The Packers’ first Week 1 depth chart of the 2026 regular season is out, and while most of it lines up with what showed up in preseason and training camp, a few spots jump off the page.
The biggest surprises come in the backfield and at tight end. Kaleb Johnson is listed as the third-string running back, even though he arrived in Green Bay just a week ago. The Packers have Chris Brooks slotted as the second-string option, but Brooks is more of a blocking back than a pure runner, and Johnson still looks like the more likely No. 2 ball-carrier while Josh Jacobs is sidelined.
At tight end, Jonnu Smith is already listed behind Tucker Kraft as the second-stringer. That stands out because Smith signed the same day the Packers traded for Johnson, and unlike Johnson, he didn’t spend camp with another team.
Smith does have the Matt LaFleur connection from their time together with the Tennessee Titans, but the depth-chart placement still feels notable. With the Packers needing to scratch at least five players from the 53-man roster on game day, it’s hard to see them dressing four tight ends.
Smith and Josh Whyle both fit the same pass-catching, move-tight-end mold, and if Smith is already ahead of Whyle, Whyle’s roster spot may be in real danger. Mark Redman, who is listed with Whyle in the third-string role, brings a blocking profile that matters more in that mix.
If the call were being made today, Whyle would probably be inactive against the Minnesota Vikings.
Up front, the starting offensive line is listed as Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk and Zach Bako-Bewele from left to right. The bigger question isn’t the names on the chart - it’s whether Banks, dealing with tendinitis in his knee, and/or Bako-Bewele, who is coming off a partially torn Patellar tendon, can hold up for a full 60 minutes.
Rookie fifth-round pick Jager Burton is listed as the backup center, but that may not tell the full story. If Banks can’t play, Burton would slide to left guard, and Anthony Belton would handle right tackle if Bako-Bewele is unavailable.
Even if Banks is cleared, Burton could still rotate in at left guard.
The defensive line chart is a little easier to read, even if the Packers never got a full healthy look at the group this summer. Devonte Wyatt is the obvious starter at three-technique in Green Bay’s new scheme, and Karl Brooks was treated like a starter throughout the preseason, too.
On the depth chart, both are listed as starting ends, with free agent addition Javon Hargrave penciled in as the starting nose tackle ahead of Jonathan Ford. That spot will be worth watching, especially after Hargrave looked a little out of place in that role with the Vikings last season.
Ford, for what it’s worth, got the “starts” as a true head-up nose tackle in the preseason. Anthony Campbell is the lone third-stringer listed up front and would likely be inactive in Week 1 unless Warren Brinson’s calf injury keeps him out.
One rookie name that does officially show up in the starting lineup is Brandon Cisse. A couple days ago, he hadn’t been named a starter at cornerback, but the depth chart changed that by listing him opposite Keisean Nixon.
Nixon has taken most of the left cornerback snaps with the first-team offense this summer, while Cisse and Carrington Valentine rotated on the right side. For Week 1, the expectation is that Nixon will play left corner full-time, with Cisse starting on the right and Valentine still mixing in.
Cisse is the only rookie starter listed on either side of the ball.
The return game also has a few moving parts, and the depth chart’s second-string choices make more sense than they usually do. Behind Skyy Moore, the Packers listed Jayden Reed as the punt return backup and Bo Melton as the kick return backup.
Melton’s role fits what he’s done on special teams: he works as the “off-returner,” sitting deep on kick coverage looks but really serving more as a lead blocker than a true return man. The open question is whether Melton would stay in that role if Moore were unavailable, or whether someone like J.
Michael Sturdivant would step in. There’s also still some uncertainty about whether Moore keeps the kick return job once Savion Williams comes off injured reserve, but that’s a problem the Packers can sort through in a few weeks.
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