With around three weeks until the season opener, there is still at least one spot up for grabs on the Green Bay Packers' defensive line.
Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave will start, and rookie Chris McClellan will be featured in some way. Karl Brooks and Warren Brinson should be in. The sixth and final spot, though, remains unclaimed. Nose tackle Jonathan Ford is making a push to change that.
It's Ford's second go-round in Green Bay after being drafted in the seventh round four years ago. In addition to putting together a strong camp, he has impressed head coach Matt LaFleur with his growth both on and off the field:
"I see a guy that's really matured as not only a football player, but as a person. And I mean, he is a load inside. He's done a really nice job. Playing the nose position, defeating blocks. He's been pretty impactful throughout camp," LaFleur said.
As the Packers enter the home stretch of summer training, Ford sure looks like a candidate to stick around for real this time.
Jonathan Ford gaining momentum for final spot on Packers' D-line depth chart
His main competition comes in the form of Nazir Stackhouse, who made the team last year as an undrafted rookie, and 2026 UDFA Anthony Campbell.
A final verdict is far from decided, but it does seem like the Campbell hype has faded just a bit. Stackhouse is less experienced and struggled last season; he could be in trouble. Ford may have both the highest floor and, in his clear-cut role as a nose tackle, the most practical upside.
After arriving in the draft, Ford lasted only a year in Green Bay before being waived the following season. He bounced around the practice squad and injured reserve until the Chicago Bears claimed him off waivers in December 2024.
A little more than 12 months later, the Packers returned the favor. Ford played in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings and made three tackles in the Wild Card Game against his old Bears teammates. The Packers gave him a one-year contract this offseason that included a $100,000 signing bonus.
LaFleur's comments are significant. While a younger Ford failed to stick in Green Bay, the 2026 version sounds dedicated to the task at hand with the utmost discipline and focus.
"Just consistency," Ford said when asked for the key to earning a roster spot. "I think that's the biggest thing in this league, is being consistent. Just being able to show coaches you can do it snap after snap. If you have a bad snap, you correct it, take the corrections, bring it back on the field, and do it the right way that coaches coached you to do it."
Ford has shown up with the first-stringers in practice and appeared with both the first-team and second-team defenses in the Packers' preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It could all change in a week, but it feels like momentum is building in Ford's favor to nudge past Stackhouse and Campbell for the final spot in the rotation.
The other thing that could help Ford's chances is the Packers' continued search for a capable nose tackle. It seemed like McClellan could be an adequate answer, but he hasn't made the type of training-camp headlines you'd expect in that case for a rookie draft pick with so much attention on him.
The roster could use a backup anyway. And while Green Bay has experimented with several names at NT, at 6-foot-5 and around 340 pounds, Ford has a notable size advantage on the others that could come very much in handy plugging the middle of the defensive front.
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