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The easiest way to build an NFL roster is to know who truly belongs on it. For the Packers, they don’t have that luxury right now. With the final preseason game approaching and roster cuts looming, Green Bay still has several players making a legitimate case to stick around. Some were expected to compete for jobs. Others were supposed to be fighting for a practice-squad spot at best. The Packers Have 2 Unexpected 53-Man Roster Candidates Anthony Campbell and Mark Perry were supposed to fall into that second category. Neither player entered training camp as a household name. Neither had a guaranteed path to the 53-man roster. But both have spent the summer doing the one thing every fringe player needs to do in August: make it increasingly uncomfortable for the coaching staff to cut them. Anthony Campbell Is Making Himself Impossible to Ignore The Packers entered the offseason with a pretty obvious problem on the interior of their defensive line. Green Bay had moved on from Kenny Clark and Colby Wooden in trades over the previous two years, while T.J. Slaton departed in free agency. The signing of veteran Javon Hargrave helped stabilize the group, but the Packers still needed young players to emerge around him. Instead of simply finding a few bodies to fill out the room, Green Bay appears to have found a competition. Chris McClellan has been one of the more intriguing young players in the group. Warren Brinson has flashed. Seventh-round pick Nazir Stackhouse is trying to force his way into the conversation. And then there’s Campbell. The 6-foot-6, 307-pound defensive lineman has gone from fringe roster candidate to one of the more interesting stories of Packers training camp. Against Denver, he made perhaps his loudest statement yet. Campbell beat his blocker and brought down quarterback Sam Ehlinger. He finished with three tackles and a team-high four pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s the sort of production that gets a bubble player’s name written in pen instead of pencil. It also isn’t entirely new. Campbell has been batting down passes throughout training camp and consistently disrupting the line of scrimmage. Packers defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase said Campbell has recorded more than 10 pass breakups dating back to the spring. For a defensive lineman, that’s absurdly productive. The Packers Actually Need What Campbell Provides The Campbell conversation isn’t simply about having a great preseason story. His skill set fits what Green Bay needs. Jonathan Gannon’s defense asks plenty of its interior defenders. The defensive line has to be capable of handling the run while creating enough disruption to keep opposing offenses from living in favorable down-and-distance situations. That becomes even more important when the defense wants to free up its edge rushers, linebackers, and defensive backs to attack. The Packers already have interior players who can create pressure. Devonte Wyatt has flashed that ability. Karl Brooks has been productive as a pass rusher. Hargrave brings years of experience. But Campbell and McClellan have shown something particularly valuable: the ability to hold up against the run. That’s important because the Packers don’t need another interior defender who can only rush the passer. They need players who can stay on the field. And Campbell is making a pretty good argument that he can. Mark Perry Has Forced His Way Into the Safety Conversation If Campbell is one of the biggest surprises on the defensive line, Mark Perry might be one of the biggest surprises in the safety room. Perry entered the summer with an even less certain future. The former TCU safety went undrafted in 2024 and has bounced around the NFL ever since. Miami, Houston, New England, Tennessee, and Chicago all gave him opportunities. None turned into a 53-man roster spot. He eventually landed in Green Bay late last season, signing with the Packers’ practice squad before receiving a futures contract. Coming into training camp, Perry was competing with fellow undrafted safety Murvin Kenion for an opportunity near the bottom of the depth chart. Then he made a play. It was his first interception since his college career. More importantly, it was the kind of play that can change a roster battle. Perry has also benefited from increased opportunities following Javon Bullard’s injury and Johnathan Baldwin’s season-ending injury. With fewer established options behind Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney, the Packers have needed someone to emerge. Perry has done exactly that. The Final Week Could Change Everything This is the strange part of August for the NFL. A month ago, Campbell and Perry were names most people probably wouldn’t have circled when looking at the Packers’ projected 53-man roster. Now, they’re forcing their way into the conversation. The Packers don’t need every young player to become a star. They need a handful of players to prove that the roster is deeper than it looked when camp began. Campbell has done that on the defensive line, and Perry has done it at safety. Now they have one final opportunity to make the decision even harder. The Packers will hold a joint practice with Arizona before Friday’s preseason finale. Then comes the uncomfortable part of the NFL calendar: the cuts. Fifty-three names, and a whole lot of players who believe they belong. And a few longshots who have spent the last month making the Packers wonder whether they were ever really longshots in the first place. For Campbell and Perry, that’s probably the biggest victory already. They’ve made themselves part of the conversation. Now they just have to finish it.