2025 Packers roster ranking, 90-82: Meet the long shots
The Leap ranks the Green Bay Packers' 90-man roster in order of player caliber.
With the Green Bay Packers on break until training camp and the personnel essentially frozen for the foreseeable future, The Leap will use this time to reveal its annual 90-man roster rankings.
Our methodology: We ordered the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than the value of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the "best" players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most "value." That means the starting quarterback doesn't have to top the list because of the position he plays.
Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.
Today's slate features those on the fringes of the 90-man roster. Most entered the NFL earlier this year while a few have previously had a cup of coffee with a professional team or two. Less than half of the group has registered a statistic during the regular season or playoffs. These are all true long shots.
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90. Alex Hale
Position: kicker
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
When the Packers first brought aboard Alex Hale, they had yet to identify their kicker for the 2024 season. At that time, the roster featured former draft pick Anders Carlson and veteran journeyman Greg Joseph, the two main candidates for the job. Hale technically had the opportunity to win the job as well. However, given his late arrival to training camp -- Green Bay didn't sign him until Aug. 7 -- Hale seemed far more likely to end up as a practice-squad project.
Indeed, the Packers have treated Hale as such. They designated him as their international player not long after signing him, cutting Nigerian pass rusher Kenneth Odumegwu in order to do so. Hale spent the entire 2024 season honing his craft on the practice squad, staying there even through the tumultuous kicking tenure of Brayden Narveson. With Green Bay now seemingly set at the position with veteran Brandon McManus, Hale's path to the 53-man roster looks blocked again.
Perhaps the team will keep him around for further development. However, it remains unclear if the coaching staff wants to run back that plan for a second year.
89. Brant Banks
Position: offensive lineman
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2025)
The Packers spent a sizable part of the offseason bolstering their offensive line. In free agency, they signed veteran Aaron Banks to a lucrative multiyear contract, allowing Elgton Jenkins to slide over to center. During the draft, they added Anthony Belton in the second round and then spent a late-round pick on project John Williams. Combined with last year's first-round investment in Jordan Morgan and an expected extension for Zach Tom, the unit should have talent and depth for the foreseeable future.
For an undrafted free agent like Brant Banks, that doesn't leave a lot of obvious opportunities to carve out a niche. Though the Packers have found UDFA gems along the offensive line in the past, the cards look stacked against such players in 2025. Banks would have to outperform the likes of Travis Glover and Kadeem Telfort, two players who each appeared in a playoff game last season, as well as projects like Jacob Monk and Donovan Jennings, who offer more apparent upside and positional versatility.
At 6-foot-7, Banks offers size that few other offensive linemen on the Packers possess. At least right now, that seems like his only advantage, and he'll face plenty of competition just to flirt with the second-team unit.
88. Isaiah Dunn
Position: cornerback
How acquired: street free agent (2025)
The Packers would love for one of their back-of-the-roster defensive backs to emerge as a playable corner. Right now, the roster features only three proven full-time cornerbacks -- Nate Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine -- with the versatile Javon Bullard a capable option in the slot. After that group, Green Bay has a handful of projects all competing for a roster spot.
Isaiah Dunn falls near the back of that particular group. Though he has a handful of NFL snaps under his belt, he hasn't appeared in a game since 2022 and hasn't played on defense since '21. The Packers have made more meaningful investments in Kalen King and Micah Robinson, each a corner selected in the seventh round over the last two drafts. The team also seems higher on Kamal Hadden, a former sixth-round pick who spent much of 2024 on Green Bay's practice squad.
87. Omar Brown
Position: defensive back
How acquired: street free agent (2024)
Like Dunn, Omar Brown faces an uphill battle to earn a job. Unlike Dunn, Brown has spent a little more time in Green Bay, having spent most of 2024 on the Packers' practice squad and even seeing some limited action in two games late in the season.
Still, the Packers don't have much invested in Brown, who worked behind a handful of back-of-roster defensive backs during organized-team activities and mandatory minicamp. Brown could carve out a role on special teams, but the same could also apply to his main competition.
86. Trey Hill
Position: offensive lineman
How acquired: street free agent (2025)
Trey Hill has seen a little NFL action, though none of it suggests he will become a significant part of the Packers' roster moving forward. He played a handful of snaps at center in 2021 and '22 for the Cincinnati Bengals, owners of one of the weaker offensive lines in the league during most of that stretch. Hill has subsequently appeared only on special teams.
In Green Bay, Hill will have to show improved play and versatility in order to have any shot at a job. Given the investments that the Packers have made in other players in his position group, it doesn't seem likely that they view Hill as a real candidate for a spot on the 53-man roster or practice squad.
T-84. Jalen White
Position: running back
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2025)
The Packers made their big investments at running back a year ago. Last offseason, they signed Josh Jacobs to take over as the lead rusher and drafted MarShawn Lloyd in the third round to provide some juice to the ground game. Jacobs more than justified his cost, producing 1,671 yards and 16 touchdowns from scrimmage. Lloyd effectively redshirted due to hamstring trouble and a subsequent appendectomy. Still, Green Bay expects Lloyd to return healthy in Year 2 and battle for the No. 2 job.
Accordingly, the Packers didn't have much to offer any rookie running backs in 2025. The top undrafted free agents at the position passed them over, a notable change from past years which saw the likes of Tyler Goodson sign on with the team. The undrafted ball carriers who did pick Green Bay this time around don't appear to have the upside to make much of a dent in the depth chart.
Jalen White, a Georgia Southern product, possesses decent size (6-foot, 205 pounds) and some juice (7.73 Relative Athletic Score, 1.56-second 10-yard split). But in a backfield where the other players offer more, that simply doesn't seem like enough.
T-84. J.J. Lippe
Position: offensive lineman
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2025)
Another rookie offensive lineman in the Packers' 2025 UDFA class, J.J. Lippe has experience playing all five positions at Northern Illinois. However, it seems he'll compete mostly at guard in Green Bay, at least at first.
Lippe's versatility does offer some appeal, and he has decent size for an offensive lineman (6-foot-5, 302 pounds). However, his athletic ceiling comes in lower than other players in the position group (5.67 RAS), and the team has more or less stacked the deck against an undrafted free agent like him making the roster in 2025. Lippe might have a path to a spot on the practice squad, but even that seems dicey given the aforementioned logjam.
83. Johnny Lumpkin
Position: tight end
How acquired: street free agent (2024)
The Packers don't look as stacked at tight end as the offensive line, but neither position group lacks for intriguing options. In addition to starter Tucker Kraft and former second-round pick Luke Musgrave, the roster features multiple tight ends with meaningful regular-season and playoff experience in Ben Sims and John FitzPatrick. Green Bay also returns Messiah Swinson, an undrafted free agent who spent most of 2024 on the practice squad.
For a journeyman like Johnny Lumpkin, the depth at tight end looks harrowing. Save for an injury, trade, or suspension, the top of the position looks set. Lumpkin also will open training camp behind Sims, FitzPatrick, and likely Swinson, and he turns 28 shortly before Week 1. His runway doesn't appear to line up as well with Green Bay's trajectory as the others at his position.
82. James Ester
Position: defensive lineman
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
James Ester represents one of the first significant disagreements between Peter and me. While neither of us had the former undrafted defensive lineman highly rated overall, Peter placed him second-to-last in his rankings while I placed him above the roster long shots.
Part of my rationale for ranking Ester higher stems from the Packers' time commitment to him in 2024. He spent all of last season on the practice squad and then signed a futures contract to remain in Green Bay soon thereafter. Ester's size (6-foot-3, 289 pounds) and collegiate production (six sacks and 13 tackles for loss over his final two years at Northern Illinois) suggest he has something worth developing.
Still, Ester does face an uphill climb to remain in Green Bay for 2025. The Packers added multiple interior defensive linemen to the roster this offseason, including draft pick Warren Brinson and priority free agent Nazir Stackhouse. Ester has some knowledge advantages over those two rookies, but he'll need to show more to stick around past final cuts.