When it comes time for the Green Bay Packers to complete their 53-man roster, will they keep five or six defensive players?
Part of the roster construction equation the Packers will face when they make final cuts in slow August is how many players to keep at each position. The ultimate goal is to keep the best players, but putting eight receivers, for example, in there isn’t realistic either.
As we look at the Packers’ final roster, one position that could be shortchanged is defensive end, where a decision will need to be made whether to keep five or six players.
For now, we know that the lineup will include Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams and Kitan Oladapo. I know we haven’t seen Oladapo in action yet, but he’s someone who can contribute immediately on special teams and, long term, is capable of filling both a “free safety and strong safety role” who can also play as a “linebacker” large nickel Sam,” as GM Brian Gutekunst put it.
That’s four roster spots. Given the development of the program this offseason, which saw Anthony Johnson see action with the starters while Bullard and Williams got acclimated, it seems like he, too, is primed for a roster spot, especially considering he’s starting to see a role in the special teams series in the second half of the 2023 season.
If the Packers are going to keep their sixth safety, the battle could come down to either Zayne Anderson or Benny Sapp. Given the depth ahead of them, the deciding factor in who gets a roster spot will be the special teams play, as that is where their impact will have to come from.
Anderson has played 152 special teams snaps since Week 9 and last season, while Sapp has played 40 special teams snaps in the five games he has appeared in. Anderson has been dynamic in the playoff games, while Sapp has not.
We’ve seen the Packers do this in the past by committing to the safety position, even if they didn’t start with six on their initial 53-man roster. A good example of this was the 2022 season, when the Packers initially had five safeties but averaged 5.47 safeties dynamic on game day during the season and 5.71 safeties on their 53-man plus elevated rosters each week, according to Ken Ingalls.
But never mind that every year is different, the Packers didn’t have six running backs on their original lineup during the Matt LaFleur era.
The challenge of playing such a bulky position means you have to play lightly elsewhere. Perhaps that means having just five cornerbacks or four defensive ends on the roster.
And when it comes to those positions on the roster where special teams play is key, Anderson and Sapp not only compete with each other, but with other position groups as well. They will have to show that they can add more value to this unit than linebacker Kristian Welch or cornerbacks Robert Rochell and Kalen King.
The potential challenge that Anderson and Sapp will face in their own position group is that McKinney, Bullard and Williams likely dominate defensive snaps, and the two main special teams players in Johnson and Oladapo are already at the safety positions.
The point is, if I haven’t already said it, Anderson and Sapp have to be really good at being a team player and be able to play in several different phases of the game.
