The Green Bay Packers added 13 players in the 2023 NFL Draft and addressed many of the team’s needs. But of course, as is true in any draft, the new players will be challenging returning players for either starting positions or roster spots.
Keep in mind, the players on this list may or may not lose their roster spots, but their roles on the team and their playing time may be significantly reduced because of the players the team drafted this season.
The list is less definitive this season because the team has moved on from several veterans like Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, Dean Lowry, Adrian Amos and Jarran Reed.
Here are five players who will be fighting for jobs this season after the Packers 2023 NFL Draft:
- QB Danny Etling
Etling spent the 2022 season on the practice squad as the team’s third quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. With Rodgers now playing for the Jets, Etling was the only backup quarterback on the roster prior to the draft.
But the Packers selected Penn State’s Sean Clifford in the fifth round to fight for the backup position.
Clifford would have to be considered the favorite to win the backup spot behind Jordan Love at this point. Etling was drafted by the Patriots in 2018 and has yet to take a snap in an NFL regular season game. He will need another strong preseason to make the team this year although he could spend another season on the practice squad as the third quarterback.
- RB Patrick Taylor
Taylor has played a backup role at running back for the past two seasons. The former Memphis star has carried 33 times for 120 yards and one touchdown while catching three passes for 20 yards. Taylor’s receiving ability and ability to protect the quarterback have helped him stick with the Packers either on the practice squad or the active roster.
The Packers selected Lew Nichols of Central Michigan to compete with Taylor and Tyler Goodson for the third running back spot. Taylor will fight for a roster spot again with Goodson and Nichols with only one at most likely to land on the 53-man roster and another on the practice squad.
- WR Samori Toure
The Packers selected Toure in the seventh round in 2022 and the former Nebraska star caught five passes as a rookie for 82 yards and a touchdown while appearing in 11 games.
Toure will still likely make the roster, but his role could very well be reduced after the Packers added Jayden Reed in the second round. Toure’s chances of being the third wide receiver in this offense this year certainly went down.
Toure will need to carve out a role for himself but even if he makes a second-year jump, the selection of Reed so early in the draft likely makes it tougher for Toure to play a bigger role in the offense barring injuries to players ahead of him on the depth chart.
- Edge Jonathan Garvin
Garvin was a seventh-round pick for the Packers in 2020. He’s been a regular contributor on special teams but has yet to carve out a role on defense at the NFL level.
In three years in the NFL, Garvin has 1.5 total sacks with all of them coming in 2021. Injuries to Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary gave Garvin a chance to take on a bigger role in the defense but he’s yet to prove he’s ready for the job.
The Packers drafted Lukas Van Ness in the first round of this year’s draft one year after adding Kingsley Enagbare on the edge. That leaves very little opportunity for Garvin to contribute on defense. The only way he makes the team would be due to injuries or if he wins a spot due to his contributions on special teams.
- TE Josiah Deguara
Head coach Matt LaFleur was high on Deguara when the Packers drafted him in the third round in 2020 and he has played a variety of roles for the team from tight end to fullback to H-back. The former University of Cincinnati star ended up in Aaron Rodgers’ doghouse last season and has had only limited opportunities to get involved in the passing game as a result.
The Packers added a pair of tight ends with the potential to catch the ball and be part of the downfield passing game in Luke Musgrave in round two and Tucker Kraft in the third round.
While Deguara should continue in his blocking roles as fullback or H-back, his opportunities to get more involved in the passing game have gone down as soon as either Musgrave or Kraft get up to speed and claim their expected roles in the passing game.
Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
Click here for more great Packers coverage
