Breaking down Packers 53-man roster predictions entering final preseason week

How many roster spots are up for grabs as the Green Bay Packers enter the final week of the preseason? It’s possible there’s not as many as you think. While things can and often do change late in the process, especially with a joint practice and the preseason finale still to go this week, the Packers’ roster is starting to solidify before Sunday’s final cutdown day.

To see how many spots are still in question, we compared 53-man roster predictions from three sources: Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Co., Rob Demovsky of ESPN and Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. The idea here was to identify which players made all three 53-man roster predictions, and then determine who is on the roster bubble.

There wasn’t much to separate the individual projections, suggesting the roster is being viewed similarly by those on the outside. Is there a similar consensus inside Lambeau Field? We’ll see.

The following players were on each 53-man roster projection. Incredibly, 50 players made all three. While not all of those players are stone cold roster locks, there might only be a few roster spots truly up for grabs entering the final week.

1. QB Jordan Love
2. QB Tyrod Taylor
3. RB Josh Jacobs
4. RB MarShawn Lloyd
5. RB Chris Brooks
6. WR Christian Watson
7. WR Jayden Reed
8. WR Savion Williams
9. WR Bo Melton
10. WR Skyy Moore
11. TE Tucker Kraft
12. TE Josh Whyle
13. OL Jordan Morgan
14. OL Zach Bako-Bewele
15. OL Sean Rhyan
16. OL Aaron Banks
17. OL Jager Burton
18. OL Jacob Monk
19. OL Anthony Belton
20. OL John Williams
21. OL Darian Kinnard
22. OL Donovan Jennings
23. DL Devonte Wyatt
24. DL Javon Hargrave
25. DL Karl Brooks
26. DL Warren Brinson
27. DL Chris McClellan
28. DL Jonathan Ford
29. EDGE Lukas Van Ness
30. EDGE Barryn Sorrell
31. EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.
32. EDGE Collin Oliver
33. EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
34. LB Edgerrin Cooper
35. LB Zaire Franklin
36. LB Isaiah McDuffie
37. LB Ty’Ron Hopper
38. LB Nick Niemann
39. CB Brandon Cisse
40. CB Keisean Nixon
41. CB Carrington Valentine
42. CB Benjamin St-Juste
43. CB Kamal Hadden
44. S Xavier McKinney
45. S Evan Williams
46. S Javon Bullard
47. S Kitan Oladapo
48. K Trey Smack
49. P Daniel Whelan
50. LS Matt Orzech

WR J. Michael Sturdivant: Despite the rookie leaving Friday night’s win in Denver to be evaluated for a concussion, Mosqueda still sees the Packers keeping him as the seventh receiver. “The final roster spot here I’m giving to J. Michael Sturdivant, who is also being onboarded to play some key special teams roles (punt gunner and lead blocker on punt return). Technically, Isaiah Neyor does seem to be one spot ahead of Sturdivant on the offensive depth chart, but I think the special teams ability (which helps Green Bay not only cover injuries at the receiver position but also at defensive back) gives Sturdivant a little boost,” Mosqueda wrote.

TE Drake Dabney: Mosqueda kept only two tight ends, but both Demovsky and Schneidman kept Dabney. However, Demovsky sees a move likely coming at tight end before Week 1. “This is the No. 1 spot for general manager Brian Gutekunst to upgrade via trade or waivers. Gutekunst kept four tight ends on his initial 53 last year,” Demovsky wrote.

CB Domani Jackson: Both Mosqueda and Demovsky included Jackson, but Schneidman had the sixth-round pick being released. “Jackson, the former Alabama and USC corner, has the advantage of being a recent draft pick, but the rookie sixth-rounder has been behind the eight ball after offseason core muscle surgery and just made his preseason debut. The Packers also have four outside corners above him on the depth chart,” Schneidman wrote.

DL Anthony Campbell: Schneidman has the Packers keeping seven interior defensive linemen, including Campbell, who continues making standout plays this summer. “The former Miami Hurricanes afterthought keeps popping on tape this summer, and he did so again on Friday, brushing aside one offensive lineman and beating another for a vicious sack,” Schneidman wrote.

— All three 53-man rosters had Matt Orzech as the long snapper, even though Orzech remains on the PUP list.

— No one seems to believe Tyrod Taylor is in any real danger of losing his job as QB2 to Kyle McCord, who has played better than Taylor during the preseason.

— Demovsky floated Keisean Nixon’s name as a potential surprise release or trade candidate at roster cutdown day.

— All three 53-man rosters had the same 10 offensive linemen making the team. It’s possible the Packers will only keep nine, and Jennings would be the one mostly likely on the roster bubble.

— No one included Luke Musgrave on their 53. It appears he’s headed for the regular season PUP list after missing the first three weeks of camp with an on-going neck injury. It’s also being assumed that Micah Parsons and Jordon Riley will start the season on the PUP list.

— Pierre Strong Jr. is on the roster bubble as the fourth running back. The caveat is Strong would be the likely option to make the 53-man roster if Josh Jacobs is somehow suspended before the start of the regular season. The Packers are likely confident they can stash him on the practice squad.

Among those mentioned but cut across the three 53-man predictions: QB Kyle McCord, RB Pierre Strong Jr., WR Isaiah Neyor, TE Messiah Swinson, DL Nazir Stackhouse, EDGE Arron Mosby, LB Kristian Welch, DB Jaylin Simpson, S Mark Perry and LS Cal Adomitis. These are the guys really fighting to make the roster entering the final week.

While he didn’t do a traditional 53-man roster prediction, Andy Herman of the Pack-a-Day podcast went through the roster position by position below:

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Breaking down Packers 53-man roster predictions entering final preseason week