Acme Packing Company
When previewing the Green Bay Packers’ week three matchup with the Cleveland Browns, I stumbled upon something interesting. The Packers have not played the Browns in four years, which is a typical frequency for NFC vs. AFC matchups. However, the amount of roster turnover that has taken place in Green Bay over those four seasons is truly staggering.
When I examined the starting lineups for that last game between these two teams — which took place on Christmas Day 2021 — I found something shocking: only one member of the Packers’ starting lineup that day is still on the roster today.
That led me to look even further into the roster, where I found a truly amazing revelation: only three players who were active on the Packers’ roster for at least one game during the 2021 season remain in the organization. Those players are all key components of early Brian Gutekunst draft classes who have since earned second contracts with the team:
Gary started against the Browns in 2021, Love was active but did not get into the game as the backup to Aaron Rodgers, and Jenkins missed the game with an injury. However, every other player who was on the Packers’ 53-man roster at any point during the 2021 season is gone. That includes specialists, backups, rookies, everybody.
And it was a slow churn, too.
Davante Adams got the franchise tag the following offseason, then Gutekunst traded him to the Raiders. Aaron Rodgers departed during the spring of 2023. Running back Aaron Jones left in 2024, replaced by Josh Jacobs. Then another final pair of big names from the 2021 squad to depart Green Bay headed out in recent months, with the team releasing Jaire Alexander in June and then sending Kenny Clark to the Cowboys in the Micah Parsons trade a few weeks ago.
Beyond the fractures with Rodgers and Adams, the biggest major reason for the huge turnover is likely the Packers’ success in the 2022 NFL Draft. Six of the 11 players drafted that year should be in the starting lineup on Sunday in Cleveland (depending on Zach Tom’s status), with a seventh likely to be effectively a starter when he returns from injury. First-round picks Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt appear to be taking major steps forward this season on defense, but the offense got a total facelift thanks to the 2022 class. Sean Rhyan, Tom, and Rasheed Walker are all well-entrenched starters on the offensive line today while wide receivers Christian Watson (still on his way back from a torn ACL) and Romeo Doubs join them in the lineup when healthy. And let’s not forget Kingsley Enagbare, a player who is not a starter but is still a key member of the two-deep on the edge.
If Walker and Wyatt continue their hot starts, that entire class should be remembered as one of the deepest in recent Packers history, even if a...
