 in our rankings. With every kick that rookie Trey Smack missed during OTAs and minicamp, the better the chances of Havrisik earning a spot on the opening roster.

The Packers know plenty about Havrisik. They signed him on Oct. 11 after veteran Brandon McManus was injured, and he kicked the next two weeks against the Bengals and Cardinals. He was 6-of-6 on extra points and 4-of-4 on field goals, including a franchise-record 61-yarder before halftime at Arizona – a pivotal play in a four-point win.

“I really don’t celebrate them too much just because that’s the standard for us – making your kicks,” he said. “If I go a whole season without missing, then I’d be like, ‘All right, cool.’

“But every week, you’ve got to keep the same level of emotion of even-keel, just because it really doesn’t matter what you did last week. What are you going to do now? So, very thankful for that. Obviously, it’s great, but I just try to focus on my next kick.”

A month later, he was summoned again in a windstorm at the Giants. He made 1-of-3 point-after attempts and didn’t attempt a field goal. With Havrisik hanging out on the practice squad for the rest of the season, McManus kicked the final seven games and the disastrous playoff game.

The Packers re-signed Havrisik after the season, drafted Smack in the sixth round and released McManus. That means it will be Smack vs. Havrisik in training camp, though it may or may not be a real battle.

Havrisik kicked once in front of reporters during the offseason, making all of his attempts from the comfort of the Hutson Center.

Including nine games with the Rams in 2023, Havrisik in 12 career appearances has made 79.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 83.9 percent of his extra-point attempts.

“I think he’s done an outstanding job,” coach Matt LaFleur said during minicamp. “I think both those guys have shown progress in terms of their consistency of how they’re kicking, and that’s what we expect. Every competition should bring out the best in each other.”

No. 53: LB Nick Niemann

The Texans signed Niemann in free agency last offseason, only to release him at the end of training camp. A dud for Houston, he was a stud for Green Bay.

In the first seven games, Niemann recorded 11 tackles on special teams. No other player on the roster had more than six. However, in that seventh game, he suffered a torn pectoral against Pittsburgh. He returned for the playoff game against Chicago.

If you’re not impressed by 11 tackles in seven games, maybe this will change your mind. Niemann was one off the NFL lead at the time of the injury (the players with 12 had played an additional game due to the placement of Green Bay’s bye) and led outright with 10 solo tackles.

Moreover, if he had been able to continue that pace over 17 games, Niemann would have finished with 27 tackles on special teams. That would have been the most by a Packers player since John Dorsey had 30 in 1985. Over the last two decades, no Packers player had more than Marviel Underwood’s 23 in 2005.

With that production, the Packers and Niemann just before the start of free agency agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million contract that included a $500,000 signing bonus.

Niemann played in all 17 games in each of his first three seasons and four seasons for the Chargers in 2024. He wound up missing 10 in 2025. He called it “terrible,” especially considering his production and value to the team.

“That’s kind of how I made a name for myself in the league to begin with,” he said upon his return last year. “And then getting a role to where Rich (Bisaccia) and me and the rest of our unit were getting in a groove figuring out how guys work and play together, we were just hitting our strides. That was good.”

Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Niemann (31) tackles Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) on a punt return. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

No. 52: C/G Jacob Monk

The Packers drafted Monk in the fifth round in 2024. On offense, he didn’t play in a game until the end of the blowout loss against Baltimore in Week 17 of last season. Then, he started at center in Week 18.

“Throw the film on the Minnesota game, it’s pretty cool to watch,” position coach Luke Butkus said before OTAs. “We’re spending time watching cut-ups right now, and there’s some really great examples of him coming off the ball and moving defenders. It was Minnesota’s starting defensive line, so some of the things he did of managing the game, one, and two, his physical ability to move people off the football was really, really cool.”

Monk called his rookie year a “redshirt” season and a chance to watch the game from Josh Myers and Elgton Jenkins – something he didn’t have the luxury of doing at Duke, where he started as a true freshman.

“I feel better in the sense of I'm not stressing before a play or where I need to go in that regard,” Monk said last year. “I'm more comfortable with the playbook. I feel like that slows down the physical part for you as well. You're not stressing pre-snap.”

This offseason, the Packers jettisoned Jenkins and drafted Jager Burton, meaning Monk will have to battle to be the next man up at the interior positions.

No. 51: T/G Travis Glover

As a sixth-round pick out of Georgia State in 2024, Glover as a rookie played four snaps at right guard and nine snaps at right tackle. When Elgton Jenkins went down early in the playoff loss to the Eagles, Glover got summoned from the bench. He wound up playing 23 snaps at left guard and five at right guard. He was benched at one point after being guilty of three penalties.

The Packers count on their young players to take a step forward in Year 2. Glover seemed to be on his way before a season-ending shoulder injury sustained a couple weeks into training camp.

“Yeah, he was ascending,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s an ascending player, so that’s very disappointing that we won’t have him.”

With Zach Tom rehabbing last year’s knee injury, Glover spent most of the offseason as the No. 2 right tackle. He’ll have a chance to stick around as a right-side backup.

Here's our 25 most important Packers for the upcoming season, with quick-hitting looks at each player and links to full feature stories on those players, along with the start of the annual 91-to-1 series. ⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 17, 2026

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