We know what a roster lock is. We know what being dropped from a roster means. What’s a roster pop? Leave your best suggestions in the comments. And with that, happy mailbag day! Lots of training camp talk this week. We’re all itching for football. Almost there! 

“Which training camp battle will be most intriguing to you?” - Justin”

My immediate reaction is to say the cornerback room. It seems like the Packers are committed to Keisean Nixon being one of the starters on the boundary, so there will be a lot of competition for who gets to start alongside him. 

Carrington Valentine is the incumbent, but he struggled mightily last season, allowing a passer rating of 121.2 when targeted. He also had a 20.5% missed tackle percentage with only four passes defensed and no picks on the year. 

It makes the most sense that Benjamin St-Juste and rookie second-round draft pick Brandon Cisse will be part of that competition. St-Juste had a bounce back year with the Chargers, snagging one interception with seven passes defensed. He allowed a 68.3 passer rating when targeted, which was the best of his career, and per Pro Football Reference, he registered zero missed tackles. For context, Valentine is attributed with 31 combined tackles, and he missed eight of them. St-Juste is credited with 37 combined tackles, and he missed zero. 

Nixon and Valentine are also free agents once the season ends, so that matters, too. Will they play themselves into new deals in Green Bay, or play themselves into finding new homes in 2027? (It’s probably the latter.) Shemar Bartholomew, MJ Devonshire Jr., Kamal Hadden, Domani Jackson, Marlon Jones, and Jaylin Simpson round out that group. Hadden was having a nice year until injury ended his season, so he’d be my early pick for one of the bottom roster spots. 

“Which position groups are going to provide the fiercest and most entertaining competitions during Packers training camp? Better yet, why?” - Ed

Since I already talked about the corners, I won’t mention that group again, but they’d be up there for sure in terms of fiercest competition. I think things could get really interesting along the offensive line if Jager Burton continues to turn heads. The o-line is always one of the better camp battles because the Packers roster so many bodies that they need to whittle down during camp and the preseason. 

There are currently 17 offensive linemen on the roster: three centers, seven guards, six tackles, and one Zach Tom (he’s the only lineman listed simply as “OL” on the team website, which I love). Historically, Green Bay carries about 10 into the regular season. So that’s a cutdown of almost half. Who secures those final few spots at the bottom of the roster depth chart? Will it be a veteran like Darian Kinnard? Maybe it’ll be someone like Brant Banks who was a game day elevation a few times last season and has earned his jump onto the active roster. There’s almost always one surprise, and the Packers are notorious for having at least one undrafted rookie make the 53 out of camp. 

After the o-line, I’ll say tight end. At tight end there’s Tucker Kraft…and then who? Technically Luke Musgrave. He’ll make the roster (unless he’s traded), but he hasn’t inspired a ton of confidence in his first three seasons with the team. And even if he does, the Packers won’t go into the season with just two tight ends, so who’s in line for that third spot? Drake Dabney, Luke Lachey, RJ Maryland, Messiah Swinson, and Josh Whyle are all on the roster. The team had some nice things to say about Whyle earlier during OTAs, so he may be the leader in the clubhouse, but that’s what we’ll have training camp and the preseason to sort out. 

“Where do you think Savion Williams fits into the offense this year? Obviously there's a top three in the receiver room, and Kraft is going to get a ton of targets of course, so I'm curious if they keep Williams as just a gadget guy or if they see more for him.” - Brendan

Yeah the wide receiver room feels relatively set with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden as the big three. But there’s a ton of depth beyond those guys, and Savion Williams is part of that log jam. 

The rest of the room includes Bo Melton, Skyy Moore, Isaiah Neyor, Brenden Rice, Will Sheppard, and J. Michael Sturdivant. Williams is a roster lock, of course, but he’ll have the opportunity to pull away and secure his spot in the rotation, and I really like the player he can be on this offense. 

It’s a small sample size and he was forced into the lineup due to a number of injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, but his touchdown against the Steelers to me is a good example of how Matt LaFleur will want to utilize him. Get him some blockers, get him into space, and let him do the rest. In college I know he also contributed in the run game, but I think he can absolutely be more than just a gadget player. 

He has a lot of raw talent and will need to clean up his technique, but knowing the offense LaFleur likes to run, I think Williams could carve out a pretty significant role for himself. Especially with the injury history in the room. He seemingly would be the first guy off the bench if anyone goes down. I’m looking forward to getting some extended looks at him in the preseason, for sure. 

And we shouldn’t necessarily put a ton of stock into where players are drafted, but Williams was a third-round selection. Think of the contributions Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks made as fourth and fifth-round selections, respectively. A day two pick is a pretty significant investment, and I think that speaks to a larger role for him too, beyond just the gadget idea (although that’ll probably be a part of who he is by default). 

“Hey Maggie! Is it just me, or does it seem like there are at least a few more roster positions up for grabs this year compared to recent years? We have a good number of “locks”,  but doesn’t it feel like there could be a few more surprises at the bottom of the 53 that perhaps catch us by surprise? (Not a bad thing, BTW) Thanks!” - Jim

I know some people in the comments like to play along at home, so I think this is a good one this week. Running through the roster, barring any trades, I have 41 roster locks. I’m really curious what everyone else thinks, and I’ll be curious where we differ. But I’ll say I have 17 on offense, 21 on defense, and then the three special teamers. I do think the depth on offense is more of a toss up, and there are more solidified starting spots on defense (except for, you guessed it, in the cornerback room). 

I think the offseason kind of set the tone. We talked about this a little bit all the way back in February or March, but the moves Brian Gutekunst made surely indicate he’s done with complacency. I don’t think anyone in or near 1265 would say last season met their standards, and certainly not with a playoff exit at the hands of a division rival. 

Those depth spots are going to matter. Injuries take a toll every season. So the final 10(ish) bodies fighting for roster spots are really earning their stripes and proving they deserve a spot on the roster. I think we’re done seeing the “well he was a draft pick so we have to keep him around” behavior in Green Bay. And I think that’s a good thing. Loyalty is fine. Players take time to develop. You don’t draft seventh round picks expecting them to be day one starters. That said, it’s okay to move on from players who aren’t living up to their potential and give those roster spots to players who prove they have the upside to stick and compete. 

We know what the 2010 roster looked like during the Super Bowl run. There are always unsung heroes in a season. I truly think this roster is close. Player number 52 on the roster could end up making a game-saving play in the postseason. Every spot matters. 

“Hi Maggie, what are your favorite football movies? Happy dead zone!” Tony

It has to be “Little Giants” for me. As a girl who loves football, Icebox was the original “girls can be good at sports, too” icon. I’m also a 90s kid, so everything about the movie just reminds me of my childhood. I can’t wait to show it to my kids when they’re a little bit older. 

I almost put “Air Bud” here, because I did absolutely watch all of those growing up, too. I mean come on. Air Bud, Golden Receiver? I hope whoever came up with that got a promotion. Also, apparently the entire movie is free on YouTube. You’re welcome, if you have some time to kill. 

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag! We’re inching closer to training camp by the day. Watch some Air Bud, start a pickup football game with your friends, and before you know it, we’ll have Packers content flooding our feeds once again. As always, send your questions to [email protected]. See you next week!