On the roster: DE Justin Harrell, DE Johnny Jolly, DE Cullen Jenkins, DE Michael Montgomery, DE Ronald Talley, DE Alfred Malone, DE Jarius Wynn, NT Brian Soi, NT B.J. Raji, NT Anthony Toribio, NT Ryan Pickett, NT/DE Dean Muhtadi.
How many theyll keep: 6 or 7.
Best guess (*=starter): LDE Pickett*, NT Raji*, RDE Jenkins*, Jolly, Harrell, Montgomery.
Breakdown: The switch to the 3-4 means the Packers will keep fewer defensive linemen than in past years. With Aaron Kampman and other outside linebackers taking away snaps at end in subpackages, keeping more than six linemen maybe seven if there are injury concerns would be superfluous.
Pickett, Raji, Jenkins and Jolly figure to be in the rotation; how theyre used will be determined in the coming months. Coach Mike McCarthy has said Pickett (6-2, 330) has a chance to win the starting nose tackle job, but the ninth overall draft pick Raji (6-2, 337) is the long-term plan at the position. With Pickett about to hit age 30 and entering a contract year, the torch could be passed sooner than later. Either way, Pickett and Raji both figure to play some left end and nose tackle in the base defense, and Rajis pass-rushing acumen makes him a good bet to play inside in nickel, too.
Jenkins (6-2, 305) is the favorite to start at right end and play inside in nickel, provided he avoids a setback with the torn pec that ended his 2008 season and adjusts well to the new scheme.
Jolly (6-3, 320) was impactful (line-high 82 tackles, five batted passes) but wildly inconsistent last season. He could factor at several spots, including end in base. Beyond those four, nothing is certain.
Harrell (6-4, 320) was the 16th overall pick in 2007 but has played in only 13 games because of a variety of injuries. Hes due $460,000 in base salary, plus a little less than $300,000 in bonuses, so hes not an expensive player to keep if hes healthy but thats a gigantic if. It no longer is too soon for the Packers to cut their losses if his back or something else sidelines him for a chunk of camp.
Montgomery (6-5, 273) received only tepid interest in free agency and returned for a two-year, $2.85 million deal even though he seems a poor fit for the new scheme. His strength is playing the run (71 tackles last season), so hell try to pack on pounds and play end.
Like Montgomery, Wynn (6-3, 277) is on the small side for a 3-4 end, but the Packers selected him in the sixth round out of Georgia because they feel he has the frame to put on weight and fit in the scheme. He only played two seasons of major-college ball and wasnt particularly productive (seven starts, 33 tackles in 26 games), so the Packers might get away with stashing him on the practice squad if he doesnt light it up in training camp.
Malone (6-4, 312) has played in eight games over four NFL seasons with two teams and already is 27 years old; Soi (6-3, 334) and Toribio (6-1, 304) also have spent time with multiple teams, but neither has appeared in a game. All three probably need injuries elsewhere to have a shot at the roster. The same goes for the two undrafted free agents, Delawares Talley (6-3, 282) and Marylands Muhtadi (6-3, 295), a try-hard guy who earned a contract offer with a standout showing at rookie camp.
"packers gazzette.com" wrote: