GREEN BAY, Wis. – Assuming everybody is healthy, the Green Bay Packers have one of the best collections of front-line players in the NFL.
Health, however, is a major question mark as the Packers set their sights on Friday’s preseason opener at the San Francisco 49ers.
Can the Packers possibly survive the first month of the season if neither David Bakhtiari nor Elgton Jenkins are in the starting lineup? The Packers are fortunate to have Yosh Nijman poised to start at one of the offensive tackle positions, but will general manager Brian Gutekunst have to find a veteran for the other spot?
That’s not the only position where Gutekunst might be shopping over the next few weeks. The depth charts are thin at outside linebacker behind starters Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, at cornerback behind Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas, and at safety behind Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. He might need to find a long snapper, too. None of the young players have really emerged at those four positions.
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So, even with perhaps the best defense since the Super Bowl season of 2010, the fate of the Packers will be placed on the shoulders of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who might have to navigate around a makeshift offensive line and an unproven group of receivers.
“We like to throw a lot on his shoulders because he’s a really good player and he’s certainly done that,” Gutekunst said last week. “What this team’s going to be as we move forward, we have a lot of work to do. On paper, I think there’s a reason to be excited and I like the way the guys are working.
“But we have a long way to get to that first game. We’re going to need some luck to kind of stay healthy and get to where we need to be. But I do think – and I’ve talked about this before – you want to try to have a team that can win in multiple ways whether it’s offense, defense, special teams. I think this team has the potential to do that. So, we’ll see where it goes but I like the way they’re pushing right now.”
Following up on our pre-camp projection, here is our second shot at predicting the 53-man roster that emerges from training camp. Remember, rosters will be cut on three consecutive Tuesdays: to 85 on Aug. 16, to 80 on Aug. 23 and to 53 on Aug. 30.
Quarterbacks (2)
Running Backs (3)
Receivers (6)
Tight Ends (4)
Offensive line (9)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Outside Linebackers (6)
Inside Linebackers (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (5)
Specialists (3)
