The 2023 Green Bay Packers roster will look much different after the next few days. The 2023 NFL Draft starts Thursday night. The Packers, who didn’t do much adding free agency, will improve their team via the draft. The Packers are overhauling their roster as they build around quality Jordan Love. One Packers defender is switching their position from the 2022 season.
The Green Bay Packers make a position change
Tariq Carpenter was a 2022 seventh-round selection by the Packers. He was initially added to the team to play safety. That’s the position Carpenter played when he was an athlete at Georgia Tech. He will go into OTAs learning a new position for the Packers.
Carpenter spoke with Wayne Larrivee during the Packers pre-draft party on Wednesday. Carpenter said he’d move to the insider linebacker position for the upcoming season. This will be Carpenter’s third position change since joining the Packers last offseason. He spent time with the safeties and outside linebackers last season. Carpenter said he figured linebacker best suited him for the NFL when he came out of college.
“I originally thought I was going to be playing linebacker, but Green Bay actually decided to let me play some safety whenever I first came in,” Carpenter said. “Now I got moved to linebacker, so I’ll be going into my second season playing my third position.”
Carpenter didn’t play much during the regular season at safety in 2022. He played in 17 total snaps on defense, earning a 63.4 defense grade for his efforts last season by Pro Football Focus. Carpenter was more active on the Packers’ special teams unit. He logged 120 plays on special teams and earned a 54.7 grade from PFF for his special teams’ contributions.
The position change makes sense for Carpenter. Lance Zierlein with the NFL.com predicted Carpenter would help out on special teams before growing into a role in the NFL at linebacker:
“Carpenter was an excellent pro-day tester, so the traits and special teams talent could buy him an early opportunity on a roster as he learns the linebacker position.”
The Green Bay Packers should be settled on insider linebackers ahead of the draft, with Carpenter joining De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker. They still need help at safety, as Adrian Amos is still a free agent this offseason. The Packers could be looking to grab help at that position on day two or three of the draft.
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