The 53-man roster for the Green Bay Packers has begun taking shape. Today at 4 p.m. ET was the deadline for teams to get their roster down to the allowed number of players for the regular season.
There are always difficult decisions to make as the coaching staff and front office terminate the employment of players. While there are a lot of unhappy people at the Packers’ headquarters on Tuesday, there will also be some ecstatic people.
Green Bay has seen a number of young players turn in excellent performances. That has led to them moving up the ranks and earning a spot on the team’s initial 53-man roster. Arugbaly the biggest surprise is running back Emanuel Wilson.
The battle for the No. 3 running back spot behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon was expected to be contested by Patrick Taylor, Tyler Goodson and Lew Nichols. But, it was Wilson who shined with excellent performances during the preseason.
He led the NFL with 223 rushing yards, 11 forced missed tackles and five runs of 10 or more yards in the three preseason games. He certainly earned his spot and also broke the news on his Instagram account, via Zach Kruse of Packers Wire.
The second undrafted free agent to make the roster is pass rusher Brenton Cox Jr. Talent-wise, it isn’t a surprise that he made the team. He was a highly productive player in college but was kicked out of Georgia and Florida, raising some red flags.
During the preseason, his skills flashed on the field. He led the Packers with seven pressures and six hurries, two batted balls and one tackle for loss. Green Bay put some faith in him being able to stay out of trouble this summer and commit to football and he accomplished that, earning a spot on the team. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic and Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com shared the update on Cox.
Pass rusher in 2022 was a weakness for the Packers but that no longer seems to be the case. There is a strong group of players now surrounding Rashan Gary as he works his way back from an ACL tear.
Last but not least, the third undrafted rookie to make the 53-man roster should come as little surprise. Wide receiver Malik Heath out of Ole Miss has been catching the attention of people all offseason and it has paid off with a roster spot.
Heath was the team’s most productive receiver during the preseason, catching 12 passes for 146 yards, with eight of those receptions going for first downs. His goal for the season was to become the team’s new goon offensively, which he proved capable of with some strong blocking performances in the run game.
“I think Malik has shown a lot of good things,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after the final preseason game. “Not only catching the football, but the way be blocks has been big time for us. He’s a physical player. And I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to continue to get better, and better, and better.”
Given how well he has performed this offseason, there is a chance that Heath is No. 4 or No. 5 on the Packers’ depth chart at wide receiver. It would not be shocking if he surpassed Samori Toure and Dontayvion Wicks heading into Week 1.
