2026 Packers roster ranking, 30-21: Core players with the chance to carve out key roles
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 group looks at a slew of young players and key veteran free agents with a chance to establish themselves as central to what the Packers do in 2026 and beyond
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30. Tyrod Taylor
Position: quarterback
How acquired: unrestricted free agent (2026)
After the Packers let Malik Willis walk in free agency this offseason, they added a player in Tyrod Taylor who once followed a similar trajectory. Taylor, who turns 37 in August, earned the nickname T-Mobile for his ability to make plays with his legs. He’s also a smooth thrower who can play with touch and accuracy to all fields.
Although Taylor can’t move like he used to, he’s always taken care of the football, which is what a backup quarterback has to be able to do if Jordan Love misses time. And unfortunately for the Packers, that has been a theme of the season each of the last two years, though he only involuntarily missed one game last season after being knocked out of the second Chicago Bears game on a questionable hit from Austin Booker.
Taylor can no longer handle the type of zone-read offense the Packers could deploy with Willis because his athleticism has waned, but he can be a caretaker of this offense, letting Matt LaFleur do what he does best.
T-28. Luke Musgrave
Position: tight end
How acquired: second-round pick (2023)
On the flip side, athleticism has never been the problem for Luke Musgrave, at least not his speed for his size. Musgrave came into the NFL as a premier size/speed athlete at the tight end position, drawing rare rookie raves from LaFleur as early as spring ball back in 2023.
Musgrave started from Day 1, showing off his ability to stretch the seam and make difficult catches. But his struggles as a blocker, coupled with injuries, allowed Tucker Kraft to steal his starting job and supplant him as a core player in the passing game.
When Kraft went down last year, the Packers tried to use Musgrave once again as a vertical weapon, but his inefficiency as a blocker became too big a problem to overcome. With Kraft returning, Musgrave can resume his rightful role as TE2 and someone who has to do just enough as a blocker to survive.
There’s still plenty of potential here, but Musgrave appears to be capped out as a pass-catching secondary tight end despite his size and strength.
T-28. Brenton Cox Jr.
Position: edge
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2023)
If Brenton Cox Jr. could ever stay healthy, he may have already earned a starting job. In 2024, Cox showed the most pass rush juice on the roster, but only managed to stay on the field for seven games.
Still, he had 17 pressures in just 97 pass rush reps. That 17.5% pressure rate led the team. But he’s not just some designated pass rusher. Cox plays with physicality and ruggedness that belies his size. That’s not to say he’s some Maxx Crosby-level run defender — he’s not — but if he could stay healthy, he’s an impact edge player who has the skills to beat players currently getting more hype around the defense right now.
Don’t forget about him.
27. Savion Williams
Position: wide receiver
How acquired: third-round draft pick (2025)
When Jordan Love speaks about his receivers, listen. Love brought up Savion Williams multiple times this spring as a player he’s looking to be a more impactful part of the offense in 2026. Injuries and a crowded depth chart precluded Williams from making the kind of dent in the target share most third-round picks would get.
But when he was on the field, usually LaFleur was designing a touch specifically for him, whether that was as a wildcat quarterback or a receiver screen player.
Whether or not Savion Williams plays running back, as Jason has suggested, LaFleur has shown he will be inventive with the ways he gets Williams involved, but in order for the former top-100 pick to ingratiate himself fully into this offense, he will have to show he can play the boundary as a receiver. With the reps streamlined following the departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, Williams now has a more straightforward path to playing time.
The physical skillset is obvious, but the actual skills are more opaque. He has to clear them up this season.
26. Chris McClellan
Position: defensive lineman
How acquired: third-round pick (2026)
After Brian Gutekunst traded up for Chris McClellan in the third round, he immediately started in base defense during spring practices. While half-speed reps in shorts don’t tell us much about the quality of trench players, their placement speaks loudly about what the Packers think McClellan can do this season.
Nazir Stackhouse and McClellan are the only true nose tackle bodies on the roster currently, and Stackhouse did not look like an NFL player last season. That opens the door for McClellan to come in as a base run defender for Jonathan Gannon’s new-look odd front defense.
Last year, teams bled the Packers on the ground to limit Love’s possession and keep Micah Parsons out of third-and-must-pass situations. In order to maximize both the offense and the pass rush, McClellan has to live up to those expectations and help stabilize a run defense that struggled once again in 2025.
25. Brandon Cisse
Position: cornerback
How acquired: second-round pick (2026)
Somehow, the perfect developmental cornerback fell into the Packers’ lap. Brandon Cisse already does the things well that keep rookie cornerbacks off the field: he was one of the best tackling cornerbacks in college football at South Carolina. And he’s not just some try-hard grit player.
Cisse runs 4.4 with a 41’’ vertical jump. And he only just turned 21 earlier this month despite playing four years of college football.
He has to improve his recognition and awareness in coverage, but he has the explosive click-and-close burst to close down space in off coverage and the speed to turn and run in man coverage or man-match.
Cisse saw some reps with the 1s in the spring, and the arrival of a new defensive staff provides a chance for him to earn a legitimate shot to start despite some veterans standing in his way on the depth chart.
24. Benjamin St-Juste
Position: cornerback
How acquired: unrestricted free agent (2026)
The L.A. Chargers acquired Benjamin St-Juste as a veteran flyer to help an ailing secondary. He ended up being the best corner on the team and Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded zone cornerback last season.
The Packers signed the former top-75 draft pick to a three-year $30 million deal, a hint that St-Juste will be a presumed starter come training camp. Considering the investment at the position with St-Juste and Cisse, it’s fair to assume all the boundary cornerback spots are up for grabs.
LaFleur has no problem rotating players on either side of the ball either, and gave Nate Hobbs a shot to win his job back from Carrington Valentine after an injury kept Hobbs out to start the season. Valentine ultimately kept his job, but he didn’t do nearly enough to feel secure in his spot.
23. Anthony Belton
Position: offensive lineman
How acquired: second-round pick (2025)
There’s no player who more directly represents the Packers’ push toward bigger, power-centric offensive linemen than Anthony Belton.
“I just think it's his style of play,” LaFleur said of Belton.
“He's a mauler, and he does a great job. I love the way he plays the game”
The PFF grades don’t reflect play style, and while Belton had inconsistencies in the passing game, he was playing a position he’d never even practiced until the Packers desperately needed him to play.
Now, with a full offseason to prepare for his transition to guard, Belton can settle into a position. He was solid filling in for Zach Tom, though a brutal penalty cost the Packers a touchdown on one of the best throws of Jordan Love’s career, the play that cost Jayden Reed half a season with a broken collarbone.
Still, Belton has as much potential as any offensive lineman currently on the Packers roster and could develop into a stalwart.
22. Karl Brooks
Position: defensive lineman
How acquired: sixth-round pick (2023)
After a promising rookie season, Karl Brooks failed to take the step forward many predicted in 2024. Part of that stemmed from having to play undersized nose tackle as Green Bay asked Kenny Clark to do more pass rushing from a traditional three-technique alignment. Brooks just isn’t built for that type of play.
That problem compounded when the team traded Clark last season in the Parsons deal because not only did Brooks have to once again play some nose tackle, but when he wasn’t playing the nose, it was even-more-undersized Colby Wooden playing that spot, and between the two of them, they couldn’t hold up consistently inside.
Brooks is best as an interior disruptor, someone who can beat blocks and get upfield. This defense is perfectly suited to his skillset, and despite the arrival of Javon Hargrave and McClellan, that overlap could result in the best season of Brooks’ career.
Green Bay might need it with Parsons out and no proven edge rushers on the roster. It may be up to the interior rush to carry the day while they wait for their superstar to return.
21. Lukas Van Ness
Position: edge
How acquired: first-round pick (2023)
For the Packers to reach a championship-caliber defense, this ranking has to end up looking bad in a few months. With Parsons expected to be out into October, there isn’t an edge player on the team with more than two career NFL starts.
Barryn Sorrell and Cox got a token start in Week 18 last year, and they still have half as many career starts as Van Ness, who was stuck behind Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare, as well as Parsons last season.
The fact that Van Ness couldn’t beat out Enagbare earlier speaks to his lack of polish coming out of Iowa, as well as his inability to stay healthy. Still, he was in the midst of the best month of his career to open the 2025 season before he broke his hand on a sack of Joe Flacco.
Until Parsons gets back, he has to play like a guy worthy of a first-round pick. The Packers season, and Van Ness’ career, may ultimately depend on whether or not he can.