Packers QB could be surprise choice to make team after switching positions

Green Bay Packers quarterback Alex McGough has traveled a long and winding road to make it onto an NFL roster, and the work isn't done yet.

McGough was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He spent the next few years bouncing around practice squads across the league before opting to join the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022. In two seasons, he helped the Birmingham Stallions win two consecutive USFL championships while earning USFL MVP honors in 2023.

The Packers took notice of his mobility and signed him onto their practice squad last season. If McGough makes Green Bay's 53-man roster, it won't be as a quarterback.

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, Packers coordinators and executive spoke to reporters about the roster before offseason programs begin to ramp up next week. One of the topics discussed was McGough's transition to wide receiver.

Packers attempt to convert a quarterback into a wideout for Jordan Love

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that McGough's best chance to make the 53-man roster would be to switch positions from quarterback to wide receiver.

McGough would have a difficult time competing for a quarterback role in Green Bay. If last season is any indication, the Packers may have caught lightning in a bottle at the quarterback position for a third consecutive time. Even if quarterback Jordan Love doesn't develop into a Hall of Famer like his predecessors Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre, he showed the ability to be a quality franchise quarterback for years to come.

The competition for the backup quarterback position also features two quarterbacks that Green Bay drafted: Michael Pratt in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft and Sean Clifford in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

McGough spent time at wide receiver and tight end on the scout team while he was on Green Bay's practice squad last season, where Green Bay's coaching staff got to take a close look at his athletic ability.

"He's a really athletic guy," LaFleur said, h/t NFL.com. "He spent a lot of time on the scout team running receiver routes, and he did such a great job. We feel like he’s such a talented athlete, why not give him a chance there? He’s a smart guy, works his tail off. I think he can contribute on [special teams] as well. We felt like that might be his best chance here."

Packers wide receiver coach Ryan Mahaffey spoke glowingly about McGough, highlighting how his experience as a quarterback gives him a unique perspective on route running, play design, and defensive coverages that most wide receivers don't have.

“Having Alex in there is great,” Mahaffey said, h/t The Athletic. “He has a perspective of playing quarterback, so there are a lot of things in terms of the rhythm and the timing of the play that he can add to the conversation. Alex … might step in there and play wide receiver at times and you could see him run, you could see his ball skills, and then obviously, he’s intelligent. It’s been fun to be able to add him into the mix. He’s been working really hard, but he adds, just in terms of his background playing quarterback, he has a solid foundation of kind of what we’re trying to get done from a passing game standpoint.”

Even at the wide receiver position, making the 53-man roster won't be easy for McGough. Green Bay's wide receiver room is brimming with young, budding stars like Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.

McGough's best chance of making the roster is to carve out a role on special teams until he can develop as a wide receiver, much like Julian Edelman once did with the New England Patriots.