The Packers have one preseason game left and their roster is rounding into shape. And a good portion of that roster will be made up by this year’s draft picks.
The Packers made eight selections in this spring’s draft, and though all of them may not make the initial 53-man roster, they all seem to have a role in the Packers’ plans. For now, at least.
Here’s a look at all eight draft picks and where they stand as of right now.
Matthew Golden – WR – 23rd overall selection
The Packers’ first round pick has been exactly as advertised so far: he’s an explosive, dynamic playmaker who already looks to be at or near the very top of the receiver depth chart. Golden has played just a handful of snaps through the Packers’ first two preseason games, but even then he’s looked the part. All indications are the Packers found themselves a very interesting prospect in Golden.
Anthony Belton – OL – 54th overall selection
While Golden immediately got an opportunity to climb to the top of the receiver room, that was never the plan for Anthony Belton. The Packers have been content to let him settle in as a backup tackle before looking ahead to bigger things.
And that might be for the best, because Belton has been a bit of a mixed back in the preseason. His debut against the Jets was solid, but he had a disastrous outing against the Colts in the second game of the Packers’ exhibition slate. Against Indianapolis, Belton surrendered five pressures and was penalized five times. The potential looks to be there, but he has a ways to go.
Savion Williams – WR – 87th overall selection
The Packers’ second wide receiver in the 2025 draft class has yet to see the field in a preseason game. A raw, unrefined prospect, the consensus take on Williams was that he might need a redshirt year to find his footing in the NFL. That’s proving to be a very literal development; he’s had a red jersey on in a number of the Packers’ practices as he recovers from a variety of maladies, from an offseason shoulder surgery to a concussion to a hamstring. Williams’ contributions will probably be pretty thin early in the season, but his roster spot certainly isn’t in jeopardy.
Barryn Sorrell – EDGE – 124th overall selection
Prior to sustaining an injury against the Colts, Sorrell was probably the second most promising of the Packers’ draft picks after Golden, depending on your opinion of Belton. He likely would have been no higher than the fourth or fifth defensive end on the roster, but with a good combination of size and athleticism, Sorrell might have grown into a role over the course of the season. That still could happen, but a sprained MCL will probably slow that process early on. According to Pro Football Focus, Sorrell logged two pressures against the New York Jets. He played just three snaps against the Colts before leaving with the aforementioned injury.
Collin Oliver – EDGE – 159th overall selection
Like Sorrell, injuries are derailing the early portions of Oliver’s Packers career. Unlike Oliver, we don’t really know what those injuries are derailing. Oliver has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list since the start of training camp, and he appears likely to stay there to start the regular season. As such, the fifth round pick is virtually a complete mystery at this point.
Warren Brinson – DL – 198th overall selection
A sixth-round pick, Brinson is in the odd position of competing for a roster spot with his college teammate, Nazir Stackhouse. The pair is squaring off over what probably amounts to a single spot in the defensive line rotation, if that — thanks to the presence of Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks, and Colby Wooden on the roster, there’s really very little in the way of defensive line reps to go around.
Through two preseason games, Brinson is at least even with Stackhouse and may be slightly ahead. Our Justis Mosqueda noted yesterday that Brinson seems to be seeing the field ahead of Stackhouse, possibly due to his versatility. Brinson has played 71 snaps so far this preseason to just 59 for his Georgia teammate.
While Stackhouse is almost exclusively a nose, Brinson offers a bit as a 3-technique, too. On top of that, according to Pro Football Focus charting data, Brinson has also kicked out to defensive end for a few reps in the preseason. It’s possible that positional flexibility might be what gives him the edge.
Micah Robinson – CB – 237th overall selection
The picture at cornerback was a bit muddled this offseason, to say the least, and it was never clear how Robinson fit in. A bit on the smaller side, he was probably always going to be limited to solely playing outside, and that seems to be the case so far in his rookie season. Of the 60 snaps he’s played on defense through two preseason games, Robinson has played 57 as an outsider corner.
That’s bad news in a cornerback room where virtually everyone else has some sort of inside/outside versatility, particularly Kalen King and Corey Ballentine, the two players with whom Robinson is competing most directly. Both King and Ballentine have worked inside and outside in the preseason, giving them a much more straightforward path to the roster than Robinson. It’s likely practice squad or bust for the rookie at this point.
John Williams – OL – 250th overall selection
Like Oliver, Williams is almost entirely a mystery. A long-time college starter with theoretical positional versatility and rocket scientist smarts, Williams landed on the Physically Unable to Perform list due to a back injury at the start of training camp and has been there ever since. He’ll probably remain there into the regular season. That’s a shame, because after Travis Glover’s injury, there was a real opportunity for a player with guard/tackle versatility to make a run at the 53-man roster. That could have been Williams, but for bad injury luck.
The bottom line: 2025 class has interesting contributors, but injuries are holding the class back
There is a lot to like about this year’s draft picks. At their best, they look like interesting, significant contributors, but injuries have muddied the waters. By midseason, we’ll hopefully have a much better idea what this class looks like — provided the injury onslaught has eased up a bit by then.