Beast Mock 53 Man Roster
STs make the bottom of this roster tough to guess as it probably comes to coaches or GM personal feelings on a guy. Also, could we potentially see a couple of trades? Maybe Nijman, Newman, Hollins or one of the Punters?
IR: TE Davis
PUP: Stokes
OffenseQB (2): Love, Clifford (2)
RB (3): Jones, Dillon, Taylor (5)
WR (7): Watson, Doubs, Reed, Health, Toure, Wicks, DuBose (12)
TE/FB (3): Musgrave, Deguara, Kraft (15)
OT (5): Bakhtiari, Tom, Walker, Nijman, Jones (20)
IOL (4) Jenkins, Runyan, Meyers, Rhyan (24)
Defense DT (2): Clark, Slaton (2)
DE (3): Wyatt, Wooden, Brooks (5)
OLB (6): Gary, Smith, Van Ness, Enagbare, Hollins, Cox (11)
ILB (5): Campbell, Walker, McDuffie, Wilson, Mosby (16)
S (5): Savage, Ford, Johnson, Owens, Moore (21)
CB (5) Alexander, Douglas, Nixon, Valentine, Ballentine (26)
Special TeamsST (3):
K: Carlson
P: O’Donnell
LS: Orzech
==============================
Just MissedNo real order, but I think they'll mostly be looking at STs list this far down the roster. I keep wanting to add Leavitt and Thomas
STs:
S Leavitt (Trusted Veteran ST leader)
CB Thomas (Versatility on D and STs)
P Whelan (Leg Connon)
FB Pearson (Versatility mostly STs)
WR Melton (Kick Return/Coverage Specialist)
TE Allen (6'8", long, kick team edge blocker)
Offense:
RB Goodson (RB/WR tweener)
RB Wilson (Great Runner)
OG Newman (Upside talent but mental errors)
(C Hanson if we're talking about PS additions)
Defense:
NT Ford (Potential more upside to develop)
OLB Banks (Good run defense)
ILB Carpenter (Former Safety, athletic LB)
DB Gains (Physical backup Slot)
==============================
Position Thoughts:QB: I think they're locked in
RB: Taylor gets the last spot due to versatility, especially STs, where the others are great at one thing, but not as well rounded.
WR: Gute doesn't like giving up on Potential, and these WRs have good potential, though maybe try to sneak DuBose to the PS? But in recent years Gute has basically redshirted draft picks, keeping them all on the 53 man roster their first year. While there are too many to do that this year, I think they could still do it some and DuBose looks more undeveloped than others, but also higher potential if he can develop it.
TE/FB: The top 3 are locked in, I think the Packers would like another for STs, and FB Pearson has played a TON of STs, but at least according to PFF hasn't graded well in them, but maybe the ST coach has a different opinion. Also there is the huge and long TE Allen, but I think he might need more development. Also LaFleaur says they have talked about using an OT as a TE in certain packages, which makes me think they might be light at TE. Packers surely keep an eye open for whom might become available here.
OL: Could they try to trade Nijman or Newman? Recently they have seemed more interested in Walker than Nijman. Newman has higher ceilings potential BUT he's not playing to that potential, and more years in the league, the more mental mistakes he seems to make. I wonder if another team would take a chance on Newman and give up a late pick. Also I wouldn't be surprised if we see C Hanson back on the PS.
DT: Honestly I'm nervous here, both with keeping only one NT in Slaton (as they have had Clark focusing on DE) but also with the groups focusing solely on pass rush and not always looking good enough in the run defense. Strong OL with play callers willing to run the ball all day might give them hell. But I'm not sure if keeping NT Ford changes any of these concerns. They surely look at NT available.
DE: I feel like this group is locked, especially with Clark focusing here, and rumors that Van Ness will be getting some snaps here in certain packages as well.
OLB: The big question here is do they keep all 6? I think 6 have earned spots if they have enough room, but do they fele they have enough room? With Gary out, Hollins has been mostly been used as a starter, but that potential could be because we're going more towards the Rams scheme and Hollins from the Rams scheme knows it. Also Hollins was just a FA, and resigned for cheap, so other teams might not want him. There is also Cox, whom teams didn't want due to kicked out of two top college, but he has the potential to make a 53, especially on a cheap UDFA Rookie contract.
ILB: I dislike keeping 5 ILBers, especially since too often #3 rarely sees the field, even with Campbell getting injured, they went to a DB instead of the next LB. BUT... ST coaches disagree with me, and often use the backup ILBers as key STers, and that's exactly why I have Wilson and Mosby there. The best LBers on ST this preseason according to PFF. Wilson has seemed locked, but veteran contract could work against him if cheaper options become available. Mosley is technically listed as an OLB, but his previous team looked at him at both spots, and really I just have him making it for STs, and OLB is already overloaded.
S: Whom knows what they're doing here... seems like Savage and Ford are the starters despite them trying hard to find someone to bench Ford. Johnson seems to be holding his own, despite being a rookie among veterans and has 4 years on his cheap contract to everyone else's 1 more expensive year. Based on this roster, Owens might be the backup Nickel, as Gaines and Jean-Charles aren't on it. Then the last Safety spot is anyone guess, some love Moore due to his explosive potential.. but he's also gotten banged up more than others. Meanwhile, Leavitt is clearly trusted by the ST coach but is the only one who.. never got a chance for more playing time on defense. I keep going back on forth on Moore and Leavitt. Or potentially could it be neither of them and S/Slot Gaines instead?
CB: The top 4 are locks. At #5 I went with Ballentine because they seem to use him with the #1 team the most of the rest. Also last year, after he got to the main roster, he was playing about 50% of the ST snaps which would of him #5 for ST snaps if he did it all year long. Also should be noted that Thomas has looked pretty good on STs. And Hooper more than held his own in coverage and decent on STs, but mostly against guys that probably aren't in the NFL long. CB Jean-Charles has gotten a ton of the nickel snaps, but was listed as third string behind Nixon and Gaines.
ST: I think the K and LS are locks. But it would be interesting to hear the discussion on Punter. The Veteran with the ball control both with his foot, but also holding ability vs the Rookie with the rocket leg. I think they go with the Veteran, for holding ability, also to show and help the young Kicker on how to be a Pro. As the Punter will be on the field all the times the kicker is (except kickoff, and I don't think they're worried about kickoff.
ST Other: I think they'll certainly be looking for 230+ lb offensive STs with the extra TE/FB open. Packers seem to be keeping bringing in ILBer and DBs for late ST looks.