Keeping rookie long snapper Jack Coco on the first 53-man roster of the 2022 season extended the Green Bay Packers’ impressive streak of keeping at least one undrafted rookie on the roster to start the year.
Coco is an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech. He beat out incumbent Steven Wirtel to be the team’s long snapper on the first 53-man roster.
As noted by Wed Hodkiewicz of Packers.com, the team’s streak of keeping an undrafted free agent is now at 18 years:
Also, with Jack Coco making the 53, here are the 39 players who've made the #Packers' active roster as undrafted rookies during their 18-year streak… pic.twitter.com/wdEaNiTNAk
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) August 31, 2022
The practice began under former Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who often kept several undrafted rookies on the roster each season. Brian Gutekunst has continued the streak, although he’s carried only one each year over the past four years.
Instead of spending precious cap dollars on veteran free agents, Thompson liked building the fringes of his roster with undrafted rookies. It was cost-effective and allowed the Packers to build on their draft-and-develop philosophy every year, with the undrafted rookies adding to the draft class and keeping the bottom of the roster young and cheap.
A recent case in point: linebacker Krys Barnes, an undrafted free agent out of UCLA who has been a starter at linebacker each of the last two years and will now be a key backup and core special teamer in his third season in Green Bay in 2022.
Oftentimes, the undrafted free agents just fill a hole on the roster for a season or two and move on. In other cases, like Lane Taylor, the Packers find a multi-year starter. And in the rarest of situations, the Packers unearth a Pro Bowler like cornerback Sam Shields.
Gutekunst has been more willing to spend free-agent dollars and claim veteran players off waivers, giving the Packers an older, more experienced team with less wiggle room for undrafted rookies.
The Packers kept Coco on the 53-man roster and signed offensive tackle Caleb Jones and running back Tyler Goodson on the practice squad. Jack Heflin, the team’s lone undrafted free agent to make the team last year, is back on the practice squad for Year 2.
