The Green Bay Packers officially started training camp on Monday, as the team practiced for the first time this summer and held their annual Shareholders Meeting. The big news out of the early part of camp is quarterback Jordan Love waiting to start practicing until he signs his new contract, but there appears to be no concern or worry about the deal getting done from any parties.
As the Packers move on to their second day of practice on Tuesday, we at Acme Packing Company will continue our countdown of the top players on the team’s roster, as voted on by our contributing writers. Today we move on to players 20 through 16, a group that includes three members of the team’s 2023 draft class who are heading into their second seasons with the team, as well as the team’s oldest, most grizzled veteran.
Impressively, it is a sixth-round pick from last year’s class who earns the highest spot in this grouping, ahead of a pair of players who were drafted in the first 50 picks.
#20: Romeo Doubs, WR
It’s perhaps a bit surprising that Doubs is the first (and therefore lowest-ranked) of the Packers’ top four wideouts to show up on this countdown. Entering his third season, he has more production than any other wideout on the roster, and his eight touchdown catches last season tied Jayden Reed for the team high.
To be sure, Doubs has carved out a role as a contested catch and possession receiver. But perhaps the biggest reasons for him being ranked below three other wideouts on this roster are his ceiling and his drops. Doubs dropped six balls last season (according to Pro Football Reference), three more than any other Packers wide receiver. He also averaged a paltry 2.3 yards after the catch, a pretty rough number compared to the others (Reed and Dontayvion Wicks were over 5, while Christian Watson averaged nearly 4). That helped lead to Doubs averaging the fewest overall yards per catch of the team’s top wideouts at just 11.4, and his catch rate of 61.5% significantly trailed Wicks and Reed (both over 67%).
To be sure, Doubs is a competent receiver and a valuable threat in the red zone. He also stepped up with massive playoff performances. But when it comes to his ceiling, he just doesn’t seem to match up with the other receivers on the roster, hence his 20th-place ranking. Interestingly, Doubs had a huge swing in his placement on our lists, ranking as high as 11th and as low as 24th.
#19: Lukas Van Ness, DE
In Van Ness, the Packers have a second-year player who is a bit the opposite of Doubs: not a lot of production (yet) but a sky-high ceiling. Although he played only about a third of the Packers’ defensive snaps last season, Van Ness delivered four sacks, four additional tackles for loss, and ten QB hits, flashing massive potential as a pass-rusher.
Much like Rashan Gary before him, Van Ness’ athletic ability is off the charts, but he was brought along slowly as a rookie. This year, he should be poised for a big breakout as he takes some more snaps from Preston Smith and gets to focus on pinning his ears back and rushing the passer. Van Ness’ votes were also spread out widely, spanning from 11th through 23rd.
#18: Luke Musgrave, TE
Unfortunately for Musgrave, his rookie season was cut short by a lacerated kidney, which caused him to miss six games. Prior to that injury, he was the team’s unquestioned number 1 tight end, having played over two-thirds of the offensive snaps in every game he started and finished. He was a prominent receiving weapon early in the season as well, catching three or more passes in six games, but much of that work asked him to make catches in space and run after the catch, which was not exactly his strength. His biggest play in the regular season was a perfect touchdown up the seam against the Rams on a delayed route, a play that allowed him to show off his speed and size.
Musgrave’s late-season absence allowed fellow rookie Tucker Kraft to break out. But in the Packers’ two postseason games, fans got to see flashes of what the team could do with both Musgrave and Tucker Kraft together, and it was exciting. Musgrave’s Y-leak touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card game was a Shanahan tree staple, and one that used 12 personnel to get one of the tight ends wide-open for a big play.
The pair will be exciting to watch together and although Musgrave may not be as complete a tight end as Kraft, who is a better blocker, he is poised for a big season as a receiving weapon.
#17: Preston Smith, DE
After discussing a handful of young players, we come to the oldest player on the Packers’ roster. Smith is heading into his tenth NFL season and his sixth in Green Bay. He now has at least eight sacks in three straight seasons and four of five with the Packers, though his snap counts dipped just a bit due to the Packers having better depth on the edge than in prior years. With Van Ness coming along and Kingsley Enagbare healthy and able to help out in the rotation, Smith might see his snap count tick down a bit more this season to help keep him fresh as he turns 32 in November.
Still, he remains a consummate professional and has missed just one game in his career due to injury. That consistent availability is critically valuable, and he remains a productive player as a pass-rusher as well as an edge-setter. Smith adjusted his contract this offseason by converting some of his money into incentives, but if he stays a bit more fresh, he can still be a significant force as he moves back to a 4-3 end role for the first time since early in his career.
#16: Karl Brooks, DT
Perhaps the first true shock in the mid-teens, Brooks exploded onto the scene last season as a rotational pass-rushing defensive tackle. After a college career at Bowling Green that saw him used in nearly every possible position along the defensive line, Brooks was snubbed from the 2023 Combine then put up a Pro Day workout that was less impressive than expected.
Those perceived issues dropped Brooks into the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but the Packers appear to have gotten a steal. As a rookie, he settled in as a 3-tech and delivered four sacks in under 400 defensive snaps. Now that the Packers are switching defensive schemes to a more aggressive front, he should have more opportunities to rush the passer in a rotation with Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt.
If you get some Mike Daniels vibes from Brooks, you’re not alone. Brooks is a bit taller than Daniels, who was also a day-three draft pick, but the two have a somewhat similar body types and similar motors as pass-rushers. Brooks is even running ahead of Daniels’ production in their rookie years, and if he can develop into a similarly impactful pass-rusher, he’ll continue to climb this list in the next few years. One added bonus: Brooks is great at getting his hands up at the line when he does not get to the quarterback, as he added four pass breakups in the regular season.
Stay tuned as we reveal our rankings of players 15 through 11 on Wednesday!
