GREEN BAY, Wis. – What did Saturday's roster moves tell us about the Green Bay Packers?
Let's try to figure that out:
Bad picks: Even at the time, general manager Ted Thompson’s decision to pick defensive tackle Khryi Thornton in the third round of the 2014 draft looked like a reach. The same could be said for Carl Bradford, a fourth-round pick the same year who seemed equally ill-suited to play inside linebacker as he did outside linebacker. At least Thompson didn't multiply his mistake by keeping them around. The fact that neither ever played a down for the Packers is all you need to know about those picks. However, the 2014 draft still could end up being a good one. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (first round), Davante Adams (second), Richard Rodgers (third), Corey Linsley (fifth), Demetri Goodson (sixth) and Jeff Janis (seven) all remain on the team. All but Goodson and Janis are starters.
Offensive line concerns: The coaches must have some concern about the health of the offensive line. Why else keep nine? They haven't kept more than eight on the Week 1 roster since 2010. It could be a sign that one of the starters, perhaps right guard T.J. Lang (concussion), won't be ready for the Sept. 13 opener at Chicago. Tackles Bryan Bulaga (ankle) and David Bakhtiari (knee) and left guard Josh Sitton (ankle) have been banged up as well.
Returning players: Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy must have believed there wasn't a lot of change needed from last year's 12-4 team that lost in the NFC title game. Of the 53 players on the roster, 44 were with the Packers last year in some capacity (roster, practice squad or injured reserve). That number would have been one higher if Jordy Nelson hadn't blown out his knee this preseason. That left room for nine newcomers – seven draft picks (minus only sixth-rounder Christian Ringo from the draft class) plus undrafted rookies Alonzo Harris and LaDarius Gunter.
Still on the bubble: The Packers will have to make another roster move next week if they plan to add defensive end Datone Jones, who is suspended for the regular-season opener. So who's still on the bubble? Unless there's an injury, one of the defensive backs could be in trouble. There are 11 of them currently on the roster. Goodson would seemingly be at the bottom of that depth chart.
Power back: The decision to keep Harris as the No. 3 running back over Rajion Neal and John Crockett suggests that the Packers prefer a more powerful runner. At 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, Harris most closely resembles starter Eddie Lacy (5-11, 234). Neal (5-11, 220) and Crockett (6-0, 217) don't have the same kind of power.
By position: The Packers kept 25 players on offense and 25 on defense plus three specialists. Here's how it broke down by position:
QBs (3): Aaron Rodgers, Scott Tolzien, Brett Hundley
RB (3): Eddie Lacy, James Starks, Alonzo Harris
FB (2): John Kuhn, Aaron Ripkowski
WR (5): Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis, Myles White
TE (3): Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Kennard Backman
OL (9): David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga, Corey Linsley, T.J. Lang, Josh Sitton, Don Barclay, Lane Taylor, JC Tretter, Josh Walker
DL (5): Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji, Mike Pennel, Josh Boyd, Bruce Gaston
LB (9): Sam Barrington, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Mike Neal, Nick Perry, Nate Palmer, Andy Mulumba, Jayrone Elliott, Jake Ryan
DB (11): Morgan Burnett, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Casey Hayward, Sam Shields, Micah Hyde, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, LaDarius Gunter, Chris Banjo, Sean Richardson, Demetri Goodson
ST (3): Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode
