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No rest for the weary: Packers’ OL Sean Rhyan takes on hefty workload in training camp

Paul Bretl | 8/14/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — You name it, and Sean Rhyan is being asked to do it along the Packers’ interior offensive line during training camp. Not only is Rhyan trying to win the starting right guard position, but he’s also cross-training at center and left guard as well for if he ends up being a backup.

“Right now, obviously he’s in a competition for a starting position,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on Monday, “and the big thing for us is to get him ready at several positions in case he isn’t a starter, you want him to be a versatile backup that could play any of those three interior spots. Big camp for him, just obviously competing for that starting role at right guard, and then getting ready to be a backup, if that happens to be his role, at center and left guard.”

During the Packers’ preseason opener against Cleveland, Rhyan was on the field for 48 snaps–the second-most on the team on offense–and was tasked with filling a few different roles. He began the game at right guard with the starters while Jordan Morgan is out and then transitioned to center with the second team offense.

In 28 pass-blocking snaps across both positions, Rhyan didn’t surrender a single pressure, according to PFF. In the run game, he led the way for Emanuel Wilson on a few of his carries.

“I thought he did a good job,” added Stenavich. “It’s not an easy thing. It’s pretty underrated, being able to go out there, make the calls, snap the ball to the quarterback without any exchange issues, things like that. Just being able to run the offense. I was happy with what I saw.”

With the Packers wanting Rhyan to be able to step in at any of the interior positions at moment’s notice, he has quite a bit on his plate this summer, which to an extent, is a complement because the coaching staff believes he can handle this workload. However, for Rhyan, who of course wants to start, he doesn’t have the luxury of focusing on only one position.

In moving from guard to center, there is the added responsibilities of having to identify, call-out, and communicate any protection changes. In moving from right guard to left guard, or vice versa, the mechanics of what Rhyan has to do on a given play are flipped.

“I’m just trying to get crackerjack at both,” said Rhyan. “Trying to minimize that lag just so that I can flip both sides real quick. So that whether something happens, left, right or center, I can just be able to–they can be like ‘alright go in,’ and I don’t have to worry about ‘is this pass set gonna’–you know? Are his hips aligned? Are his hands good? It’s all of that type of stuff. Just trying to minimalize that lag.”

With the offensive line struggling through the first half of the 2023 season, the Packers resorted to a rotation at left tackle between Rasheed Walker and Yosh Nijman, as well as at right guard with Rhyan and Jon Runyan. What started out as Rhyan playing a series or two blossomed into him and Runyan splitting snaps nearly 50-50 in Week 15 against Tampa Bay, and that carried over into the playoffs.

Where Rhyan was at his best was as a run-blocker. With his size, strength, and heavy hands, he brought a different element to the Packers’ offensive line as a bit of a mauler. Rather than opening up a running lane by being in an advantageous position, Rhyan generates push and moves the defender across from him.

However, what the Packers have been wanting to see from Rhyan, both from last season and into training camp now, is the down-to-down consistency needed from a starter. And, perhaps in large part, accomplishing that starts with being in the right condition for Rhyan to bring his A-game on every rep.

“There were some good clips of him,” said Matt LaFleur about Rhyan’s play on Saturday. “Just the play style that we want to have and it’s just for him, I think he’s still a young player in terms of the amount of reps that he’s gotten in game action and there’s a lot of room to continue to grow and just make sure, I think one of his biggest things that he’s got to make sure that he’s in charge of is just the conditioning component, and making sure he stays ahead of that because when he is fresh he can be pretty good.”

We keep hearing from the coaches that Rhyan is competing at right guard with Morgan, however, from my vantage point, that isn’t how I see things.

For one, when Morgan is healthy, he has been the starting right guard in practice–there is no rotation taking place as of late. Prior to Morgan’s injury, Rhyan’s snaps with the ones came at left guard when Elgton Jenkins was on a vet rest day or at center when Josh Myers was absent for a personal matter. Instead, most of Rhyan’s work had come with the second team offense until recently with Morgan sidelined.

Rhyan has had the opportunity to showcase what he can do as the starting right guard over the last week, but the way things are trending, my guess is that he ends up as the do-it-all backup–a still very valuable role. If the Packers are dealt with an injury, I would think Rhyan would be the first option off the bench, able to play all three interior positions. And with no one taking charge of the swing tackle competition, I wouldn’t be surprised if an injury occurs at tackle Jenkins or Morgan is asked to move outside with Rhyan coming in to play one of the guard positions.

“Again, just like everybody else,” said offensive line coach Luke Butkus, “he’s embraced his role of having the versatility of playing right guard last year, a little bit of left guard the last couple years he’s been here and this camp kind of doing it all. That’s only going to help him. Sean’s a big, strong kid and showed some really great reps on Saturday. Just the consistency right now from Sean, we gotta keep going.”

While a lot is being asked of Rhyan this summer, that is again a good thing, as it shows the faith that the coaching staff has in him. For Rhyan, he’s continuing to take things day by day, playing the best football that he can, and trending in the right direction. That’s where his focus will remain and wherever the chips fall–they fall.

“Good,” said Rhyan about his performance in camp. “Constantly trending upwards. So that’s always a good thing. Just going out there every day and playing the best ball that I can. That’s all I can do.”

Packers’ training camp notebook: Observations from practice No. 13

Paul Bretl | 8/13/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field on Tuesday for the first time since their preseason opener in Cleveland. Today the shoulder pads were on and tomorrow they will be in full pads before traveling to Denver on Thursday for a joint practice on Friday, followed by the preseason game on Sunday.

Today’ practice was a bit shorter, going one hour and 36 minutes, but we saw plenty of 11-on-11 action. Here is what you need to know.

Who was in and who was out? Jaire Alexander did not play on Saturday. He was out for a personal matter, but was on the practice field Tuesday. Tyler Davis, who did not play in the preseason opener either was back. Also returning after missing some time was Jordan Morgan, Donovan Jennings, Deslin Alexandre, Dimitri Stanley, and Ty’Ron Hopper–all of whom only participated in the individual portion of practice. We also saw Tucker Kraft taking some 11-on-11 snaps as well.

Running back Jarveon Howard was out with an ankle injury. This is the first practice that he’s missed. Edgerrin Cooper was still out, as was Carrington Valentine, Keshawn Banks, and MarShawn Lloyd did not practice after leaving Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury. Quay Walker did not participate in the team portion of practice, but there is no real concern.

Who was where on the offensive line? With Morgan still not in the team portion of practice, the offensive line remained the same, with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom. Rhyan has on a lot on his plate this summer, as he’s competing for the starting right guard position, but also trying to prove that he can play all three interior positions if he ends up as a backup off the bench.

“Again, just like everybody else, he’s embraced his role of having the versatility of playing right guard last year,” said offensive line coach Luke Butkus on Monday. “A little bit of left guard the last couple years he’s been here and this camp kind of doing it all. That’s only going to help him. Sean’s a big, strong kid and showed some really great reps on Saturday. Just the consistency right now from Sean, we gotta keep going.”

The second offensive line unit had Kadeem Telfort and Andre Dillard playing both tackle spots, with Royce Newman at left guard, Jacob Monk at center and Lecitus Smith at right guard. Rookie Travis Glover saw some right tackle snaps with the twos and appeared to be ahead of Caleb Jones today. The third offensive line unit primarily had Jones at left tackle with Monk at left guard, Smith at center, Luke Tenuta at right guard, Glover at right tackle.

Once again at safety we saw Javon Bullard starting next to Xavier McKinney. Before practice, Matt LaFleur said there’s no need to read into any depth charts right now and that everyone is competing. However, it’s been a week-plus of Bullard getting the start in practice, and he did as well in the preseason game. So I guess do with that info what you wish, however, we saw Evan Williams make another impressive play, recording a “tackle” for loss on a toss play to Josh Jacobs.

“Really sure tackler. Smart,” Eric Stokes said of Williams. “Aggressive and always around the ball. You love those intangibles as a safety, so it’s perfect.”

With Walker and Hopper not participating in the team portion of practice and Cooper still out, that created more opportunities for undrafted rookie Ralen Goforth, who was starting next to Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson as the Will linebacker when the Packers were in base. Along with Goforth, Kristian Welch got some added opportunities as well, and had a near interception off Jordan Love.

“It was good, man,” said Goforth after practice. “Getting out there, getting reps. Guys that I’m normally watching from the sideline, but it was nice to get out there. You really see the communication get heightened. Everybody’s talking and you just really want to showoff for the guys.”

With Hopper and Cooper missing time, I still think it’s possible that the Packers go heavy and keep six linebackers, specifically rostering Welch to help on special teams. The rookies have missed some valuable practice time, and Welch was a core special teams player in 2023 and played the third-most special teams snaps in the opener against Cleveland.

During one of the 11-on-11 periods, we saw Jordan Love connect with Christian Watson on a deep post with Eric Stokes in coverage. It was a nice route by Watson who was able to get a step or two on Stokes before high-pointing the ball for the catch. As I wrote about recently, the deep ball for Love and the offense greatly improved during the second half of 2023 and that momentum has carried over to the summer.

“Well, he’s always had the arm talent to make the throws downfield,” said Clements when meeting with reporters on Monday. “I think just at the beginning of the year (2023), you can call deep passes and, if you get the right coverage, then you have a shot to take it downfield. If you don’t get the right coverage, you can’t force it downfield. I think maybe at times we were trying to go downfield when the defense didn’t allow it.”

LaFleur discussed before practice the opportunity the Packers have with the different skill sets and body types to get creative when lined up in nickel. While Keisean Nixon has taken the bulk of those starting snaps, we’ve seen Javon Bullard get more opportunities there as well as of late.

“We’re trying to get our best players out there,” said LaFleur. “The guys that give us the best chance to win, and there’s nothing to say that you can’t have multiple groupings as well. I know a lot of teams will do that, just depending upon what they want to play. Do they have a lot of different bodies in there. Some teams will have a big nickel or they get more of the safety body type in there versus their regular nickel, it’s just however it shakes out.”

During a move the ball period, Love and the starting offense put together an 11 play drive that began in their own territory. Along with some running plays mixed in, Love finished the drive 3/6, with completions to Luke Musgrave, AJ Dillon, and Dontayvion Wicks. Helping to keep the drive going was a pass interference penalty on Evan Williams on a deep ball to Bo Melton. Love got the offense in field goal range, which Alex Hale made from 26 yards.

In a red zone period that began at the 19 yard line with just 22 seconds left, Love first connect with Wicks for 17 yards on a crossing route. The offense then spiked and ball and on the third play, Love found an open Romeo Doubs in the front right corner of the end zone.

End of half situation: The offense then began at midfield with 40 seconds left on the clock. On the first play, Love had Wicks over the middle but the pass was just slightly behind, allowing Jaire Alexander to break it up. On second down and with 34 seconds left, Love scrambled and over threw Doubs down the left sideline. On third down, there was a false start (I didn’t see who the penalty was on) and then facing a 3rd-and-15, Love tried to push the ball down the right sidelined to AJ Dillon who was matched up with Eric Wilson but it was a slight overthrow. This drive would have ended in a punt.

At the backup quarterback position, Sean Clifford was with the second team offense during the move the ball period, but throughout the practice he would throw two interceptions–one of which was made by Kalen King, his second of camp. From that point on, it was Michael Pratt leading the second offense in the red zone drill and end of half situation. So, again, read into that what you will. We will see what Wednesday’s practice holds.

Pratt was unable to find the end zone in the red zone, with the drive ending on a Lukas Van Ness sack after he beat Telfort. In the end of half situation, Pratt connected with Julian Hicks and then down the seam to Ben Sims to put the offense in field goal range for a 44 yard attempt, which Alex Hale made.

While Hale’s practice ended with a make, it was a rough day for the kicker. He finished 5-for-9, and at one point missed four kicks in a row, all to the right.

When it comes to AJ Dillon versus Emanuel Wilson for a roster spot, keep in mind the importance of pass-blocking, particularly for the second and third running backs on the roster. This is an area where Dillon has been sound and Wilson, while improving, is still a work in progress.

“Well, we’re still working on that part of it,” said running backs coach Ben Sirmans. “He has shown whether it’s 1-on-1s that when he does attack things with the proper technique that he can block people, and I think the other thing besides that is he’s shown whether it’s a walkthrough or different phases we’ve put him in where we’ve brought pressure that he’s much more I guess educated at what his assignment is and making really good decisions. So I think that’s something that we’re working towards, but we’ve just got to continue to put him in those situations to get a full answer on that, but my trust level is growing with him.”

Packers’ rookie OL Jacob Monk brings a ‘rip your lips off’ mentality to football field

Paul Bretl | 8/13/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — When the Packers drafted offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth-round of this past April’s draft, they weren’t only adding an experienced and versatile player to the offensive line room. Monk also brings to the table intangible qualities that can’t necessarily be coached up in his ability to be a leader and a mentality on the football field that has helped separate him from the rest.

“Jacob, he’s great,” said offensive line coach Luke Butkus on Monday. “Watching that film from the game on Saturday was an awesome – not a surprise because I know he’s a tough kid and he works his butt off. But before the game during warmups, the look on his face, he was ready to rip somebody’s lips off. That’s the way he played, and it was fun to watch. He loves playing the game. He loves the physicality of it and was really excited for him to get out there and play his first snap.”

During Saturday’s preseason opener in Cleveland, Monk played 61 snaps–the most on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers. Instantly, we saw Monk’s versatility, with him playing 11 snaps at left guard, 17 at center, and another 33 at right guard.

This has been the case in practice as well, with Monk routinely playing all three interior positions with the second and third offensive line units. Then during last Thursday’s practice, Monk spent the entire day with the ones at right guard, following an early false start by Sean Rhyan.

“Well, I think the versatility, again, from what we do, he was a 58-game starter in college,” said Butkus. “I believe 20 of those maybe were at center. I think naturally he’s more comfortable playing right guard but for us he’s played a lot more center. Again, trying to develop at all three of those inside positions for him to help us out.”

Monk is also an excellent athlete, posting an elite Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.74 during the pre-draft process, and we saw those movement skills on display with his ability to cover multiple gaps. Over 29 pass-blocking snaps, Monk surrendered only one quarterback hit, according to PFF, and was routinely finishing blocks in the run game, which included .

“I really like him,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “He plays with a lot of effort, plays with a lot of intensity, finishes his blocks. He has technique stuff to clean up, that most young guys do. But from what I’ve seen from him this first game, I was really excited about watching him. It was great.”

As already alluded to, Monk came to the NFL an experienced player, with 58 career starts during his time at Duke and having played 3,681 career snaps. During his final season in 2023, Monk played both right guard and center for the Blue Devils, allowing only one sack and 14 pressures on the season.

But beyond the on-field accomplishments and performances that Monk had in his college career, he is a two-time team captain at Duke and it’s also who he is as a person that also attracted the Packers to him in the pre-draft process.

“He’s quick, very quick, strong, aggressive play style, excellent motor, gets after it,” said Packers’ VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan after the draft. “He’s a snap-to-whistle kind of guy. Like I said, his play style and the way they talk about him, his wiring, he’s an elite, elite guy. He’s a leader and he kind of sets the tone at that program. Guys follow him and I think that kind of oozes out on his film when you’re watching him and this guy’s getting after it and he’s out there to win.”

With the Packers’ starting offensive line taking shape, this season for Monk he will likely take on a backup role, competing with Sean Rhyan to be the team’s No. 2 center behind Josh Myers, but also showcasing that he can take over at eight guard position if needed in a pinch as well. Next season, however, with Myers set to be a free agent, the opportunity for Monk to step into a starting role will likely be there for him.

As is the case with any incoming rookie, there is a learning curve that Monk is navigating and as Stenavich said, some technique stuff that will need to be cleaned up. But through how Monk plays on the field and who he is off of it, he has already shown that he’s the right person and has the right mentality for whatever role the Packers need him to fill.

“I think it’s just what’s demanded at the time,” said Monk when asked about being a leader. “I feel like when I’m at center, you have to be a leader. You have to be loud, you have to be vocal, you have to be present to make those calls. But I’m not going to overstep my boundaries or anything. I feel like the main thing is being the same person every day so my teammates know what they’re going to get out of me, and I expect the same from them.”

Experience was the best teacher for Jordan Love and Packers’ downfield passing attack

Paul Bretl | 8/12/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Through the first three weeks of training camp practices prior to the Packers’ preseason opener in Cleveland, we’ve routinely seen Jordan Love and one of his receivers connect on a deep ball. Then on the third play of the game against the Browns, we saw Love connect with Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard score.

“We had a great play dialed up for that situation,” said Jordan Love after the game. “1-on-1 with Wicks in the slot, faking the handoff and he ran a great route, kind of lulled him to sleep at the top and then was able to go past him and (I) just put the ball out there for him and he made the rest happen. Great play by him.”

While I’m sure what many remember from this Packers’ offense late last season was the ability of this group to generate chunk plays through the air. And that certainly was the case. However, rewinding to last summer’s training camp and even well into the season, when it came to connecting on the deep ball, the consistency wasn’t there at all.

From Weeks 1-10 of the 2023 season, Love was very willing to push the ball downfield, ranking fifth among all quarterbacks during that span in passes of 20-plus yards. But those opportunities weren’t turning into big plays–or at least not at a high enough rate. Out of 36 eligible quarterbacks, Love ranked 31st in completion rate (28.9%), completing only 11 of those 38 throws with four interceptions to only one touchdown.

Of course, the accuracy of those passes matters, with Love needing to put the ball in the right place where his receiver is the one able to make the play. However, in addition to that, knowing when to push the ball downfield is a crucial element as well, and if you ask quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, that was where Love needed to improve.

“Well, he’s always had the arm talent to make the throws downfield,” said Clements when meeting with reporters on Monday. “I think just at the beginning of the year, you can call deep passes and, if you get the right coverage, then you have a shot to take it downfield. If you don’t get the right coverage, you can’t force it downfield. I think maybe at times we were trying to go downfield when the defense didn’t allow it.”

Then around the midway point in the season–when the tide really began to turn for Love and the offense as a whole–Love and the Packers really began to connect on these deep passes. From Week 11 through the NFL Divisional playoff round, Love led the NFL in pass attempts of 20-plus yards with 44, and his completion rate of 50 percent ranked as the seventh-best. Love would also finish first in downfield passing yards during that span with nine touchdowns to two interceptions.

“From midyear on,” added Clements, “you guys might’ve noticed, we hit a lot of checkdowns to the backs for big yards and that was when the defense dropped in zone, we didn’t have the downfield route. And then if we got an indication they were going to be in man and we had a deep pass available, we took a shot. When you get one-on-one, it’s easier to throw those deep balls. He always had the ability. It was just a matter of doing it at the right time.”

The improvement that Love and the Packers’ offense experienced in this phase of the passing game was not only attributed to his decision-making and knowing when to push the ball downfield versus when to just take what the defense gave him, but as his young group of receivers gained more experienced and built that rapport with Love, they were regularly putting themselves in better positions to make plays on those deep balls.

“Trust and timing and also us winning on the route cleaner,” said passing game coordinator Jason Vrable. “As you watched his route, when he set the guy up and he was going to the red line, I felt early in the year last year we were kinda getting re-routed at that point and pushed out a little bit wider than we want.

“On deep balls, you have to stack the defender. If you’re not, then it’s just a 50-50 ball. We don’t really want those. He did a really job with the set at the top and the shoulders down, the dig in and then Jordan threw a great ball and the protection was great. Just the timing and the us getting a little bit better with our vertical express and being a little bit tighter to the DB as opposed to just running around contact.”

Having that deep ball element is crucial to the overall success of the offense. Of course, there is the obvious in that being able to hit on those big play attempts generates explosive plays and quick scores. However, there is a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the offense as well.

When defenses have to be mindful of an offense’s ability to air it out, that creates better spacing and more opportunities underneath for other pass-catchers or in the run game, which is now dealing with lighter boxes. On the flip side, and as we saw early on last season, when defenses don’t respect that element, moving the ball in general becomes much more challenging because the defenders are playing closer to the line of scrimmage, meaning there is less space for the offense to operate in.

We’ve heard on a few occasions this offseason some iteration of the offense being night and day ahead of where they were at this time last year. And one noticeable area where that is true is in the deep passing game, where experience was the ultimate educator for both Love and his receivers, and helped this offense go from one that was struggling to move the chains, to one of the more high-powered units down the stretch last season.

“I think a lot of it with him early last year, he was kind of forcing balls down the field,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “Once he just understood, ‘OK, it might not be there. Bang, hit your checkdown.’ So he was hitting a lot more checkdowns. And then, when the open balls were there, he was hitting them, you know what I mean? He wasn’t forcing it. So I think it was just basically taking what the defense gives you and having that understanding of being patient. I think that was big for him.”

Packers’ DE Lukas Van Ness off to fast start in preseason

Paul Bretl | 8/11/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ defensive end Lukas Van Ness put together an impressive performance in the team’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, perhaps foreshadowing what’s to come in his second NFL season.

Against both the run and the pass, Van Ness made his present felt on Saturday. In only 14 pass rush snaps, Van Ness recorded four pressures and a sack. In the run game, he had three tackles for loss, along with a few other plays where he funneled the ball carrier back inside.

“I thought guys competed hard,” said LaFleur post game of the defense’s performance. “It’s not like it was an overly complicated game plan. (Jeff) Hafley had a very minimal call sheet but I think that was by design, obviously. We just wanted to see our guys go out there and complete, play fast, play physical and run to the football.”

We often hear about and discuss the Year 2 leap for NFL players. With a year of experience under their belts and a full offseason to focus on their craft rather than preparing for the draft, the biggest developmental leap frequently occurs that second season.

For Van Ness, we began to see that growth take place over the course of his rookie season. Through Week 11 of 2023, Van Ness had seven total pressures, with five of them coming in Week 1 against Chicago and there being eight games where he didn’t record any pressures.

However, from Week 12 through the remainder of the season–nine games–Van Ness had 15 pressures and five sacks. Out of 113 eligible edge rushers during that span, Van Ness ranked 34th in pass-rush productivity–a formula from PFF that combines sacks, hits, and hurries relative to the number of pass rush opportunities.

“It’s just coming into the building and having a year under your belt,” said Van Ness at the start of training camp. “I heard this, I think Bullard said it, comfortable is not a good word to use just because you’re fighting for your job, you never want to be comfortable because you’re growing and always trying to get to the next position.

“But Year 2 jump, as everybody knows, that’s a big year for me and I’m excited. I know the goals that I have set for myself and I’m excited to go out there and prove it. But just having a little bit more confidence in myself, even coming into the building.”

Also contributing to a potential leap for Van Ness will be Jeff Hafley’s defensive system, which should suit his skill set well. Rather than being responsible for two-gaps and having to read-and-react to what’s happening, Hafley asks his defensive front to attack. While, of course, there is more nuance to it, in short, it is the job of the defensive front to get off the ball and into the backfield as quickly as possible.

“Just getting back to my hand in the ground,” said Van Ness about Hafley’s defense. “Something I kind of transitioned naturally to at the end of the year last year with coach Barry’s defense. But the 4-3 style, having a little bit more of an attack-style defense, getting after the quarterback, making TFLs and negative plays. That’s a mentality I play much better in and having a little bit of having the ability to transfer between different roles and positions, which I did at Iowa.”

If the Packers defense as a whole is going to improve in 2024, it starts with more consistent play upfront. In 2023, the Packers’ pass rush ran very hot and cold, recording seven games where they pressured the quarterback on 45 percent of more of his dropbacks, which is an excellent rate. However, on the flip side, there were also seven games where Green Bay pressured the opposing quarterback on fewer than 30 percent of his dropbacks, which is the opposite of excellent.

Then as we all know, the run game continued to provide this unit with issues, with the Packers ranking 23rd in yards per carry allowed, along with giving up a league-high four games of 200-plus rushing yards.

Success for any defense starts up front. The best way to slow any offensive play is with a quick push up the middle. Slowing the run puts the offense in obvious passing situations, giving the defense the advantage in coverage and allowing the front to pin its ears back, while pressure leads to mistakes that can hopefully be capitalized on.

A jump in Year 2 for Van Ness will go a long way in helping the Packers’ accomplish this. In addition to Van Ness’ play against Cleveland, throughout training camp, we’ve seen the entire defensive end position group, from Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, JJ Enagbare, and Brenton Cox, all getting into the backfield and making things difficult for the Packers’ offense in practice.

That kind of depth will allow for a heavy rotation, helping to keep players fresh throughout a game, while wearing down the offensive line. It will also give Hafley the opportunity to mix and match the rotations based on the opponent and putting his defenders in the best position to make plays. This can even be taken a step further if there is going to be movement between the defensive end and defensive tackle position groups.

All of which should result in more disruption, and at the end of the day, that’s the name of the game in the NFL.

“We’ve just harped on depth and having guys to rotate in and out and everybody having the ability to affect the game and be an impact player,” said Van Ness. “As you said, whether it’s Preston or RG or myself or JJ, you know there’s a whole list of guys that can rotate and play any position and I think it’s a testament to the depth and the ability we have to go out and succeed.”

Packers’ RB Emanuel Wilson more comfortable in Year 2 and it shows vs. Browns

Paul Bretl | 8/11/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Not to be forgotten about in the conversation for the Packers’ 53-man roster is running back Emanuel Wilson, and he made sure of that with his performance in the preseason opener.

“That’s up to them,” said Wilson about the final roster decisions. “I’m gonna leave that to Matt but really just out there doing my job, just out there playing.”

Wilson finished the game with 13 carries, the most on the team, and totaled 67 rushing yards at 5.2 yards per attempt with one touchdown. This performance included a 23 yard gain, two rushes of nine yards, and a five yard run on his touchdown.

“I thought there was a lot of good things out there,” said Matt LaFleur after the game. “I thought he was running hard. I thought he lowered his pads. He, what, a 23-yard run? So that was nice to see. He was able to stick his foot in the ground and get outside and we all know the speed he has. He’s got real speed. The challenge to him pregame was make sure you’re running your feet on contact and run through people, and I thought for the most part that happened.”

That burst and ability to find running lanes that we saw in Cleveland are the same qualities we saw from Wilson as a rookie in 2023 that helped him make the Packers 53-man roster. In the preseason last year, Wilson had a 111 yard performance against Cincinnati, sparked by an 80 yard touchdown run. Even during his limited opportunities in the regular season, Wilson was able to average 6.1 yards per attempt.

Wilson’s talent with the ball in his hands is evident and continues to flash. However, when it comes to being the backup or third running back on the roster, while of course, there is a certain prerequisite that each back must have as a ball carrier, as LaFleur has noted in the past, oftentimes it is a running back’s ability in pass protection, as a pass catcher, and on special teams that can carry a lot of weight when building out the final roster.

For Wilson, who went undrafted in 2023 out of DII Fort Valley State, it’s those elements, specifically the pass protection and special teams contributions, that he’s had to really focus on. And ultimately, it’s his ability in those areas that are going to result in him making the team and potentially carving out some sort of role.

“Really, I just try to focus on one thing at a time,” said Wilson after Family Night. “Every day, you know, try to really focus on pass protection. Gotta protect the quarterback at all times even on blitz pick ups and everything like that. Holding the football, catching the football, that’s natural but always room for improvement.”

Keeping four running backs probably isn’t in play, which means there is only one roster spot up for grabs with Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd going to be on the team. So far, throughout training camp and into the preseason game, AJ Dillon has been the Packers’ backup running back.

The sample sizes don’t compare, but for what it’s worth, over the last year Wilson has been the more explosive back of the two. However, in those other key areas, Dillon has proven to be very reliable throughout his career, perhaps giving him the advantage at this time.

Admittedly, being a late addition to the Packers roster last offseason while also making the jump from the DII level to the NFL was a lot for Wilson to take on. But now, with a full year in LaFleur’s offense under his belt and an offseason to hone in on his role, Wilson feels much more comfortable, and we saw the results of that on the field against the Browns.

“I ain’t going to say I feel comfortable but, you know, room for improvement,” added Wilson after Family Night. “Really just trying to keep it–be consistent with it. Really just reading the ends, see if they in the wide or B-gap, stuff like that, and then just being me. Just being more comfortable with being me because last year I wasn’t me. Now I’m comfortable with being me.”

Packers’ safety position showcases physicality in preseason opener vs. Browns

Paul Bretl | 8/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers’ trio of young safeties were among the many standout performers in the preseason opener against Cleveland, specifically the physicality of the position group as a whole.

“I thought he (Evan Williams) played physical, too,” said Matt LaFleur after the game, “and I thought that was – whether it was him, whether it was Bullard, Anthony Johnson, Zayne Anderson, Benny Sapp had a physical play, like I thought our safeties came and were physical today, and that’s what we need from those guys. Coyle was out there, so I thought all those guys showed some physicality that we desperately need on the back end.”

Through three weeks of training camp practices prior to Saturday’s game, we have regularly seen the Packers’ safeties swarming to the ball carrier, and oftentimes near the line of scrimmage, however, the true physicality of this position group didn’t show up until there was live tackling.

Evan Williams was seemingly all over the field, leading the Packers defense in tackles with six, all of which were solo. Javon Bullard would contribute three more, while Anthony Johnson had two, along with taking on an offensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, not allowing the ball carrier to get outside, resulting in a minimal gain.

While the tackle numbers are great, and the willingness to make those plays is a necessity, also important is where those tackles are taking place. With the help of the safety group, the Packers defense as a whole limited the Browns first two quarterbacks, Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley to just 5.3 yard per pass attempt. For some context, Bryce Young at 5.5 yards per pass attempt in 2023 ranked 41st out of 41 eligible quarterbacks in that category.

“The thing that we liked about all of them is they have a very, very aggressive play style,” said Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan back in April about the rookie safeties. “They’ll get off the spot and come get it. That’s something that was attractive to us. So yeah, we’re glad to add them to the room. They’re the right kind of guys to put in the locker room. This game’s very important to them, it means something. Just glad to add them to the equation.”

Having the right mentality and play-style to be a capable and willing tackler is, of course, a key part of the equation, but so is being in the right position to not only have the opportunity to make those plays, but limit the damage done by the offense.

Helping with that element is Jeff Hafley’s defense, where the ultimate goal is to allow the players to play fast and physical. Accomplishing this begins with pristine fundamentals and technique because without that, play design doesn’t matter all that much. Step No. 2 is then drawing up a game-plan that the players are able to be confident in and execute on because, again, the best play design on paper doesn’t mean much if it’s not being executed properly.

“There’s nothing more important than fundamentals and technique,” said Hafley during OTAs. “Whether it’s the D-line getting off the ball and working on their stance and starts, whether it’s a guy learning how to play man to man or zone drop and where to put his eyes and what to do and how to react when certain things happen, tackling and attacking the football, the things are going to be most important during a game, taking on a block, where to put their eyes, getting off the block.

“Those are the things you’ve got to teach these guys because without that, you can’t play, right? And that whether you’re hitting a sled or tackling a bag. You can’t take those things for granted. We want to diagram all these blitzes and all these coverages, which we all can do, but if we’re not playing fast and physical and getting off blocks and tackling then none of that matters.”

In addition to the fast and physical play-style from the Packers’ safety position, we once again saw Williams make another splash play, forcing a fumble. Along with that takeaway, Williams has come away with four interceptions during training camp practices as well.

As Hafley detailed during his introductory press conference, the safety position plays a very important role within his defensive scheme. Versatility, physicality, tackling, and a ball-hawking mentality are all desired requirements for this group. We know Xavier McKinney checks those boxes, and while of course development is still needed for the young safeties on the roster, early signs point to Bullard and Williams having the potential to check those boxes as well.

“I like to say this is the best group that I’ve been apart of since I’ve been in the league and that’s from me to whoever the last person is,” said McKinney about the safety room during minicamp. “It don’t matter. I think everybody’s done a great job.

“I think the talent level in our room is out of this roof. And it’s just going to be fun to play with these guys because everybody is smart. So we all working off of each other and we’re able to build off of each other and compete with each other and make each other better.”

Instant takeaways from Packers’ preseason opener vs. Browns

Paul Bretl | 8/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers opened up the preseason with a win over the Cleveland Browns, although that doesn’t matter at all. What does matter is what took place on the field and the insights we gained that will ultimately play a role in determining playing time and roster spots.

Similarly to my observations article following each training camp practice, these are my gut reactions and instant takeaways to what took place on the football field today. Overall, a nice start for the Packers.

“I thought it was good to get back out there, and I know our guys, it’s been getting a little chippy in practice,” said Matt LaFleur after the game. “It was good to go up against somebody new. I loved how our guys competed in all three phases. I thought they put a lot of good tape out there. I thought the things that we were looking for in terms of the effort and running to the football and finishing, I thought it was on point. I’m sure there were some things we can work on and get better at but, all in all, it was great to see. We got everybody in the game and I thought everybody made contributions.”

Who was out? Below are the Packers players who did not suit up. According to Wes Hodkiewicz, Jaire Alexander was out for a personal matter. The only other player who didn’t participate but was practicing Thursday and not working his way back from an injury was Tyler Davis. Everyone else that was out was to be expected:

Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), Ty’Ron Hopper (ankle), Jordan Morgan (shoulder), and Donovan Jennings (knee), while Zach Tom and Tucker Kraft are eased back in following pec injuries early in the offseason.

MarShawn Lloyd would exit the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. He missed the first week of training camp with a hip injury.

It was one throw, but that 65 yard completion to Dontayvion Wicks from Jordan Love is a good example of the deep ball accuracy we have seen from Love during training camp. If you recall, that was a part of his game early on last year where he struggled. Also, Jayden Reed running a intermediate crosser from the slot grabbed the attention of the safety, leaving Wicks one-on-one with no help over the top.

“We had a great play dialed up for that situation,” said Jordan Love, “1-on-1 with Wicks in the slot, faking the handoff and he ran a great route, kind of lulled him to sleep at the top and then was able to go past him and (I) just put the ball out there for him and he made the rest happen. Great play by him.”

Who was starting on the offensive line? Without Morgan, Sean Rhyan was at right guard and with Tom not playing, Andre Dillard got the start at right tackle. On the second offensive line, we saw Dillard at left tackle, followed by Royce Newman, Rhyan, Jacob Monk, and Kadeem Telfort, which is what we’ve seen in camp. This second unit really settled in as they got more reps, with running back Emanuel Wilson benefitting from that.

We saw Wilson’s burst and playmaking potential last season and that was again on display. With Josh Jacobs and Lloyd on the roster, the ability of the third running back to hold up pass protection, impact the passing game, and help on special teams will be important factors when it comes to making the team, and those are areas where AJ Dillon is very sound. For what it’s worth, Dillon played only one series, which could give us some insight into his roster status. He has been RB2 all of camp.

“For the most part, I thought our guys were running hard,” added LaFleur. “I thought we were getting some movement up front. Certainly, would like to, when we have second-and-1 and we don’t convert and get stuffed on fourth down, there’s definitely some room for improvement there. But credit to them. They did a nice job. They had everybody up there on that fourth down; it was going to be quite the challenge.”

Caleb Jones and Sean Rhyan: Jones saw his first snaps late in the first half. He continues to be the third option at swing tackle, behind Dillard and Telfort. Jones has to get better in pass pro. Rhyan looked good at center and continues to be at his best as a run-blocker, with heavy hands and power. More consistency in pass protection is what Matt LaFleur and Adam Stenavich want to see from him.

Keeping Grant DuBose off the 53-man roster is going to be really challenging. DuBose continues to catch everything and running some really good routes to create separation. For more on DuBose’s offseason, click here. Along with making an impact as a pass-catcher, special teams and being able to help out in the run game will be important as well.

“Yeah definitely not surprising,” said Love of Dubose’s play. “Since we started camp, Grant’s been making plays every day. He’s been controlling what he can control when the ball comes to him. He’s making big-time plays. He’s knowing what he needs to do with his assignments in the blocking game and he’s just been a great player so far, so not a surprise what he did tonight. He’s been doing it all camp, so definitely looking forward to seeing more from him, but no, definitely was not surprised by it.”

Sean Clifford put together a nice performance. When in rhythm we are seeing the version of Clifford that impressed everyone last summer. With improved offensive line play over the last week-plus, Clifford is throwing on time, in rhythm, and not surprisingly, the results are much improved.

“Yeah, it was great,” said LaFleur of Clifford’s performance. “I thought there was a lot of good things. I’m not quite sure how many drives we got points on when he was out there, but you’d like to see us finish a little bit better in the red zone and not kick so many field goals. I thought the 2-minute operation was big time.

“There were some situational things that we got to work in terms of the two throwaways right before we went out there and kicked the field goal, I thought that was big time in terms of the execution so we didn’t have to kick off. You want to get that clock under 5 seconds and he was able to do that. Would like to only do one throwaway but we had to do two. But, all in all, just his command, his presence, the communication, the urgency in and out of the huddle I thought was pretty clean.”

Michael Pratt had a nice and efficient debut as well–appearing poised and not overwhelmed. He had a beautiful back shoulder throw to Julian Hicks and was a lead blocker on a big run by Wilson. Not necessarily a position you want your quarterback to be in regularly, but the effort is a wonderful thing. After the draft, Brian Gutekunst spoke about Pratt’s arm strength, and we saw that with him firing the ball into a few windows.

The Packers’ defensive front has often controlled the line of scrimmage in practice and I thought from the first unit to those playing in the fourth quarter did well making things uncomfortable for the Browns’ quarterbacks. The Packers finished with three sacks, four tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits.

The young safeties really impressed. Evan Williams just continues to make high impact plays, forcing a fumble to go along with the four interceptions he’s had during training camp. In addition to that, both Williams and Bullard were flying around making tackles, while Johnson had a nice play in the run game, taking on an offensive lineman, and forcing the ball carrier back inside. We also saw Bullard get the start next to Xavier McKinney and then he saw more slot snaps, with Bullard having more opportunities there the last week.

“He does, he does,” said LaFleur about Williams physical play-style. “I thought he played physical, too, and I thought that was – whether it was him, whether it was Bullard, Anthony Johnson, Zayne Anderson, Benny Sapp had a physical play, like I thought our safeties came and were physical today, and that’s what we need from those guys. Coyle was out there, so I thought all those guys showed some physicality that we desperately need on the back end.”

It was only a few series, but a nice start for Eric Stokes. He wasn’t targeted at all in coverage and made two plays near the line of scrimmage in the run game. Recently, Jeff Hafley complemented Stokes on the preseason he’s put together, and mentioned his play in the run game.

Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph alternated field goal/extra point attempts. They would each make their one extra point attempt, while Carlson made a 46 yard and 33 yard field goals, and Joseph was good from 35 yards. During minicamp, LaFleur mentioned that clarity around this competition may not begin until each kicker faces some high pressure situations. Both are off to a good start in that regard.

At cornerback, Corey Ballentine was the fourth cornerback–behind Alexander, Stokes, and Keisean Nixon–with Valentine out, which has been the case during training camp. When it comes to that final roster spot, special teams play will be a big factor, and that’s an area where Rochell is proven, as we saw on the tackle he made as a gunner on the punt coverage unit. Rochell also had two pass breakups in coverage. Kalen King continued to showcase the added physical presence he brings to the cornerback position, with most of his snaps coming from the slot. King versus Rochell will be a good competition for that sixth cornerback spot.

A really impressive showing for Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness. Both players forced multiple pressures, while Van Ness was also in on some tackles in the run game. Jeff Hafley certainly isn’t going to tip his hand in the preseason, but we got an additional glimpse of the stunt packages he’s going to use.

Daniel Whelan has been booming punts since OTAs. LaFleur recently spoke very highly about the offseason he’s put together.

“I think Daniel has had an outstanding offseason. In practices he’s kicking the crap out of the ball. Hopefully we only have to use him as a holder, but it’s probably not realistic. When you have a punter who’s capable of pinning an opposing offense deep, that is a real weapon. I think he’s progressing nicely. Now he’s got to go out and do it in games. From what he’s shown in practice, I’ve got a lot of confidence in seeing a huge step in the right direction for him.”

I’m not sure there’s a spot on the 53-man roster for Joel Wilson, but the last week we’ve really started to see him get his share of opportunities in the passing game with the second offense. He had three receptions for 30 yards and a nice block on a run by Wilson. Defensive end Arron Mosby also had a nice performance, making his way into the backfield on a few occasions.

Long-snapper Peter Bowden took over for Matt Orzech in the fourth quarter on a Daniel Whelan punt. Wes Hodkiewicz would also note that on the Packers’ first kickoff, they used nine defensive backs and linebacker Eric Wilson.

5 Packers to watch on defense in preseason opener vs. Browns

Paul Bretl | 8/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers open up the preseason on Saturday afternoon in Cleveland taking on the Browns. Most of the established starters will see at least a little playing time, but at this time of the year, much of the attention is on the positional battles taking place for both playing time and roster spots.

“I think it’s the totality,” said Matt LaFleur of the evaluation process. “I think you can’t put too much stock in one or the other. You’ve got to look at the whole. Granted, those games get heavily magnified because of the situation. That’s when you’re playing real football, so, obviously, there’s a lot of value to that and making sure that we get the right guys in there to see what we need to see in order to make the best decisions possible for the football team.”

So with those positional battles in mind, when the Packers have the ball and are on offense, here are seven players in particular that I’ll have my eyes on.

TJ Slaton: At 6-4 – 330 pounds, Slaton may not have the prototypical build of a defensive tackle in a 4-3 system, but rather may be better suited in that regard for a 3-4 scheme as the nose tackle, which is the role he filled under Joe Barry.

However, that hasn’t been the case at all. As defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich mentioned earlier in the offseason, Slaton is the “biggest man athlete” that he’s ever seen in his life. Adding that Slaton can two-step dunk a basketball. So from an athleticism perspective, Rebrovich as no concerns about Slaton acclimating to his new role.

“You know you never quite know how one guy’s going to transition to a certain style of defense,” added LaFleur, “but he’s done a really good job.”

Through three weeks of training camp practices, we are seeing the disruptive results that can occur when you combine Slaton’s size and athleticism with an attacking front where the goal is to get off the ball an into the backfield. Whether it’s against the run or the pass, Slaton’s presence in the backfield has become a regular occurrence at practice, particularly over the last week-plus. Let’s see how that translates over to a game.

“The coolest part about him right now,” said Hafley, “and I was joking doing bed check the other night, I talked to him for a while, the way he’s getting off the ball at his size and how disruptive he can be and penetrate, he’s hard to block. And you kinda saw a smile on his face and another guy who I believe has bought in and he’s doing everything that we’re trying to have those guys do and coach them to do.

“If you get big guys like that penetrating up front causes problems and I’m really happy with the way he’s started and I hope he can continue to build off of it because I think if he does and continues to improve he can really helps us out a lot and help himself out a lot.”

Brenton Cox: In training camp, Cox has primarily worked with the third-team defense, but saw some snaps with the twos and even the starters this week while JJ Enagbare was sidelined on Tuesday. Overall, Cox was a frequent visitor to the Packers’ backfield in practices this week, specifically as a pass rusher. Cox is a good athlete, but often wins with power and the use of strong, violent hands to get the offensive tackle out of position.

“I think I did okay,” said Cox of his performance on Tuesday. “Just hustling, just trying to be violent and attack the quarterback. Getting back there, that’s the main thing. Get back there, and everything else will fall into place.”

Cox has always had the ability to rush the quarterback, and part of his game should be magnified and on display in Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme, where the ultimate goal is for the members of the defensive front to get off the ball and into the backfield, generating TFLs and sacks–a play-style that Cox has “embraced,” as LaFleur put it.

In the upcoming preseason game against Cleveland, Cox should get plenty of opportunities to build off of the foundation he’s laid over these first two weeks of training camp, and show the impact he can make as a pass rusher in an actual game. Presumably, Gary and Smith will see no or very little snaps on Saturday, making Cox the third edge rusher in the rotation for much of the game. We also don’t know how much playing time Van Ness or Enagbare will see, which will then put Cox at the top of the defensive end depth chart for a stretch.

However, while of course, there is a prerequisite that Cox will have to meet as a pass rusher in order to make the team, realistically, his most consistent playing time this season will come on special teams. You just don’t see many five-man defensive end rotations.

Eric Stokes: We probably won’t see much of Stokes in terms of playing time, but nonetheless, after battling injuries for much of the 2023 season, getting him back on the field is important for the Packers. When it comes to what the ceiling for this Packers team is this season, I believe Stokes will play a key factor in determining that. With Jaire Alexander opposite of him, Stokes is likely to see a lot of targets this season.

“Man just be out there, to not miss a game, that’s my biggest thing,” said Stokes. “Just being out there, staying 100% healthy and just letting everything else flow because I know what I can do when I’m out there and just being out there is the most important thing for me.”

As a rookie, Stokes put together an impressive season, allowing a completion rate of just 51 percent with nine pass breakups and one interception on 100 targets. However, prior to his injury in 2022, Stokes allowed 21 completions on 25 targets with no pass breakups or interceptions.

Throughout this year’s offseason programs and now in to training camp, Stokes has looked the part. He’s fully healthy, and you see that in his ability to hang with Christian Watson on downfield throws to contest the pass. Stokes has often positioned himself well to make plays on the ball as well, coming away with multiple interceptions.

“I think Stokes has had a really good start to camp,” said Jeff Hafley. “He’s been good in coverage. He’s showed physicality coming up and playing the run”

Javon Bullard and Evan Williams: The starting safety position next to Xavier McKinney had been rotated heavily throughout the first two weeks of training camp. But as of late, it has primarily been Bullard taking those initial starting snaps while Williams is with the twos or worked in here and there. From the outside, it looks like this positional battle is starting to take shape, but if you ask Matt LaFleur, that isn’t the case.

“I think it’s going to be a competitive situation throughout,” said LaFleur on Wednesday. “I would expect more rotation as we move forward.”

Both rookie safeties have been very impressive up to his point, with Williams coming away with four interceptions and Bullard showcasing his physicality. In addition to that, Bullard and William’s have been excellent communicators on the back end, and at times, don’t look like rookies with their comfortability in this system. We are also seeing that interchangeability that Brian Gutekunst wanted on display daily with both safeties playing deep and in the box, along with Bullard seeing more slot snaps as of late.

That decision to rotate Williams and Bullard is happening for a few reasons. The obvious is that each player is being evaluated to find out who will be starting alongside McKinney come Week 1. But the coaching staff also wants to get each of the young safeties comfortable playing with McKinney and filling different roles because we are going to see a lot of movement from this position group this season.

Adding this level of versatility among multiple players to the safety position generates a layer of unpredictability to the Packers’ defense. Pre-snap, opposing offenses won’t be able to necessarily get a beat on what responsibility each player has or where they might end up as the play unfolds based solely upon who is on the field or where each safety is initially lined up.

From a game-planning perspective, this feature also opens up the playbook for Jeff Hafely, who has the flexibility to change things up from week-to-week, or even play-to-play, depending on the opponent and what the Packers want to take away.

“I think whoever goes out there and gives us the most consistent effort and is able to make plays,” said LaFleur on what he’s looking for at safety. “We’re fortunate really when you look at all of those other guys, they’re all pretty intelligent guys that allows us to interchange X, whether we want him to be down in the box or put him in the post, just that flexibility is huge. So, whoever is starting opposite of him has got to be able to do both jobs as well.”

Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson: For one, I’m curious to see how the Packers divide up the field goal opportunities, given the unknown around how many chances may even be available. But on top of that, how each player performs in this environment will carry a lot of weight when it comes to deciding who the Packers’ kicker will be this season, with LaFleur mentioning during minicamp that the competition may not truly take shape until there are more “high pressure, game-like” situations.

So far through training camp, Joseph has been the more steady presence, making 46/51 (90.1%) attempts compared to Carlson, who has gone 42/51 (82.3%)–although really, the difference between these two comes down to a practice last week where Carlson missed three kicks. Since then, Carlson would have the better performance during Family Night, and both kickers would go 6/6 during Thursday’s practice.

“70-75 percent, I’d say,” said Joseph when asked how much of kicking is mental. “I think that’s what separates really good collegiate kickers from NFL kickers. All of us, you know, a lot of us can kick the ball far, but it’s I think that mental edge, that mental approach is massive and it’s the difference between a good kicker and a great kicker.”

With Carlson, something to watch is that earlier this offseason, he mentioned that the majority of his misses in 2023 were to the left–something he’s worked on correcting this offseason. However, the majority of his misses during training camp have been to the left as well.

7 Packers to watch on offense in preseason opener vs. Browns

Paul Bretl | 8/9/2024

So with those positional battles in mind, when the Packers have the ball and are on offense, here are seven players in particular that I’ll have my eyes on.

Sean Clifford: In this preseason game, Clifford needs to look like the more experienced quarterback compared to Michael Pratt. Ultimately, that is what should be the biggest differentiator between the two. Although Clifford only has one year of NFL experience compared to Pratt, at the quarterback position, that can mean quite a bit.

“I will say he’s learning,” said Adam Stenavich about Pratt. “He shows really good arm talent, good arm strength. But any quarterback, and Sean Clifford kind of went through this last year, when you start getting into all these installs and all these plays, it’s not an easy thing to do.”

It was a rough start to training camp for Clifford who has been turnover prone. A key factor in the inconsistency that we’ve seen from him was due to the play of the offensive line, which has had its issues blocking the defensive front. In those instances, Clifford is unable to get into a rhythm and at times is trying to do too much by forcing the ball where it shouldn’t be going.

On the flip side, as the offensive line play has improved as of late, Clifford’s play has as well and we’re getting more glimpses of the player we saw last preseason. While Clifford’s Family Night performance wasn’t perfect, it did feel like a turning point, with him making several on time and in rhythm throws during the team portion of practice.

“Probably just to continue what I’ve kind of found in the last two weeks for me personally,” said Clifford on what he wants to show on Saturday. “I thought the first week just with everything going on and getting 1s reps and how fast the game was going, there was a lot of overthinking, there were a lot of thoughts from the OTA time and minicamp where I almost like saw a hitch in my arm of overthought.

“And now the last two weeks, Family Night, kind of capped it for me. I feel like I’m back and I feel like I’m able to spin the ball, really get the ball out quick, see the field really well, and I think it’s a big, big testament to these guys as well. A lot of trust in the wide receivers, the O-line, just kinda getting back in flow and excited to show that on Saturday.”

MarShawn Lloyd: If you’ve read my observations articles following training camp, you’ve probably seen me mention how impressive Lloyd is with the ball in his hands. After the draft, both Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst said something to the effect of, Lloyd bringing a different element to the backfield for the Packers, and you can see that with his ability to make cuts and accelerate.

Lloyd is going to be a factor in some capacity this season, but he is still behind AJ Dillon on the depth chart currently. While, of course, there is a perquisite that Lloyd needs to have as a ball carrier–and like I said, he’s quite impressive in that regard–but the way he’s going to catch Dillon is with his reliability as a pass-catcher, pass blocker, and on special teams.

While Dillon will need to continue showing more playmaking ability with the ball in his hands, something he’s hoping to accomplish after an offseason that has him in the best shape he’s been in, Dillon is rock solid in those other key areas that are apart of playing running back, especially for the second and third players on the roster. Dillon is seeing some starting special teams snaps, and he’s proven to be reliable as a blocker and in the passing game.

“I envision going out there and balling out every time I’m on the field,” added Dillon. “Whatever that is, that’s for the coaches to decide. Like I said, I’m putting myself in the best position possible, in great shape, working, trying to lead, trying to cross my T’s and dot my I’s.

“Whether that’s special teams, running back, receiver, tight end, fullback, kicker, quarterback, I’m down to do whatever. I’m happy to be here. Like I said, I’m just going to put my helmet on and go to work.”

Now, this isn’t to say that Lloyd hasn’t been those things, he had a terrific blitz pick up in pass protection on Wednesday. However, the day before he had a drop and a fumble as well, and isn’t working with the starters on special teams. What we need to see from Lloyd, along with his continued playmaking with the ball in his hands, is consistency.

“It’s on all gas no breaks,” Lloyd said. “All my goals is all for the team right now. I don’t have anything individual. I feel like what we do as a team, those things will come. I just want to be able to utilized in all ways to help the team as much as possible.”

Andre Dillard, Kadeem Telfort, and Caleb Jones: The competition at swing tackle is one of the more unclear positional battles taking place. The rotation is so heavy right now that the only thing that I can somewhat confidently say is that Telfort and Dillard appear to be ahead of Jones in this competition, but when it comes to where things stand between Dillard and Telfort, I’m not sure. All three players are rotating in practice between the right and left side of the line.

“We’re going to keep shuffling it up and try to create a competitive situation and may the best man win,” said Matt LaFleur.

Stenavich would recently praise Telfort for his overall consistency while also mentioning that Dillard needs to continue improve his play from the right side. When both have had opportunities at right tackle with the starters as Zach Tom was working his way back, as you’d expect, both took their lumps against Rashan Gary. My biggest takeaway from watching this competition unfold is that if there is an injury does occur at tackle, I think Plan B for the Packers is to move either Elgton Jenkins or Jordan Morgan to that spot and have Sean Rhyan fill in for one of them at guard.

Grant DuBose: Not to be forgotten about in the crowded and talented Packers’ wide receiver room is second-year wide out Grant DuBose, who has built upon a strong showing during offseason programs with a fast start to training camp, become a favorite target of Clifford and Pratt’s. His consistency has even gotten him some reps here and there with the starting offense.

We often hear about the Year 2 leap for NFL players and DuBose appears to be finding success from that. For one, he’s lightyears ahead of where he was as a rookie because he’s healthy and able to be on the practice field. He also has the added comfortability that comes with knowing the offense, and spent the offseason working out with Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed in South Florida.

“I’m way ahead,” said DuBose about this offseason compared to last. “Last year this time around, I was sidelined still. I didn’t come back until the second preseason game. You know I’ve taken a big leap from last year. I’m feeling a lot stronger. I’m feeling faster. You know, just healthier overall. So I’m in a good spot.”

At this stage, I still wouldn’t quite pencil in DuBose to a roster spot, but a the very least I do think he’s pushing Malik Heath for that final spot on the 53-man. Heath has made his share of plays, but has experienced some drops as well. As I described with Lloyd at running back, there is the obvious prerequisite that each of these players has to have as a pass catcher, but run-blocking and special teams contributions will be two other key areas in the evaluation process. Heath still appears to have the upper hand on teams, but we will learn more in the first preseason game.

“I think it brings out the best in all of us,” said DuBose of the competition at receiver. “That room, we compete at a high level. I think that we appreciate each other’s work, which allows us to be able to compete at a high level but also play for each other. I enjoy it. It makes us all better. I guess it’s just may the best man win. All the reps count. You just gotta take advantage of all the ones that you get. Come down to decision-making time, hopefully it’s in your favor. That’s the mentality.”

Sean Rhyan: I mentioned on Thursday in my takeaways article that I’m not sure how much of a competition is actually taking place at right guard. When Jordan Morgan is healthy, he’s a constant at that position. Then during Thursday’s practice with Morgan out, Rhyan started at right guard, but on the first play of 11-on-11, he was flagged for a false start. Jacob Monk would then take Rhyan’s place and he didn’t see another snap with the ones for the rest of practice.

“They were good,” said Monk after practice about his reps. “Really just nice getting adjusted. Just keep working, honestly.

“It’s crazy lining up and seeing someone like Kenny Clark right in front of me and seeing the speed that he plays with and the intent that he has coming off the ball,” Monk added. “It’s definitely different to see out there.”

Again, I certainly could be reading too much into this, but I wouldn’t expect that approach for someone who’s in contention for playing time, especially when that player isn’t seeing consistent starting snaps as it is. But with Morgan still sidelined, Rhyan will have the opportunity to right the ship, so to speak, after what happened on Thursday.

Where Rhyan has been at his best is as a run-blocker with his heavy hands and ability to move defenders. But where he needs to get more consistent is in pass protection. Throughout camp, and as of late, primarily with the second unit, we’ve seen Rhayn at both guard spots and even center.

“I’m just trying to get, you know, crackerjack at both,” said Rhyan. “Trying to minimize that lag just so that I can flip both sides real quick. So that whether something happens, left, right or center, I can just be able to–they can be like ‘alright go in,’ and I don’t have to worry about ‘is this pass set gonna’–you know? Are his hips aligned? Are his hands good? It’s all of that type of stuff. Just trying to minimalize that lag.”