Packers lose three players in hypothetical NFL expansion franchise scenario that shows how strong their depth is
The Green Bay Packers have a strong 90-man roster from top to bottom. This is excellent in real life, and it will be super impactful for the team in 2025. The outcome wasn't so great in the hypothetical expansion franchise exercise made by A to Z Sports.And that's because, having strong depth, the Packers had […]
The Green Bay Packers have a strong 90-man roster from top to bottom. This is excellent in real life, and it will be super impactful for the team in 2025. The outcome wasn't so great in the hypothetical expansion franchise exercise made by A to Z Sports.
And that's because, having strong depth, the Packers had to expose some good players to the fictional St. Louis Arches. Yes, it's a hypothetical, so don't take it too seriously. But it's also a good exercise to see where each NFL roster is at.
For example, seven teams had zero taken players — Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and Arizona Cardinals.
Meanwhile, two of the 12 players exposed by the Packers got selected: wide receiver Bo Melton and running back Chris Brooks. The fictional team couldn't select more than two players from each NFL franchise, so the Packers reached the limit. Each player has a $1.03 million salary, which would get off the Packers' books.
Third piece
In addition to the expansion draft, the fictional Arches also had a regular draft and a free agency process to build out the 90-man roster. So, a third player from the Packers went to St. Louis. The Arches would have signed undrafted defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse, a player whom Green Bay gladly signed after the draft in reality.
Rules and available players
These were the basic rules for the expansion draft:
1. Each current NFL team has to leave 12 players unprotected.
2. Players with 0 or 1 accrued seasons are automatically protected and can't be on the list. Players with no-trade clauses can't be added either.
3. If the player is taken, the expansion team will absorb both his future salaries and signing bonus prorations, so it can be a useful tool to unload veteran contracts.
4. The list is final, meaning that teams can't withdraw a player after another one has been selected.
5. The expansion team can get a maximum of two players from each NFL team, and a maximum of 40 players.
And these were the players exposed by the Packers:
- QB Sean Clifford
- RB Chris Brooks
- WR Mecole Hardman
- WR Bo Melton
- TE John FitzPatrick
- T Kadeem Telfort
- C Trey Hill
- DT Nesta Jade Silvera
- LB Kristian Welch
- CB Isaiah Dunn
- CB Gregory Junior
- LS Matt Orzech
Hypothetical expansion draft would shake up rosters across the league with bold rules and tough decisions for all 32 NFL teams
Get to know the St. Louis Arches
