The Green Bay Packers are still sorting out their best rotations early in the 2026 season, and some players deserve a bigger role in Week 2 against the New York Jets compared to what they received in the regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

New pieces are integrating themselves into the roster, and snap distribution figures to remain volatile for at least another week. These three players specifically should see more playing time as Green Bay looks to correct some of the issues from Week 1.

RB Kaleb Johnson

Johnson was acquired by the Packers right after the preseason for a 2028 sixth-round pick, and he ended up not playing a single offensive snap against the Vikings. He logged only two special teams snaps as a returner late in the game.

Going into the Jets game in Week 2, though, Johnson could have more offensive responsibilities. Theoretically, it’s a weaker defense, so Green Bay should have more opportunities to run the football and won’t need to use the running backs in pass protection as frequently as they did against Minnesota. The Packers’ running backs in Week 1 were not effective whatsoever. MarShawn Lloyd ran for only 2.8 yards per carry, and Chris Brooks was slightly better but also lacked explosiveness.

If the Packers used draft capital to acquire Johnson exactly for the purpose of having a potential option while Josh Jacobs is not available, it makes sense to use him now and see what they have in him. Even a few snaps inside the running back rotation on offense would provide valuable information.

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EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton

Rookie edge defender Dani Dennis-Sutton was a fourth-round pick and played around 32% of the defensive snaps on Sunday against the Vikings, which is already fairly decent for a rookie. He was fourth in the edge rotation behind Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, and Brenton Cox.

With Van Ness recovering from a concussion and being limited in practice, the Packers first have to wait and see if he will actually be able to play. Even if Van Ness does suit up, it’s reasonable to expect a lesser workload because he didn’t practice at full capacity throughout the week. That opens the door for Dennis-Sutton, who performed decently well against the Vikings rushing the edge with a high floor in his rookie season, to play more snaps and become a more important part of the rotation. If Van Ness cannot play, the increase in snaps for Dennis-Sutton should be significant.

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CB Brandon Cisse

The second-round rookie cornerback already played 75% of the defensive snaps in Week 1, so the volume was there. The difference is that cornerbacks don’t typically rotate, and Cisse only left the field against the Vikings because he had cramps. That was also the reason he was limited in practice on Wednesday. He has since fully recovered and wasn’t even listed on the injury report Thursday, so it’s realistic to expect him on the field for all of the defensive snaps against the Jets.

Cisse is already good enough to warrant full-time status. The Vikings picked on Carrington Valentine when he replaced Cisse late in the game, which only reinforced why Green Bay wants its starting duo of Cisse and Keisean Nixon on the field as much as possible. Expect the Packers to keep both cornerbacks out there for a full workload in Week 2.