GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers’ healthy starters will play in Saturday night’s preseason opener against the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. How much they do will be determined by the gut feeling of head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst, who will be evaluating the fringe of the 53-man roster perhaps more than those who will play meaningful snaps come Week 1 against the Detroit Lions.
LaFleur has said multiple times in camp that he’s not just looking at splash plays, so what are the more granular aspects of player performance that coaches will be evaluating Saturday night?
“I just think how guys react to every situation, both positively and negatively,” LaFleur said. “If you make a bad play, can you regroup and recover the next play? Just how guys are competing, how they’re running to the football. Just all the little things they’re doing away from the ball are equally as important.”
Reigning first-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney doesn’t expect to play in any preseason game, let alone the opener, because of a calf injury that sidelined him for Thursday’s practice. McKinney said the issue has been lingering and hinted he may not practice for a couple of weeks, but he insisted that he’ll be ready for Week 1.
McKinney doesn’t have anything to prove in exhibition games anyway, but here are 10 players whom I’ll be watching who have more at stake.
Matthew Golden, WR
The Packers’ rookie first-round pick has looked every bit like one. He’s a roster lock, but I’m still eager to watch him in a game after seeing his speed and hands on display during 12 practices. Golden added yet another impressive catch during Thursday’s red zone period when quarterback Jordan Love found him in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Golden made a falling fingertip catch while touching both sets of toes barely inbounds, further backing Gutekunst’s draft-night claim that Golden had arguably the best hands in the draft.
Bo Melton, CB
The converted wide receiver has looked right at home after switching positions this offseason. Melton has even run with the starters, in part because of injuries at cornerback but also because he has held his own on the boundary. Saturday will be Melton’s first game action at his new spot in the NFL. He’s a roster lock, if only for his special teams prowess, but Melton has a chance to show coaches he can be fourth or fifth on the cornerback depth chart, too. Melton said he’s “hyped” to play cornerback in a game and added he has even surprised himself with how quickly he has taken to his new position.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to make tons of plays. I ain’t made a million of them, but I’ve made some plays,” Melton said. “Seeing a route and being able to react quick, that’s what kind of surprised myself. I thought I was going to be a step or two late sometimes. Sometimes you will be, but for the most part, I feel like I’ve been on top of routes … it’s hard but isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
Bo Melton has looked like an NFL cornerback in camp after switching from wide receiver. He’ll play the position in a game for the first time on Saturday.
“I’m hyped now. I ain’t gonna lie.” pic.twitter.com/iv79u9ZhQW
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 7, 2025
Jordan Morgan, LT
Incumbent left tackle Rasheed Walker has been nursing a groin injury, so Morgan, the 2024 first-round pick, has seen extensive time on Love’s blind side in practice. He’ll likely start there Saturday, too, since Walker remained sidelined Thursday. If Walker is healthy, he’ll probably start at left tackle come the regular season, and Sean Rhyan seems to have established himself as the starting right guard. If anything, for Morgan, these preseason reps could be part of his audition to take over at left tackle in 2026 if Walker signs elsewhere in free agency.
“Some good and then some where he’s got to get better,” LaFleur said of Morgan’s practice tape at left tackle. “I think you can say that about everybody. Again, he’s a young player, but he’s getting a lot of exposure at that spot, so with that comes a lot of opportunity.”
Sean Clifford, QB
LaFleur said he’ll do his best to give all four quarterbacks meaningful snaps Saturday night, but expect backup Malik Willis to play the most. If Love plays a drive, Willis plays the rest of the first half and Clifford splits the second half with Taylor Elgersma, then Clifford, the 2023 fifth-round pick and longtime Penn State starter, must impress Saturday and in ensuing exhibitions to hold on to his practice squad spot. Assuming the Packers keep just Love and Willis on the 53 at the position, they can afford to take a risk on a higher-upside player on the practice squad who might be less developed. That could be Elgersma, the 23-year-old rookie from Canada, over the 27-year-old Clifford.
“I think he’s another guy who’s flashed,” LaFleur said of Elgersma. “He’s got the arm talent. It’s just the consistency, and it’s always hard for a guy where a majority of the reps are going to Jordan and Malik. Both he and Sean, they gotta maximize their opportunities. They’re getting limited reps in practice, so a lot of their training comes post-practice in regards to working through the scripts. So when they get in those situations on Saturday night, they gotta go out there — the expectation is you’re gonna go out there and execute.”
Kalen King, CB
The 2024 seventh-round pick spent last season on the practice squad, but he has positioned himself nicely for inclusion on the 53 this year. King offers versatility in the secondary with his ability to play outside cornerback and the nickel, which would be helpful for him to show in preseason games to ensure the likes of Melton or Kamal Hadden (injured) don’t jump him to fourth on the depth chart when everyone in the room is healthy.
“My goal is really just to go out there and show my teammates and the coaching staff that I can do my job, I’m consistent, I can make plays,” King said. “I just feel like me doing my job over and over, staying patient, keeping my foot on the gas, everything will just work itself out.”
Omar Brown, S
The second-year safety was Family Night’s headliner after his three-interception practice. If he can carry over his ball-hawking skills to games — he has five picks in 12 practices — he might force his way onto the first 53-man roster of his career.
Nazir Stackhouse, DT
The undrafted rookie from Georgia is a hulking presence in the middle and has flashed in camp with his run-stuffing abilities. He might be fighting with his college teammate and rookie sixth-rounder Warren Brinson for the final 53-man spot in the defensive tackle room.
Julian Hicks, WR
The math on this one might not be exact, but I’d wager that Hicks has been the most-targeted receiver in camp. He has talent, which has been showcased on plays like his diving touchdown catch Thursday, with cornerback Tyron Herring in close pursuit. But with six wide receiver spots seemingly occupied already on the initial 53 — Golden, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams and Mecole Hardman — Hicks might be competing with the likes of Malik Heath, Cornelius Johnson and others for just two practice squad spots at the position.
Luke Musgrave has been healthy in training camp after struggling with injuries the past two years. (Sarah Kloepping / Imagn Images)
Luke Musgrave, TE
At this time in 2023, we thought Musgrave would be the primary downfield option at tight end after the Packers drafted him in the second round and Tucker Kraft in the third. Musgrave has been severely hampered by a lacerated kidney in his first season and an ankle injury that required surgery in his second, but he has remained healthy this camp and could finally be on the field with Kraft at the same time for an extended stretch. That said, I need to see Musgrave be that vertical threat in preseason games to believe he can still be that when games count.
Savion Williams, WR
Williams appears to be ahead of Heath on the depth chart, but he’d be a roster lock anyway as a rookie third-round pick. Can the versatile 23-year-old carve out a role in a crowded wide receiver room that includes more than just gadget plays out of the backfield and downfield receptions like ones he’s had in camp? His performance in these games could determine that.
(Top photo of Matthew Golden: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
