The wait is almost over for Packers fans. The 2026 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night in Australia, and Green Bay gets its first crack at the real thing on Sunday. After weeks of camp chatter, roster bubbles, and all the usual summer noise, the focus finally shifts to what actually decides seasons: the players at the top of the roster.
That’s the part of the conversation that matters now. Training camp always has room for the long shots and the depth-chart scrappers, and those stories have their place.
But once the games count, it’s the Packers’ best players who will define everything. The top quarter of the roster - the 10-15 players who make the most money and are expected to make the biggest plays - is where the truth lives.
Anthony Campbell may have been a useful camp storyline, but Tucker Kraft is the kind of player who’s expected to carry weight when it counts.
That’s the way it should be. Camp is for the new and the unfamiliar.
The regular season belongs to the proven guys. If the Packers are going to be more than just interesting, it’ll show up in how their stars perform, especially in the biggest spots.
If this team falls short of contender status, the clearest explanation will come from the players who are supposed to be its best.
So the question now is simple: who carries the Packers this year? The hope is that the answer is the stars, and that most of them stay healthy from start to finish.
There’s also a new name in the mix with Zaire Franklin, whose traits have apparently made him a clear captain choice for the Packers. I don’t know what Zaire Franklin is going to be like on the field, but people seem to love him off the field.
I don’t know if I could manage to even try to keep my emotions in check at this point.
Another roster note came with J. Michael Sturdivant, who earned his spot on the Packers’ 53 by finishing strong. He saved his best for last, putting up big numbers in the Packers’ final preseason game to lock up a roster spot.
Elsewhere, there’s been some bigger-picture hand-wringing about the NFL passing game. One discussion pointed to five reasons the explosive passing game has dropped over the past decade, along with the question of whether it can ever come back. I wonder if the NFL will ever enact rule changes to try to manufacture some of the 5000-yard passing performances of yesteryear.
Here’s one way to confront your own mortality: get competitive about it.
And with the season about to start, the larger Packers question hangs there, plain as day. Are they headed in the right direction? We’ll start finding out this week.
In Other News...
Packers Practice Squad Move Hints At A Bigger Offensive Plan
The Packers filled their final practice-squad opening by signing rookie running back Damon Bankston, a move that fits neatly with the kind of backfield they seem to be building. Bankston first came through Green Bay as a pre-draft visitor, then landed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent before making his way back to the Packers, where his skill set lines up with an offense leaning into outside zone concepts.
For a team continuing to shape both its roster and its scheme, the addition is more than simple depth. Green Bay has been piecing together personnel that makes sense for what it wants to do on offense, and Bankstons fit in that system is hard to miss. Whether the move is mostly about competition, development, or something bigger in the playbook, it adds another clue about the direction the Packers are heading. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Rookie Trust Will Be Tested Right Away Against The Vikings
The Packers are heading into their 2026 season opener against the Vikings with an unusually heavy dose of rookie responsibility baked into the plan. Without a Day 1 draft pick in this class, Green Bay will need its younger additions to fill in more than just the margins, and that makes the early season evaluation especially important for a team that wants to know quickly which newcomers can handle real work.
J. Michael Sturdivant is part of that picture after making the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie wide receiver, but his immediate role against Minnesota is expected to be limited. Even so, his presence on the roster underscores how much the Packers are leaning on unproven talent right out of the gate, with the opener offering an early look at which rookies are ready when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Have An Early Opportunity Fans Couldn't Count On Last Year
The Packers are heading into 2026 with something they did not always have a year ago: a healthier roster and a better chance to settle in before the schedule tightens. Most of the group has been on the field in practice ahead of Week 1, with Warren Brinson and Micah Parsons among the few exceptions as Parsons continues his recovery from injury. That alone gives Green Bay a different kind of runway entering the season, especially compared with the constant juggling act of the previous year.
The early slate also looks more forgiving than what this team has had to navigate in other seasons, and that matters for a club trying to build momentum quickly. When the offense under Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love has had its core available, it has shown a steadier level of play, which is part of why there is some quiet confidence around this group. If the Packers can take advantage of this opening stretch, they could spend a lot less time surviving and a lot more time proving they belong in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]