With the Green Bay Packers' preseason slate now a thing of the past following their 20-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, a plethora of players will now await their respective fates as head coach Matt LaFleur makes his final decisions on who to include on the 53-man roster.
When looking at those on the bubble ahead of Tuesday's deadline, one could easily point to undrafted rookie quarterback Taylor Elgersma as the biggest winner of the preseason. Already in position to take over the QB3 role behind Jordan Love and Malik Willis after two games, the Canadian superstar had another solid outing against Seattle, completing six of eight passes for 33 yards and a touchdown.
Brenton Cox Jr. and Ty'Ron Hopper could be candidates as well, but, in this writer's humble opinion, the honor belongs to cornerback Kalen King, whose strong performance against Seattle, which included a fumble recovery and a fantastic takedown of Seahawks QB Jalen Milroe in a goal-to-go situation that ultimately helped Green Bay get a turnover on downs, should be enough to land him a spot among the final 53.
Kalen King may have clinched a Packers roster spot with impressive preseason
Once viewed as an early-round prospect, the Penn State alum saw his stock plummet during his final season in college. And for a while, it looked as if he might go unselected in the 2024 draft until Green Bay scooped him up in the seventh round with the third-to-last pick at No. 255 overall.
King failed to make the 53-man roster coming out of training camp a year ago and spent the vast majority of 2024 on the Packers' practice squad. He was elevated to the gameday roster in Week 14 but didn't take a single snap.
Clearly determined to climb the depth chart in 2025, King made all sorts of changes to his offseason regimen, working with a team of nutritionists and trainers to improve himself from a physical standpoint, while also bettering himself mentally and taking a new approach to his overall preparation.
Another big change he's undergone is moving to the slot, which is a new experience for him. But again, he's been putting in much more effort than we witnessed a season ago, as he's been doing extra work with defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley.
Despite the switch, however, King has thrived over the last month. He was one of the few bright spots in the Packers' blowout loss to the New York Jets in the preseason opener, and the Indianapolis Colts seemed to respect him so much that they didn't throw a single pass in his direction. And they had 24 opportunities to do so.
So, throw in what he did against the Seahawks, and King has put himself in prime position to be in uniform when the Packers kick off the regular season on September 7 against the Detroit Lions.