Today, let’s talk about how we see the 2026 offseason playing out. To set the table, we’ll take a position-by-position look at the roster and identify where the team needs bodies the most. I think I’ve seen Green Bay packers fans cut or trade every player on the team at various points already, so I want some sort of guardrail that goes beyond just claiming that the team needs to hit some mythical “make every player on the two-deep a Pro Bowler” button.
For what it’s worth, I’m going to work under
the assumption that the Packers will be playing a 3-4 defense until we’re told otherwise.
Quarterbacks
- Jordan Love
- Malik Willis (UFA)
- Demond Ridder
- Kyle McCord
Green Bay needs to replace Willis, but they covered their butts by signing Ridder and McCord late in the 2025 season. Maybe they’ll draft someone to push them, but it’s hard to get four quarterbacks reps in modern spring and summer camps.
Running Backs
- Josh Jacobs
- MarShawn Lloyd
- Chris Brooks (RFA)
- Emanuel Wilson (RFA)
- Pierre Strong Jr.
- Damien Martinez
I still think the team really wants to make Lloyd work and will give him a 53-man roster spot if he’s healthy in 2026. Generally, Green Bay only keeps three backs, so their activity in the first five rounds of the draft at this position will likely depend on whether Brooks or Wilson is retained (doubtful they’ll be tendered, but could sign back with the team once they hit UFA).
Receivers
- Christian Watson
- Romeo Doubs (UFA)
- Jayden Reed
- Matthew Golden
- Dontayvion Wicks
- Bo Melton (ERFA)
- Savion Williams
- Jakobie Keeney-James
- Will Sheppard
- Isaiah Neyor
The Packers got ahead of the expected Doubs loss last year when they spent two top-100 selections on Golden and Williams. I could see Green Bay simply rostering the following six receivers and calling it a day: Watson, Reed, Golden, Wicks, Melton and Williams.
Tight Ends
- Tucker Kraft
- Luks Musgrave
- John FitzPatrick (UFA)
- Josh Whyle (RFA)
- Drake Dabney
- McCallan Castles
- Messiah Swinson
The third tight end role is a question mark, especially with FitzPatrick coming off an Achilles injury. The team might re-sign Whyle after they choose to decline his tender. If they don’t, this could be a need going into draft week.
Offensive Linemen
- Rasheed Walker (UFA)
- Aaron Banks
- Elgton Jenkins (likely cap casualty)
- Sean Rhyan (UFA)
- Zach Tom
- Jordan Morgan
- Anthony Belton
- Darian Kinnard (RFA)
- Travis Glover
- Jacob Monk
- Donovan Jennings (ERFA)
- John Williams
- Lecitus Smith (ERFA)
- Brant Banks
- Dalton Cooper
- Karsen Barnhart
Green Bay likes to have 10 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, but there are some moving parts here. I think they like their top 10 offensive linemen enough that they’re near roster locks going into 2026, if they make the team, but Walker and Jenkins are highly likely to play for another team next year and Rhyan and Kinnard are toss-ups. They could need two to four players at the position, with those players mostly being asked to be depth pieces. Beyond the center position, which could be filled with an extension of Rhyan, the four remaining projected starters for the 2026 team (Morgan, Banks, Belton and Tom) are on multi-year contracts already.
Defensive Linemen
- Devonte Wyatt
- Colby Wooden
- Karl Brooks
- Warren Brinson
- Jordon Riley
- Jonathan Ford (RFA)
- Nazir Stackhouse
- James Ester
- Anthony Campbell
- Jaden Crumedy
- Dante Barnett
There are already six players who played up on the Packers’ 53-man roster who will come back on the interior defensive line for Green Bay in 2026. To me, this is a position where the team needs to take a big swing on a starting nose tackle or just sit the market out, considering where their numbers are at this position relative to the rest of the roster. I doubt Ford will be back, and the big question is what Riley will look like after his torn Achilles. Among the top under-contract defensive linemen, Riley’s seat is probably the hottest, despite him playing better than Stackhouse last year.
Outside Linebackers
- Micah Parsons
- Rashan Gary (likely cap casualty)
- Lukas Van Ness
- Kingsley Enagbare (UFA)
- Barryn Sorrell
- Brenton Cox Jr. (RFA)
- Arron Mosby (RFA)
- Collin Oliver
This position has a bunch of moving parts, so it’s going to be hard to figure out which direction the team will go. What does help is that the team spent two mid-round selections at the position in 2025 in Sorrell and Oliver, which should make moving on from Gary, Enagbare and Cox easier. Mosby is really a special-teams-only player, and he was only on the 53-man roster from Week 10 on.
Inside Linebackers
- Quay Walker (UFA)
- Edgerrin Cooper
- Isaiah McDuffie
- Ty’Ron Hopper
- Nick Niemann (UFA)
- Kristian Welch (UFA)
- Jamon Johnson
If the Packers do move back to a 3-4 defense, it’s going to be hard for them to keep more than four off-ball linebackers on the roster consistently. That could mean the end of the special teams ace role for the fifth linebacker, a role that Niemann filled in 2025. Cooper, McDuffie, Hopper and Johnson may make up the team’s unit in 2026, but they probably want to add some competition here, assuming Walker leaves in free agency.
Cornerbacks
- Keisean Nixon
- Nate Hobbs
- Carrington Valentine
- Kamal Hadden (ERFA)
- Shemar Bartholomew
- Jaylin Simpson
- Tyron Herring
I’m treating Bo Melton as a receiver until he actually plays a defensive snap in a regular-season game. Green Bay should return four cornerbacks who were on the 53-man roster consistently last year, depending on how Hadden recovers from his ankle injury. I could easily see the team adding two rookies at the position to help push Nixon, Hobbs and Valentine in camp. The team also needs contracts for the 2027 season, since Nixon and Valentine are both on expiring deals and there’s a real chance that Hobbs could be a cap casualty by that point.
Safeties
- Xavier McKinney
- Evan Williams
- Javon Bullard
- Zayne Anderson (UFA)
- Kitan Oladapo
- Johnathan Baldwin
- Mark Perry
Anderson would have been a prime candidate to return on something like a one-year minimum salary contract with a $500,000 signing bonus, but he injured his ankle in Week 17. Depending on his injury and what the team’s roster construction will look like under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, the team could be in the market for a fifth safety.
Specialists
- K Brandon McManus
- K Lucas Havrisik
- P Daniel Whelan
- LS Matt Orzech
I’m not sure I would make too much of general manager Brian Gutekunst’s press conference this week, but he did go out of his way to praise McManus’ 2025 season. I bet that the team doesn’t do much to push him other than having Havrisik kick in camp this summer.
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Personally, I think cornerback and the offensive line are the positions where Green Bay simply needs volume, because of how their contracts at those positions are set up. I think nose tackle is also a need, but they need to get a starter or bow out. There’s no point in adding depth when they already have rosterable bodies at the position, which they can’t say about other spots on their depth chart. I’d say those are the team’s three biggest needs going into the offseason.
Drop what you think about the team in the comment section below!
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