Jonathan Ford – Syndication Server

Packers designate DL Jonathan Ford for return from IR

The Green Bay Packers designated defensive lineman Jonathan Ford for return from injured reserve, opening his 21-day practice window.

The Green Bay Packers designated defensive lineman Jonathan Ford for return from injured reserve, opening his 21-day practice window. Ford remains on injured reserve, but Matt LaFleur’s team now has three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster.

Ford was the only Packers player placed on injured reserve with a designation to return at final roster cuts. He injured his calf during the preseason finale.

A seventh-round pick in 2022, Ford was one of the Packers’ highest-graded defensive players during the preseason. The 338-pounder looked more explosive getting off the ball and proved to be a capable run defender.

Can the Packers expect any immediate impact from Ford?

“We’ll see. He hasn’t practiced in a while,” LaFleur said Wednesday.

The Packers are deep along the interior of the defensive line, although Devonte Wyatt is now dealing with an ankle injury. Colby Wooden has been a healthy scratch each of the last two weeks.

After missing the minimum of four games, Ford is now eligible to come off injured reserve. The Packers can activate him at any point over the next three weeks. If not activated, he’ll revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Ford, 26, has never appeared in a regular season game. He spent last season on the practice squad.

Packers sign DL Jonathan Ford back to practice squad, release C James Empey

The Packers brought back DL Jonathan Ford to the practice squad on Friday. The corresponding move was releasing C James Empey from the practice squad.

The Green Bay Packers made an adjustment to the practice squad on Friday, with the release of center James Empey clearing a spot for the signing of defensive lineman Jonathan Ford.

Ford, a seventh-round pick in 2022, made the initial 53-man roster but was released on Wednesday after the Packers claimed tight end Ben Sims and safety Zayne Anderson off waivers. Ford cleared waivers and will now return on the practice squad.

Empey was signed to the practice squad on Wednesday, but his stay lasted only two days.

Ford (6-5, 338) joins Chris Slayton as the two defensive linemen on the team’s practice squad. Ford could be an option for elevation on gamedays and would likely be the Packers’ top pick should an injury happen along the defensive line, particularly to nose tackle TJ Slaton.

Ford was on the field for 83 snaps during the preseason. He produced four pressures and one stop against the run, per PFF.

As a rookie last season, Ford was a healthy inactive for all 17 regular season games.

Upside the deciding factor in Packers keeping rookie DL Jonathan Ford

The Packers kept all 11 draft picks, including seventh-round pick Jonathan Ford.

Last summer, it was Jake Hanson. This year, it is Jonathan Ford who is the biggest surprise to make this Green Bay Packers’ initial 53-man roster.

The Packers’ interior defensive line room was pretty well set coming into training camp with five of the roster spots already accounted for. The big question that unfolded over the last month, however, was whether the Packers were going to keep a sixth interior defender.

With each passing week, that idea seemed more likely, but it was because of the play of Jack Heflin and Chris Slayton. Heflin was consistently in the backfield blowing up running plays, with his five run-stops ranking as the seventh most out of all interior defenders this preseason. Meanwhile, Slayton finished second on the team in quarterback pressures with five.

Ford, on the other hand, a 2022 seventh-round pick by the Packers from Miami, didn’t have those same splash plays, or at least not with the same frequency. He finished the season with two pressures, one run-stop, and for what it’s worth, he was the Packers’ lowest graded defender by PFF.

As a run-stuffer, Ford’s impact isn’t always going to show up on the stat sheet. Instead, it will more often be felt by his teammates with the double-teams he occupies, and the space he eats up, which will help others along the front-seven stay clean to make plays while also creating fewer double-teams for them to fight through.

In addition to his defensive performance, Ford was also on the field for only four total special teams snaps in three preseason games, which likely ensures that this will end up being a red-shirt year for him, as it was for Heflin in 2021. In terms of immediate impact, specifically on special teams, this roster spot could have been better utilized elsewhere.

Being a draft pick may have helped Ford’s case for being on the roster, but the Packers are clearly banking on Ford’s upside as a young defender to help them out down the road, with Brian Gutekunst telling reporters that his potential in comparison to that of Heflin and Slayton was the deciding factor.

Ultimately, while this move was surprising to some degree when it comes to determining any of the final roster spots, upside should be a key component in that decision.

It’s not as if Heflin or Slayton were going to play a ton of snaps on defense with how deep the interior defensive line rotation is, so the Packers chose to utilize that roster spot as a developmental role. We saw Green Bay take a similar approach with Yosh Nijman on the offensive line in 2020.

Ford could potentially be in a position to assume a larger role in 2023, as long as he continues to develop, with Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed both hitting free agency.

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Packers rookie impact: Can a pair of 7th round picks crack the roster?

The Green Bay Packers ended the 2022 NFL draft with 11 draft picks, with four of those picks coming in the seventh round and seven of those selections coming on day three of the draft. How much of an impact will the 2022 rookie class make this …

The Packers got significant impact from the 2021 draft class. Eric Stokes enjoyed a stellar rookie campaign, displaying the ability to lock down the wide receiver across from him. Josh Myers started at center before having his rookie season derailed by injuries. Royce Newman started 16 games and TJ Slaton finished his rookie season with one sack and flashed potential while playing 255 snaps.

Or will the 2020 rookie class be like the 2022 draft class that provided little to no impact?

This series will try to predict what members of the 2022 draft class will provide the most impact for the Packers this upcoming season. They will be ranked 11-1, with 11 having the least amount of impact and No. 1 having the most impact.

It’s worth pointing out that rookie season success isn’t an indicator of prolonged success. Damarious Randall enjoyed a fine rookie season and flamed out. With that let’s get this series started by taking a look at a pair of seventh-round picks that will face a steep uphill climb to crack Green Bay’s roster.

11). Jonathan Ford, DL

Ford is a roadblock. The 30-game starter anchors down and controls his gap. At 6-5 and 333 pounds, Ford is a traditional nose tackle that offers little to no pass-rush upside.

He finished his career with eight tackles for loss and three sacks, with all three sacks coming in 2019.

With Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, Devonte Wyatt, Dean Lowry, and Slaton, the Packers have a deep and talented group up front. There may not be room for a nose tackle like Ford that offers nothing as an interior pass-rusher.

If the Packers opt to keep six defensive linemen, Ford will likely battle second-year player Jack Heflin for that roster spot.

Prediction: Ford spends the year on Green Bay’s practice squad. There is just too much talent and depth standing in Ford’s way to crack Green Bay’s defensive line rotation.

If it weren’t for the presence of Ford’s middle school teammate, (Slaton), Ford might have had a chance to earn some snaps as a rookie.

10). Rasheed Walker, OT

Walker was a 32-game starter at left tackle for Penn State. He has ideal size for the position (6-5, 313 pounds).

“All that playing experience gave me a bunch of confidence,” Walker said. “I’m just very confident playing my position…I’m very athletic…I just love to win.”

If everyone were healthy, Walker likely would be hard-pressed to crack Green Bay’s initial 53-man roster. However, will Elgton Jenkins be ready for the start of the season? How healthy is David Bakhtiari? Aside from Yosh Nijman, the Packers don’t have a lot of proven depth at the tackle position

That lack of depth could open the door for a player like Walker. Walker has all the tools in the shed to develop into a starting left or right tackle (where he lined up in high school).

Prediction: Jenkins might miss the beginning of the season, which means Nijman will likely be the week-one starter at right tackle. Who serves at the swing tackle in this scenario?

This will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow throughout training camp.

It’s not even a lock that Nijman starts at right tackle. Maybe the Packers view Sean Rhyan as a right tackle. Maybe Newman kicks out to play tackle. There are a lot of moving parts and no shortage of options.

With his upside and experience, the Packers will keep Walker on the initial 53-man roster if Jenkins starts the season on the PUP. If Jenkins is ready to go, there may not be room for the Packers to keep a fourth offensive tackle on the roster, especially when you consider that guards like Newman and Rhyan can kick outside if needed.

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Packers select Miami DL Jonathan Ford at No. 234 overall in 2022 NFL draft

The Green Bay Packers selected Miami defensive lineman Jonathan Ford at No. 234 overall in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Ford (6-5, 333) played 50 games and made 30 starts over five seasons at Miami. He tallied 60 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one pass break up.

According to Dane Brugler of The Athletic, Ford “looks the part and flashes point-of-attack strength and handwork to two-gap” as a nose tackle, but he looked “lackluster” on tape.

In Green Bay, Ford could represent a replacement for Tyler Lancaster as a block-eating run-stopper along the defensive front. He’ll combine with TJ Slaton to give the Packers two massive nose tackle types.

At the combine, Ford hit 29″ in the vertical and covered 8-6 in the broad jump. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.47 seconds and did 24 reps on the bench press at Miami’s pro day. His Relative Athletic Score is 3.53 out of 10.0.

Ford turns 24 years old in September. He participated at the 2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

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