2026 Packers roster ranking, 10-1: The current and nascent stars in Green Bay

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 order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance 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 is the slate. It’s the best players on the Packers, some of them fighting for respect as the best at their position and others already stamped as elite playmakers.

10. Jayden Reed

Position: wide receiver
How acquired: second-round pick (2023)

Clearly, the Packers agree with our rankings because they extended Jayden Reed with a three-year $50.25 million deal that pays him annually only slightly less than Romeo Doubs got in the offseason market.

They chose between Doubs and Reed, with Reed coming out on top despite an injured, beleaguered season between a foot injury to open the year and a collarbone break that kept the Packers star slot out half the season.

“You guys see how we’ve used him in the past in regards to moving him all over the place,” LaFleur said as Reed returned from injury last season.

“There’s a lot of things that he brings to our team just in regard to—he’s a YAC machine. He really does a really good job whether it’s handing him the ball, flipping him a screen, getting him downfield in a pass concept.”

Green Bay schemes Reed to get more touches than any receiver on the roster since he’s been in the league. When the Packers face zone coverage, Reed has been their go-to killer, someone able to break down underneath coverage or stretch it vertically. With Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out, expect Reed to get even more chances this season.

9. Evan Williams

Position: safety
How acquired: fifth-round draft pick (2023)

Outside of another player coming up on this list, Evan Williams has a case as the most underrated player on the Packers. He immediately thrived as a rookie in training camp, despite the perception that the fifth-round draft capital used on him was a reach.

Williams was the only defensive back last season who didn’t appear to be allergic to catching the ball; he defends the run from depth as well as any safety in football, and he’s a cerebral player who sees plays even before they happen. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best run defender at the position last season.

If there’s one knock on Williams, it’s the high number of missed tackles, but one of the reasons for that is that he gets into positions to make tackles most safeties would not be able to make.

Williams deserved Pro Bowl consideration last year, and not even getting a vote in ESPN’s safety rankings was a joke. Along with Xavier McKinney, who is coming up on this list, Williams is part of one of the best spines in any defense in the NFL.

And if you don’t believe me, before the fateful Wild Card game against the Chicago Bears, Jeff Hafley declared, “He’ll be one of the best safeties in this league.”