Green Bay Packers Week 1 Stock Report

The preseason has concluded, but we're not done forecasting which Green Bay Packers' players' stocks are rising and falling. 

Heading into Week 1 of the regular season, when the Packers will travel to Chicago to face the Bears, Green Bay's 53-man roster is anything but final.

Because defensive linemen Datone Jones and Letroy Guion, who are suspended one and three games, respectively, do not count against the current roster, the Packers will have to cut two players over the next three weeks to make room for them to return. 

The players on the following list who find their stocks rising have nothing to worry about. The players with falling stocks, however, may not want to get too comfortable just yet. 

Rising: DL Mike Pennel

Don Wright/Associated Press

The first iteration of the Packers' 53-man roster don't include Jones or Guion, who will be suspended for one and three games, respectively. 

Their absence allowed rising star Mike Pennel to sneak up a few spots on the depth chart. Per the Packers' current depth chart, Pennel is the starting defensive end next to B.J. Raji and on the opposite side as Mike Daniels. 

That means that when the Packers play their base 3-4 defense in Week 1 against the Bears, it will be Pennel, not veteran Josh Boyd, taking the field. 

Pennel, whom the Packers signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014, had a nice training camp in 2015. He was one of just five defensive linemen the Packers kept on the 53-man roster, though they will have to cut players to make room for Jones and Guion to return. 

Stopping the run is an enormous focus for the Packers in 2015, and Pennel proved to be one of the most effective linemen to do that this offseason.

"Pennel might very well be the most improved player that the Green Bay Packers have on defense," wrote Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

"He's also made more plays against the run than any of the nine remaining defensive linemen while proving his game is suitable for defensive end as well as nose tackle in the 3-4."

We'll see if Pennel's stock continues to rise into the regular season. 

Falling: DL Josh Boyd

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

If a player is rising at one position, there's probably another player at that same position who's falling. 

The latter seems to be the case for the veteran Boyd. 

With Pennel listed as the starting defensive end ahead of Boyd on the Packers' most recent depth chart heading into Week 1, Boyd could see his snaps dramatically reduced to start the 2015 season.

Boyd played 421 snaps in 2014, per Pro Football Focus, and was a candidate to start in the Packers' 3-4 base defense while Jones and Guion are out. 

However, after falling behind Pennel on the depth chart, there doesn't seem to be a package that will get Boyd onto the field much in Week 1. In the base defense, it will be Pennel, Raji and Daniels on the line. In the nickel defense, Raji and Daniels will remain on the field. 

Unlike Jones, who is best used as a situational pass-rusher and could rotate in on third downs, Boyd has always been better against the run. That's a good trait for a starting defensive lineman to possess, but perhaps not for one who is looking to get on the field in sub-packages. 

Boyd was only used on special teams in two games in 2014, per Pro Football Focus, so that might not be an option for him to get snaps against Chicago, either. 

Rising: WR James Jones

Associated Press

Admittedly, this one is cheating a little bit. After all, former Packers wideout and veteran James Jones only re-signed with the Packers on Sunday. How can his stock be rising if he hasn't done anything yet?

But the move, returning to the team that originally drafted him in the third round in 2007 and with which he won a Superbowl in 2011, can be considered a bit of a rest for Jones' career, as the receiver himself implied. 

"A lot of hugs I've been giving out here," Jones said Monday, per Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Like I rose from the dead a little bit. But a lot of love. I appreciate it. It's good to see these guys. They were family to me for seven years, so it's good to be back home."

After Green Bay let Jones leave in free agency in 2014, he had 73 passes for 666 yards and six touchdowns with the Oakland Raiders. Though those six scores were nowhere near the league-leading 14 he had with the Packers in 2012, the receiver pointed out the 73 receptions were the most of his career. 

Jones said the Packers' playbook is "99 percent" the same as when he was last with the Packers, per Cohen, which hopefully means he should be able to pick up where he left off.

Now, the Packers will have to decide whether Jones or rookie Ty Montgomery will line up outside along with Davante Adams in Green Bay's 11 personnel. But where Jones could really help is in the red zone, where the Packers are down a reliable target in Jordy Nelson. 

How he performs in Week 1 will determine whether Jones' stock remains high.

Falling: CB Demetri Goodson

Morry Gash/Associated Press

To be fair to second-year cornerback Demetri Goodson, his play alone doesn't have his stock trending downward. He didn't do much to stand out in the preseason, aside from a pass defensed against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he didn't do poorly, either. 

However, simple math is what's going against Goodson as the Packers enter Week 1. In somewhat of a surprise, Green Bay kept 11 defensive backs on the 53-man roster, including seven cornerbacks. 

Goodson is currently listed as the third-string left cornerback on the Packers' most recent depth chart. 

Though Goodson was a special teams fixture for the Packers in 2014, that's a role that a player such as LaDarius Gunter, the Packers' sixth cornerback, could fill.

If the Packers' 53-man roster were final, Goodson might not have to worry, but players will have to be released to make room for both Jones and Guion to return from their suspensions. 

Of all the players currently on the Packers' 53-man roster who might be moved to accomodate Jones and Guion, Goodson is one of the first that comes to mind. 

Rising: RB Alonzo Harris

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Most thought it would be practice-squad holdover Rajion Neal.

Some thought it would be undrafted rookie John Crockett. 

That's why most people were surprised when the third halfback to make the Packers' 53-man roster behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks was, in fact, undrafted rookie Alonzo Harris out of Louisiana-Lafayette. 

Now, Harris didn't have a bad preseason at all; far from it. The rookie had 21 rushes for 85 yards and a rushing touchdown, as well as a seven-yard catch. But Neal and Crockett displayed the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and it seemed like that might offer the Packers a nice change-of-pace component for their third halfback spot. 

However, the Packers like Harris' hard-nosed running style, which helped him average 4.7 yards per attempt in college. They like it because it's reminiscent of Lacy's, the player for whom Harris could potentially have to replace should he become injured. 

That's good news for Harris, who appears to be in the process of being groomed to be Lacy's new No. 2. Veteran Starks is set to become a free agent in March. 

As the third halfback, Harris may not see a lot of touches in 2015, but the Packers are clearly impressed by him.