Corey Ballentine and Bo Melton were ready

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will take a 90-man roster onto the field for the first practice of training camp on July 22.

This is part eight of our ranking of the most important players on the Packers roster. This isn’t just a list of the best players on the team. These rankings take into account talent, position importance, position depth, salary and draft history. More than anything, we hope you learn something about each player.

#39: CB Corey Ballentine

Jordan Love’s rise to stardom was marked by his crushing playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys. It wouldn’t have been possible without Ballentine.

For two full calendar years, Ballentine didn’t play a single snap on defense and changed teams four times. A sixth-round pick of the Giants in 2019, he started the first two games of 2020. He didn’t start another game until last season, when injuries to Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes and the trade of Rasul Douglas forced Ballentine into the lineup for six starts.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Ballentine said before starting against the Giants last season“This season has obviously been a rollercoaster ride for me. I started on the practice squad and worked my way up. That’s been my journey to the league every year. It hasn’t always been easy or how I expected it to be, but I’ve kept my head down, kept working and let things unfold as they unfold. When I get an opportunity, I take it and make the most of it.”

The Packers wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Ballentine. Of 109 cornerbacks who played at least 250 coverage snaps last season, he ranked 37th in reception percentage (59.2 percent) and 28th in passer rating (81.3), according to PFF. He had an interception in Week 17 at Minnesota.

The Packers re-signed him to a one-year contract as a free agent. He will start training camp behind Alexander, Stokes and Carrington Valentine on the cornerback roster. During offseason workouts, he has worked in the slot, which is Keisean Nixon’s home. If an emergency arises, Ballentine will be ready.

“I don’t do more than I have to do, I don’t do less than I have to do, I don’t do more than I have to do,” he said. “I do my job and let the rest take care of itself.”

No. 38: WR Bo Melton

Melton’s story is not unlike that of Ballentine, a former draft pick who had to work and wait for his opportunity.

Melton was a seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2022. The Packers selected him to Seattle’s practice squad in December 2022.

Despite a strong training camp last summer, he failed to make Green Bay’s 53-man roster and ended up on the practice squad. He ultimately made his NFL debut on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. He caught his first pass a few weeks later against Tampa Bay. A week after that, he caught four passes for 44 yards in a pivotal season-ending win at Carolina.

That set the stage for the primetime showdown in Minnesota. The Packers hadn’t had a 100-yard receiving game all season, but Melton caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in a blowout win over the Vikings. He added five receptions for 62 yards in the last game against the Bears and scored a 19-yard touchdown in the playoff loss to the 49ers.

“It’s all about hard work, putting God first. That’s what I’ve done my whole life,” Melton said during OTAs. “That’s how I was raised. I got cut, I got on the practice squad, I kept going, I kept moving forward. I just wanted to be ready when my time came.”

In the regular season, Melton caught 16 passes for 218 yards. Of the 127 receivers who were targeted 23 times (Melton’s number), he ranked fifth with 2.83 yards per route. He was behind four established stars: Tyreek Hill, Nico Collins, Brandon Aiyuk and Justin Jefferson.

“I say this is just the beginning” Melton said shortly after scoring a long touchdown in practice“It’s been a great journey going from practice squad to player, but my goal has never been just to be a practice squad player in general. That’s never been my mindset.

“I’ve wanted to play in this league for a long time. I’ve been around a lot of good players here who have motivated me all year when I wasn’t playing. When I first started playing, it was no different. I know when you do good things, you’re expected to do good. At the end of the day, I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing since I was a kid.”

No. 37: P Daniel Whelan

Whelan had a solid first season. While he ranked just 24th in average (46.2 yards, second-best in franchise history) and 27th in net average (39.7 yards), the only real disaster was the Saints’ punt return for a touchdown in Week 3. Only 38.6 percent of his punts were returned (11th-best) and he averaged 4.51 seconds of hang time (fourth-best), according to Pro Football Focus.

In his last five games (including the playoffs), he has averaged over 40 net yards in four. The exception? The playoff win at Dallas, when his three punts pinned the Cowboys inside the 10-yard line.

Where does he need to improve? In 2022, Packers kicker Pat O’Donnell had 24 punts inside 20 yards against one touchback. Whelan had 18 punts inside 20 yards and five touchbacks. His 3.6 punts inside 20 yards per touchback were third-worst in the league, but he had 11 punts inside 20 yards and no touchbacks in his last nine games (including the playoffs).

Whelan has had a solid solo offseason workout. It would be a huge surprise if he wasn’t the top kicker in Week 1.

No. 36: BY Kingsley Enagbare

Late in the playoff win over Dallas, Enagbare suffered what everyone thought was a torn ACL.

A week later, Enagbare was at his locker at Lambeau Field without his knee. Was the injury not as serious as feared?

“I tore it,” he said, as matter-of-factly as when he looks at wet water. “But I’m strong. I’m ready to start my journey.”

The journey took a sharp detour. Yes, he had suffered a torn ACL. He learned a few months later that it wasn’t a complete tear. With rehabilitation, he could potentially avoid surgery.

“Coming back, I saw him walking and jumping around, and I was like, ‘What?’” Rashan Gary said at minicamp. “We heard the same thing we heard last year, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is good.’”

Enagbare said he is 100 percent healthy. He has completed all of his reps during offseason workouts.

“He’s been outstanding,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “You’re talking about a guy who comes to work with the right mindset every day, he’s the embodiment of that. And I think we’ve seen his growth. We saw it last year, the growth from year one to year two, and I think we’re still seeing that growth as he develops his body and continues to learn the game.”

Enagbare played 40.7 percent of defensive snaps last season and recorded 35 tackles. He had two sacks and was second on the team with eight tackles for loss.

He likes the “see the ball, win the ball” aspect of the new defense.

“We’re told to get on the field and cause chaos, whether it’s sacks or TFLs. Just go vertical,” he said.

#35: RB AJ Dillon

Like no one expected at the start of free agency, the Packers opted to get rid of Aaron Jones and re-sign Dillon.