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Big opportunity ahead in preseason for Packers’ DE Brenton Cox

Paul Bretl | 8/9/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With the Packers’ first preseason game just about here, a big opportunity awaits second-year defensive end Brenton Cox, who had a very disruptive week at practice as a pass rusher.

Cox has primarily worked with the third-team defense in training camp, 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.

“Oh, yeah. JJ being out, I have seen a lot more reps,” said Cox on Tuesday. “That’s a challenge for me because going with the 3s and then bumping up the 1s, just balancing that whole thing and on top of special teams. Everything’s a bump up for me but I’m enjoying the challenge.”

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.”

As an undrafted rookie in 2023 out of Florida, Cox’s ability to get after the quarterback and intriguing upside earned him a roster spot last season. As the fifth-man in the edge rusher rotation, his playing time was limited, appearing in only three games defensively, totaling five snaps.

Like many NFL players entering their sophomore season, Cox benefits from having a full offseason to work on his craft rather than training for the NFL combine and doing interviews. There is also the added comfortability that comes from the experience gained over the last year and knowing what it takes to be a professional day in and day out.

There’s also the help and guidance that veterans Preston Smith and Rashan Gary have provided Cox during his time in the NFL.

“They’ve been a big help to me,” said Cox about Gary and Smith. “I talk to those guys every day about pass rush and growing into the man I am today. Just learning from them, everything I can, while they’re here. ‘P’ is a veteran. ‘R.G.’ is a long-term veteran guy, so just learning from these guys as much as I can.”

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.

“I just knew he (Hafley) wanted to cause disruption in the backfield and I know that’s something I can do,” said Cox. “Just getting back there, getting my hands up, getting pressure on the quarterback, causing TFLs. I knew this would be a something I would like to (play in).”

In addition to now being in an attack front, we also caught a glimpse this week of the potential versatility that we could see in the trenches under Hafley as well. With the first team offense on Wednesday, Cox saw some snaps lined up inside and not at defensive end.

Whether or not Cox would see any snaps in this capacity in-season remains to be seen, but as the old saying goes, ‘the more you can do.’ An in-game situation where we could see Cox utilized that way would be during an obvious passing down where the Packers want to really get after the quarterback with perhaps the defensive front made up of Rashan Gary and Preston Smith at defensive end, with Cox and Kenny Clark inside.

Cox isn’t the only one up front who could be asked to move around. Both Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks lined up at defensive end in college, while Lukas Van Ness played defensive tackle as well. With the depth that the Packers have between the defensive end and defensive tackle positions, along with the variety of skill sets, those elements will really allow Hafley to mix and match personnel based on what the game-plan calls for.

“I think we’re always kind of playing with that and certainly, certain rush packages could influence those decisions,” said LaFleur about lining up Cox inside. “He had a good day at practice.”

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.

The special teams aspect of the game was part of the learning curve that Cox experienced as a rookie. Despite being on the 53-man roster, Cox would play only eight special teams snaps in 2023. This included none against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs when the team was without Enagbare. Instead, they elevated Keshawn Banks from the practice squad to play on teams.

“Just my special teams,” said Cox when asked what he’s working on. “Just working on that, that’s been my main focus this year. We’ve got a lot of pass rushers already dialed in and ready to go. When that opportunity comes, I’m going to be ready to play on special teams for Coach Rich.”

Like any young player, Cox is still developing his game, but he’s making strides that are now consistently showing up on the practice field and doing so at a very important position–getting after the quarterback. The next step is to maintain that consistency from day-to-day and week-to-week and carry that momentum into each game, which he will have the opportunity to do in Cleveland.

“Just to be disruptive and fly to the ball,” said Cox about Saturday. “That’s what my coach preaches so that’s all I’m going to do. For sure.”

Packers’ training camp notebook: Final practice before preseason opener

Paul Bretl | 8/8/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field Thursday with this session closed to the public and only open to media members. It was a cooler, cloudy day in Green Bay, and a shorter practice as well for the team, with there preseason opener against Cleveland only two days away.

“Excited to see how everything is going to be,” said Kenny Clark about seeing the new defense in action. “We’ve been working on it all camp, all OTAs and all that kind of stuff. For us to get in a game setting and go against somebody else, somebody who doesn’t know what we’re gonna be doing is gonna be exciting to see. Can’t wait to get out there.”

Today’s practice would last only an hour and 36 minutes and the pads were not on. But nonetheless, we still have some takeaways to dive in to.

Injury report updates: The one addition to the injury report was rookie linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper–who had put together a nice week of practice–dealing with an ankle injury. Elgton Jenkins had a vet rest day, and some good news was that Jayden Reed was back at practice after missing Wednesday with a calf injury and so was Christian Watson, who had to be helped by the training staff on the final play of practice the day prior.

“That was a big time scare,” said Matt LaFleur before today’s practice. “Yeah, he seems to be doing well this morning and just got hit on the knee.”

Still sidelined were Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), and Donovan Jennings (knee). Tucker Kraft continued to go through the individual portion of practice.

Who was starting on the offensive line? Without Morgan or Jenkins, we Sean Rhyan begin at right guard and Royce Newman at left guard. The tackle and center combination remained the same with Rasheed Walker on the left, Zach Tom on the right, and Josh Myers in the middle. The second team offensive line was Andre Dillard at left tackle, Lecitus Smith at left guard, Rhyan at center, Luke Tenuta at right guard, and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. Both Dillard and Telfort continue to get work on both sides of the line while Caleb Jones was with the third unit.

There doesn’t appear to be much of a competition at all at right guard. If you noticed, I said Rhyan would “begin” practice at right guard. On the first play of 11-on-11, Rhyan had a false start penalty and was immediately replaced by Jacob Monk. Rhyan did not see any snaps with the starters the remainder of practice. I get the sense between that decision and Morgan being a mainstay at right guard when healthy, that this isn’t much of a positional battle at all. And granted, the pads weren’t on, but I thought Monk held his own, which included an impressive pass pro rep against Devonte Wyatt.

“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.”

I don’t think I’ve spent any time talking about where the receivers are lined up or who’s “starting” each day because the rotation and mixing and matching is so heavy. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks will all be regulars in the offense, they’ll all have various roles and alignments, and they’ll all get their opportunities. Bo Melton is getting his share of opportunities as well.

Safety Javon Bullard continues to get some starting snaps in the slot, where he saw plenty of playing time during his time at Georgia. This is a great way to get Bullard, Evan Williams, and Xavier McKinney all on the field together. As I mentioned yesterday, we also continued to see Keisean Nixon getting a few snaps on the boundary, which appears to be part of the cross-training that the Packers are doing with all the slot cornerbacks.

“I really didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you,” said Bullard about transitioning from college to the NFL. “I was just going to come in and work. But I feel like I transitioned well. Great group of guys. Great leadership. Excellent organization. Those guys helped me along the way. I feel like I transitioned pretty good.”

If I had to guess what the cornerback depth chart looks like right now, Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes will be starting on the boundary with Nixon in the nickel. Valentine is next in line and I still think Corey Ballentine is ahead of Kalen King, although I’m excited to see King play in the preseason. He’s gotten work both inside and out, and brings a physicality to the position. Robert Rochell would be next, with him seeing most of his snaps with the second defense, lined up opposite of Ballentine with King in the slot.

Tyler Davis continues to look really good as a blocker–just steady and reliable. As I said earlier in the week, I think he sees more opportunities–at least early on–over Ben Sims.

Brenton Cox has really come on strong over the last week. His ability as a pass rusher has always been the strength of his game, and playing in Jeff Hafley’s attacking defensive system magnifies that and has him causing regular havoc at the line of scrimmage. On Wednesday’s practice, we even saw Cox take some snaps lined up inside. Overall, the play and depth of the Packers’ defensive end position has been fantastic throughout camp. JJ Enagbare continues to make regular plays as well.

“Just hustling, just trying to be violent and attack the quarterback,” said Cox. “Getting back there, that’s the main thing. Get back there, and everything else will fall into place.”

Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph were back at it today and both had a much-needed bounce-back performance, with each kicker going 6/6, including some kicks from 50-plus yards. The last time we saw them kicking was on Tuesday during a very windy practice, with both struggling. The Packers also added Alex Hale to the mix on Wednesday.

“Not necessarily,” said LaFleur when asked if the addition of Hale is due to the performance of Joseph and Carlson. “I think it’s just you’re always trying to add value to your team and bring in competition. It just so happens to be at that position. We signed a couple edge rushers too, you know.”

The starting offense had a red zone period where they ran six plays inside the 10 yard line. The first play featured good coverage but also good protection, giving Love time to find Jacobs over the middle for four yards. The second play was a slant to Reed who made a diving play in the end zone between two defenders but the the official called it incomplete. The third play was a touchdown pass from Love to Melton in the back middle of the end zone–well-placed between the safeties. On play No. 4, Love was flushed out of the pocket by Karl Brooks and through an interception on the run. It was Stokes who made the play on a pass intended for Watson. I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication between Love and Watson.

“It was red zone,” said Stokes. “I know that it was 9 coming across on the over and I ain’t have to take mine. Luckily Love threw it to me. I mean, he threw it at 9 but luckily 9 didn’t see it.”

Play No. 5 was a touchdown pass to Wicks on an out route at the right pylon. Lastly, after initially blocking off of play-action, Sims leaked out into the flat and had Van Ness on him in who was flagged for pass interference. Brooks had another pressure on that play.

“He’s playing tremendous,” said Stokes about Love. “There’s a lot of throws that you all see where you’re like, that is a throw, that is a throw. So you’re seeing all that stuff but then again, I believe us a defense, we’re only making him better and he’s making us better.”

A bit of a miscellaneous note, but Ellis Merriweather runs extremely hard with the ball in his hands. He bring a very physical running style to the practice field. Also, tight end Joel Wilson has seen his share of opportunities the last week or so, getting open in the passing game with the second and third offenses, but has to take advantage by hauling thoe passes in.

Watching Jeff Hafley coach up the cornerbacks for 10 minutes was the highlight of practice for me. There are no words that I can type here to do it justice, but the attention to detail, the constant coaching, the emphasis on footwork, the player’s eyes, and how they tie together was masterful. With Hafley’s coaching background being with the defensive backs, you could tell he was in his wheelhouse here. “Fast eyes, fast feet.”

Packers’ rookie LB Ty’Ron Hopper playing his best heading into first preseason game

Paul Bretl | 8/7/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ rookie linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper has gotten the opportunity to play with the starters as of late, and he’s been able to showcase some of his ability to impact the game in a few different ways–although, there is still room for improvement.

Hopper’s recent emergence began on Family Night, where he made a play at the line of scrimmage near the goal line to keep the running back out of the end zone. Then in coverage during a different period, he made for a difficult throw as the trail defender down the seam, shrinking the window that Jordan Love had available to fit the ball into.

“It felt good make a play in front of the fans and hopefully I can do that more often,” said Hopper at his locker on Wednesday.

Over the last two days, Hopper has handled various roles and responsibilities within the defense. With Edgerrin Cooper still sidelined, Hopper has taken his reps with the starters, as the first linebacker in for Eric Wilson when the defense is lined up in its 4-3 base look. With the second unit, Hopper as been the middle linebacker, and one of the two nickel linebackers, along with Wilson.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ve seen Hopper make plays in the run game, with a few stops near the line of scrimmage. He’s also had a pair of pass breakups in coverage, and has been utilized as a blitzer, able to generate some pressure on the quarterback as well. Matt LaFleur would call Hopper’s performance during Tuesday’s practice his best up to this point.

“It’s been pretty good,” said Hopper about his opportunity to play with the ones. “Playing with guys like that in front of you that done did it for a long time it enables you to play faster. So it’s been pretty good.”

During Hopper’s final three seasons at Missouri, he recorded 200 total tackles and was asked to get after the quarterback, creating 49 pressures over the last two years. In coverage during his career, he held pass-catchers to under 10.0 yards per reception with six pass breakups and one interception.

After drafting Hopper in the third-round this past April, GM Brian Gutekunst described what Hopper added to this Packers’ defense, specifically that he’s “physical,” has “stopping power,” and his range, with the Packers timing him in the 4.5s during the pre-draft process. All of those abilities that Hopper possesses have been on display the last few days.

“It’s been great,” said Hopper about taking on different roles. “Adding different things to my game and just trying to get better on special teams and things like that. Everything’s been pretty good.”

Helping Hopper get acclimated to the NFL level is Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme. Not only is what Hopper is being asked to do now similar to what he was tasked with at Missouri, but the fast and physical play-style fits his game as well, where those aforementioned attributes of his can be shown-off.

“It’s definitely very similar with a lot of the coverages and run fits and things like that,” said Hopper. “Yeah, I love his system. It allows you to play fast and things like that.”

One area where Hopper will have to continue to improve is with his conditioning, specifically with the added workload he’s seen as of late, and the need for that is only going to increase with the team’s first preseason game on the horizon, and Hopper likely to see significant playing time.

“I thought he responded well,” said LaFleur about Hopper’s play on Tuesday. “I think just going back and challenging him a little bit, after the Family Night, I thought he started strong and then as he got more snaps, he started to fade a little bit and got tired. But the reality is for him and, like many guys, especially young guys, we’re getting ready to play a preseason game here in a couple of days, you’re going to get a ton of snaps, not only on defense, but on (special) teams as well.

“You’d better be able to, it’s a little bit of a gut check to make sure you can stay present and make sure you’re still playing with good fundamentals, technique, the right assignments. Yesterday (Tuesday) I thought was probably one of his best days. I thought he responded really well.”

So beyond hitting the treadmill, how does one go about improving their conditioning?

“Getting to the ball,” said Hopper. “Get to the ball. Just finishing at the ball, whether it’s a deep ball and you in man coverage and you on the whole opposite side, just always finishing to the ball. So I feel like that’s the best way to get conditioned.”

Of course, the caveat during this time of the year is that things can change, but through a few weeks of training camp, it does look like Hopper is the fifth linebacker on the depth chart prior to these last couple of practices.

Consistently we’ve seen Quay Walker as the middle linebacker with Isaiah McDuffie and Wilson to his right and left when in base. Cooper has then been rotated in for Wilson typically during the second or third series–a role that Hopper is now filling. The second unit’s nickel linebacker duo has been Wilson and Cooper.

Realistically, or at least early on, Hopper’s biggest impact will come on special teams, where he’ll have the opportunity to be a part of multiple phases. But regardless, an opportunity to see more snaps with the starters has presented itself, and Hopper has made the most of the opportunity, showing why Gutekunst drafted him in the third round.

The next step is to carry that momentum into the first preseason game against the Browns.

“Fast, physical, and just make some plays,” said Hopper on what he wants to show. “Just always be around the ball”

Packers’ training camp notebook: Observations from Day 11

Paul Bretl | 8/7/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field Wednesday for their 11th training camp practice of the summer. They’ll have one more on Thursday before heading to Cleveland for their first preseason game on Saturday.

With practice complete, let’s open up the notebook and dive in to what took place.

A few roster moves: After having several players in for workouts the last few days, the Packers made a series of roster moves. They would sign kicker Alex Hale and defensive ends Brevin Allen and Zach Morton. The corresponding moves were waiving/injured cornerback Don Callis and receiver Rory Starkey.

With the first preseason game approaching, the Packers needed more defensive end depth. Deslin Alexandre and Keshawn Banks are still sidelined and we will likely see either none or very little of Rashan Gary and Preston Smith in Cleveland. Hale was a 2024 UDFA from Oklahoma. In his college career, which was the first time he had ever played football originally being from Australia, Hale went 43/54 overall, including 9/16 from 40-49 yards and 3/4 from 50-plus.

Hale was the only kicker who would kick on Wednesday and he went 4/5, with his one miss coming from 45 yards.

“Just trying to show my best,” said Hale. “Do my best. See where that takes me.”

Injury report: Changes to the injury report included JJ Enagbare returning to practice and Jayden Reed being out with a calf injury. Jordan Morgan, who left Tuesday’s practice with a shoulder injury, is expected to miss a week or so, according to Matt LaFleur. As was the case Tuesday, wide receiver Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), and Donovan Jennings (knee) were all still sidelined.

“He had a shoulder,” said LaFleur about Morgan. “He’ll be out for–it’s nothing long term but he’s going to be out probably for a week or so.”

During practice, we saw Malik Heath stay down briefly and get help from trainers, but he would finish practice. Then on the last play of practice, Christian Watson stayed down after a contested play from Evan Williams, but was back on his feet a few minutes later.

“I don’t know if it was his knee or his cleat but something just kinda hit me in the knee,” said Watson in the locker room. “It hurt a lot worse in the moment.”

What was happening on the offensive line? With Morgan out, we again saw Rasheed Walker at left tackle followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom. Just like on Tuesday, the Packers are still easing Tom back into the team portion and had him take some 11-on-11 reps off with Caleb Jones and Kadeem Telfort filling in for him. On the second offensive line, Telfort and Andre Dillard rotated each series between left tackle and right tackle. When Jones wasn’t with the ones, he spent some time with the second and third units at both tackle spots.

Zach Tom’s impact: I said it yesterday, but it was again true, the play of the offensive line is so much improved when he’s out there. The starting offense is beginning to find it’s groove. Jordan Love would throw two interceptions–more on those shortly–but for the most part, he had time in the pocket and was able to generate some big plays through the air.

“I thought he looked better than I would’ve expected missing that much time,” said LaFleur before today’s practice, “and he came in there, competed, was moving people off the line of scrimmage. Definitely you could feel that in both the run game and the pass game quite frankly. Our line’s had some struggles blocking some of our edge rushers, and I thought he went there and competed and gave Jordan extra time. I loved how he was straining down the field. I thought he did a really nice job.”

LaFleur says we won’t truly see Josh Jacobs impact until there is live tackling, but with Tom in the mix at tackle, we are getting glimpses of the big play ability he brings to the backfield, specifically with how difficult it is to bring him down.

“He’s an established veteran that’s performed at a high level and I just get so excited that he can do it all,” said LaFleur. “He can be a weapon in the passing game, not only as a pass blocker, pass protector, but also out of the backfield catching the ball. He’s got great hands and he hit some speeds yesterday that was exciting to see. He’s just a tough, rugged runner and I don’t think we’ll truly get to appreciate his value until we get into live tackling situations ’cause I think that’s really what he’s known for is just he’s a punishing runner.”

Some notable one-on-ones:

Karl Brooks goes 1-1 vs. Jacob Monk
Rasheed Walker goes 1-1 vs. Preston Smith
Josh Myers goes 1-1 vs. TJ Slaton
Kadeem Telfort goes 1-1 vs. Rashan Gary
Colby Wooden goes 1-1 vs. Royce Newman
Sean Rhyan goes 2-0 vs. Devonte Wyatt
Malik Heath vs. Robert Rochell: Catch
Corey Ballentine vs. Samori Toure: PBU
Keisean Nixon vs. Dontayvion Wicks: PBU
Bo Melton vs. Kalen King: Catch
Grant DuBose vs. Germon Green: Catch
Luke Musgrave vs. Anthony Johnson: Catch
Romeo Doubs vs. Jaire Alexander: PBU

Cross-training at the nickel position: All three players who are primarily working out as the Packers’ slot cornerbacks–Keisean Nixon, Kalen King, and Corey Ballentine–are all getting some opportunities here and there in 11-on-11s to also play on the boundary.

MarShawn Lloyd is going to be a factor this season, but early on it feels like AJ Dillon will be the backup. As I’ve mentioned in these articles a few times, Lloyd’s burst and acceleration with the ball is incredibly impressive, but Dillon brings a well-rounded skill set, which we saw during the red zone period when he had a catch and then during another series when he picked up a free rusher in pass protection to give Love time. Lloyd was much more sound today and had a nice blitz pickup as well, but he did have a drop and a fumble on Tuesday.

Matt LaFleur said before practice that the rotation at safety will continue, but on the field it does look like Javon Bullard has perhaps separated himself, as he has gotten the starting reps next to Xavier McKinney for the last few practices, and had a very good showing during Family Night.

“No, I think it’s going to be a competitive situation throughout,” said LaFleur about the safety position. “I would expect more rotation as we move forward.”

Big days for Xavier McKinney and Devonte Wyatt: It felt like in each team period, McKinney was making a play. As the deep safety on one play, he ignored Love’s fake and covered the left half of the field to get to Watson who was running a deep route down the right sidelined and forced the pass breakup. On another series, he came away with an interception and had another pass breakup along the sidelines. With Wyatt, he was frequently visiting the backfield.

“Just saw underneath coverage,” said McKinney about his interception. “Our backer, I think it was Quay, Quay did a good job of expanding to it. He got his hand on it. Originally, I thought it was gonna come straight to me. He tipped it and had to readjust. I was able to get the pick. Just me breaking on the ball. Tips and overthrows, we say we gotta get those. I was able to make that one.”

Red zone success for the starters: Two red zone periods resulted in two touchdowns for Love and the starters. On the third play of the first possession, Love found none other than Romeo Doubs in the end zone on what was a very well-placed ball for Doubs to make a sliding catch. On the second attempt, the offense again needed only three plays with a completion to Dillon on an angle route out of the backfield setting up a touchdown run for Dillon the next play.

Two minute period: The situation was the offense was down 21-24 with 1:20 left, one timeout and starting at their own 30-yard line.

Up first was Clifford who went four-and-out. The first play was a pass breakup by Ty’Ron Hopper. On second down, Colby Wooden had a sack. On third down, Karl Brooks had another sack. And then on fourth, Clifford went deep to Toure who was in single coverage with Zayne Anderson, but the ball went through Toure’s hands. From my vantage point, it looked like a very catchable ball.

For Love and the starters, the drive started well, with Love connecting with Watson for nine yards on an out route. Love then found Wicks over the middle for 13 yards on a crossing route before connecting again with Wicks for roughly 30 yards on a deep corner route. The last play was Love trying to find Watson in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Evan Williams, who got into a good position to make a play on the ball. This was the play that Watson got hurt one. This is Williams’ fourth interception of training camp.

Packers’ TE Tucker Kraft returns to practice field with a ‘large’ goal in mind for 2024

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Activated off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, Packers’ second-year tight end Tucker Kraft was back on the practice field Tuesday and ahead of schedule.

“I’ve known my return to play date from the moment I got hurt,” said Kraft at his locker. “We broke it down. The day after that I left and had surgery. Came back and it’s just been recovery ever since. We originally were gonna kind of just try to come back after the Browns game but I’m doing really good. Feeling really healthy. Ahead of the protocol. So, it feels good.”

Kraft did not participate in offseason programs and missed the first two weeks of training camp rehabbing from a torn pec that he suffered back in the Spring. The injury happened during a “regular lift,” as Kraft put it.

Similarly to Zach Tom, who was also rehabbing a pec injury and just returned to 11-on-11s on Tuesday, Kraft is going to have to go through a ramp-up process before returning to the team portion of practice.

“So right now we’re just in a ramp up period,” Kraft said. “So over the next two weeks there will be just more and more. I’ve been doing–you guys don’t see me, but I was in the indoor for the last three weeks and just grinding in there. Trying to get as familiar with contact again as possible. Working in those weird positions. Positions I don’t want to be in. But just working through those and see if they cause pain. We’re progressing really well. So you guys will see me a lot more involved down the road.”

Kraft added that he isn’t going to play in the Packers first two preseason games. As far as the third preseason game, well, that remains to be seen. But regardless, Kraft’s focus is on returning for the Packers’ season opener in Brazil against Philadelphia.

“Without a doubt,” said Kraft when asked if he’s confident that he can be ready for Week 1. “I’m not supposed to talk about timelines and stuff like that. But you see me out there today, you’ll see me in Brazil.”

Kraft’s role during his rookie year began relatively small, as he was often used as a blocker, averaging just over 12 snaps per game through five weeks. However, as Kraft got more acclimated, his role began to expand before he was regularly playing 80-plus percent of the offensive snaps following Luke Musgrave’s kidney injury in Week 11, and tasked with impacting the passing game as well.

From Week 12 on, Kraft caught 28 of his 36 targets for 327 yards and two touchdowns. During that span, Kraft ranked 10th among tight ends in targets, eighth in yards and was sixth in YAC.

“Well, I just, really I just took what opportunity I had and I ran with it,” said Kraft about his rookie season. “There was a point in the season last year where I had to look myself in the mirror and say if I’m only going to get opportunities to run block and pass pro then I’m going to be the best on our team in run block and pass pro.

“So those opportunities carried through three weeks and my career changed with a flat route. I didn’t have to have a coach try to get me open, I got myself open. Caught a ball in the flat, turned up and I stepped out of bounds, but it was a play that was able to highlight my athleticism and the potential that I could–the impact that I could make in this offense.”

Having a tight end who is capable as both a run blocker and a pass catcher can do wonders for an offense, specifically for Matt LaFleur has the play-caller, as having that element helps open up the playbook for him from a creativity standpoint.

A tight end with these capabilities adds a layer of unpredictability to the offense. Pre-snap, defenses can’t decipher as easily whether a run or pass is coming simply based on where the tight ends are lined up. Opponents are then forced to respect both the run and the pass on any given play, thus having to defend the entire field, which creates better spacing, and opportunities for not only the tight end but the other skill position players within the offense.

“I set a precedent for myself,” said Kraft, “a large goal of mine this year, I want to be the best tight end in the outside zone. That’s a huge ask, especially in our offense, and I want people to feel confident putting me out there to pass protect, putting me out there to run block, putting me out there to run routes.

“So I want to get back to playing with an edge again and I think that the next two weeks will allow me to do that. I’m going to just come out every snap and if I don’t feel like I can put my best competitive effort forward then I’m going to let the staff know and we’ll be on the same page. But as far as I’m concerned I feel great. We’re in this ramp up period right and just very excited to get back on the field completely.”

As one can imagine, even getting back to where Kraft is at now going through the individual portion of practice took a lot of behind the scenes work. While the team was out on the field practicing, Kraft was going through drills in the Don Hutson Center, often working with sleds to get used to contact again.

Off the field, Kraft would go through various exercises to make sure he was maintaining his strength on both sides of his upper body.

“Like I said, like from week 8 post-surgery to now we’ve been striking like every other day,” said Kraft. “So I’ve gotten to this point now where my strength is relative to the other side, so I just have to use my technique and my punch and the rest just takes care of itself.”

Having Kraft full healthy for the start of the season will allow the Packers to have both him and Luke Musgrave at full strength and playing their best football–something that did not occur often last season. When the two were healthy early on, Kraft hadn’t had his breakout moment yet. Then as Kraft emerged, Musgrave was sidelined with an injury.

Everything previously described about the impact a do-it-all tight end can have is magnified when you have two tight ends who can contribute in that capacity, especially with Kraft and Musgrave bringing different skill sets to the table, with Kraft very good after the catch and Musgrave able to stretch the field.

“It’s good,” said Jordan Love about having Kraft back on the field. “It’s been tough not having him out there and just trying to build on what we’re doing and where we left off last year with him. But I think getting him back in the mix and just getting a feel for how he runs the routes. It’s a different guy, different speed, so just getting him back out there is going to be very beneficial.”

Packers’ training camp notebook: Tom returns to team drills and Kraft is practicing again

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After two days off following Family Night, the Packers were back on the practice field Tuesday for their 11th training camp practice of the 2024 season.

It was a cooler day in Green Bay compared to last week and a windy one as well. Practice ended up going just shy of two hours. As always, let’s open up the notebook and dive into what happened.

Who was in and who was out? Josh Jacobs returned to practice on Tuesday and participated in the team portion as well. Also back was Tucker Kraft, who was activated off the PUP list. He participated in the individual portion of practice but will have to ramp up before back in the 11-on-11s.

“Yeah, so right now we’re just in a ramp up period,” said Kraft. “So over the next two weeks there will be just more and more. I’ve been doing–you guys don’t see me, but I was in the indoor for the last three weeks and just grinding in there. Trying to get as familiar with contact again as possible. Working in those weird positions. Positions I don’t want to be in. But just working through those and see if they cause pain. We’re progressing really well. So you guys will see me a lot more involved down the road.”

New addition to the injury report were wide receivers Dimitri Stanley (hamstring) and Rory Starkey (calf) Still sidelined were Don Callis (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), JJ Enagbare (hamstring), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), and Donovan Jennings (knee).

Quay Walker would sit out the last few periods, but said afterward that he was fine.

“Yeah, I’m doing good,” said Walker. “Everything’s fine.”

The Packers first preseason game will be played later this week against Cleveland. Before practice, LaFleur confirmed that Jordan Love will play some snaps, which presumably means there will be some other starters who suit up as well, but playing times will vary.

“I think just going through kind of re-evaluating the last couple years from when we’ve had guys not play and last year having them, all the guys play, I thought it was beneficial for us early on, especially Week 1, just to kind of knock some of the rust off. I think there was a lot of value of going through getting your mind right to get ready to play a football game,” said LaFleur. “Obviously we’re going to be smart with those guys. The last thing we want to do is put guys at risk. I mean, there’s an inherent risk, right, every time you go out on the field, but we’ll be smart with him. But at the same time I do think just the preparation of getting ready for a game is invaluable and why not use those opportunities?”

Zach Tom returned to 11-on-11s. Tom was back in the team portion of practice–although he didn’t take every snaps as the Packers still mindful of his workload. Not surprisingly, the offensive line got a huge boost with him back on the field, and therefore, the offense as a whole looked to be much more effective. Love took advantage in the move the ball portion of practice, as did Josh Jacobs with two nice runs to begin the day.

“It was good,” said Tom. “A little different when you’re going live speed vs. just doing individual. But it was good to be back out there today and get my first live reps since probably San Francisco.”

Who was starting on the offensive line: The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman noticed that Jordan Morgan left practice during the individual period. He did not return. In his place was Sean Rhyan, with the rest of the starting line consisting of Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Rhyan, and Tom. With Tom still being eased in, we saw Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort take some reps with the ones as well. In the swing tackle competition, both Dillard and Telfort seem to be ahead of Caleb Jones, and it looked like Dillard saw more snaps with the starters today than Telfort did.

Some notable one-on-ones:

Grant DuBose catch vs. Corey Ballentine
Christian Watson catch vs. Eric Stokes
Xavier McKinney PBU vs. Luke Musgrave
Dontayvion Wicks catch vs. Robert Rochell
Jayden Reed catch vs. Keisean Nixon
Evan Williams vs. Joel Wilson: Incomplete
Caleb Jones beats Arron Mosby
Kadeem Telfort beats Brenton Cox
Cox beats Telfort
Kenny Clark beats Jordan Morgan
Colby Wooden beats Royce Newman
Josh Myers beats TJ Slaton
Karl Brooks beats Sean Rhyan

With Cooper still out, Ty’Ron Hopper got some snaps with the starting defense and he seemed to take advantage of the opportunity. On a few different plays, Jeff Hafley used Hopper as a blitzer. On a run, he met MarShawn Lloyd at the line of scrimmage and won that battle. Then on a passing play, he had sticky coverage on Joel Wilson and contested the pass.

“I think he’s coming along fine,” said Walker about Hopper. “Just growing each and every day. It’s the only thing you can ask for. He’s getting better, trying to find the small things he can get better at, whether they be on the field or off the field, but I think he’s growing each and every day.”

It was a windy day at Ray Nitschke Field and the kickers struggled because of it. After both Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph started 3/3 with the wind more so helping–although it was crossing a bit as well–kicking into the wind both finished 1/4 and 4/7 on the day.

During the team portion of practice, there were two in game situations, the first with the offense starting backed up inside their own 10 yard line. Sean Clifford and the second offense were not able to pick up the first down. The drive started with a run to MarShawn Lloyd and was followed by two incompletions. Next up was Jordan Love, with that series ending after two plays with Eric Wilson recording a “sack” and a safety. Michael Pratt was able to move the chains after two runs by Ellis Merriweather and a completion on a slant to Samori Toure.

The second team situation was an end of half scenario. The offense were at midfield and had 0:50 seconds on the clock with one timeout. Love’s drive began with a throwaway with no where to go with the ball. On the second play, he connected with Christian Watson over the middle for 15 yards and the offense used their timeout. On the third play, Love again had to throw the ball away. With four seconds left, the offense attempted a 53-yard field goal, which both Joseph and Carlson missed.

Sean Clifford: The first play was a batted ball at the line of scrimmage. The second play was a screen to Lloyd for about four yards and the drive ended after an incomplete pass to DuBose on third down, with Clifford leading him a bit too far.

Controlling the controllables, LB Eric Wilson carving out playing time in Packers’ defense

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Now two weeks into training camp, linebacker Eric Wilson appears to be carving out a role for himself in this Packers’ defense.

“It’s just about us getting better,” said Wilson about the competition at linebacker. “I don’t think we focus on that at all. It’s a matter of controlling what you can control and focusing on me and what I can do today to get better and help our team be better. I think that’s what everybody has that same mentality.”

With the additions of Edgerrin Cooper in the second round of this year’s draft and Ty’Ron Hopper in the third round, who joined a linebacker unit with Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, who was ahead of Wilson on the depth chart last season, at least from a defensive perspective, Wilson could have been viewed as the odd-man out.

However, that hasn’t been the case whatsoever. Wilson has been a mainstay in the Packers’ starting defense when the unit is lined up in its new base 4-3 look. With his speed and coverage abilities, Wilson has been the Will linebacker, with Quay Walker in the Middle, and Isaiah McDuffie as the strong-side backer. With the second defense, it has been Wilson and Cooper as the nickel linebackers.

“I think we always draft players that can help us win games,” Wilson said. “Regardless of what’s going on upstairs, I’ve got to control what I can control. Ever since I’ve been in the league, guys are going to get drafted. It’s just a matter of doing what you can do and make sure you handle your business.”

From the outside looking in, we see the end result, which is Wilson lined up on the practice field with the starting 4-3 defense. But what has helped put Wilson get to that point is now eight years of NFL experience and knowing how to attack each day. Cooper and Hopper may have more long-term upside than Wilson, but as incoming rookies, they are still navigating the learning curve that comes with being in the NFL. Wilson, however, has seemingly mastered that off-field process.

“He’s a pro,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. “The way he sits in meeting rooms, takes notes, helps the younger guys, stays after, takes care of his body. You see him show up on special teams, punching the ball out, which I showed to the defense the other day.

“You see him showing up on defense, punching the ball out. He can play multiple positions because he’s a very smart player and he’s reliable and he’s a guy that you can trust that’s gonna go 100 miles an hour and know exactly what to do and he’s gonna try to finish, so I’m very pleased with him. I’m a big fan.”

With Walker and De’Vondre Campbell each working through injuries at various points in 2023, Wilson was able to carve out a niche role for himself, playing 144 snaps, often taking over for McDuffie during obvious passing situations. In addition to those defensive contributions, Wilson was a core special teams player, leading the team in snaps with 345, finishing second in tackles, along with having the fifth-best special teams grade.

This offseason, Wilson signed a one-year, $1.377 million deal to return to Green Bay. The 2024 season will be his third with the Packers.

Fighting for playing time on defense, Wilson could have taken a me-first approach with the Packers’ rookies and let them figure things out on their own, and I’m not sure anyone would blame him. But for Wilson, an established leader in the Packers’ linebacker room, that was never going to be an option.

As an incoming rookie with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2017, Wilson benefitted from veterans Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr and their willingness to help him out. Now the veteran in the room, Wilson believes it’s important to pay that forward, and selflessly recognizes that the more quickly Cooper and Hopper can make an impact, the better it will be for the Packers’ defense as a whole.

“It is important for young guys, especially when I was young,” said Wilson about having veterans to lean on. “I had some really good vets, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. They always helped me out with any questions I had. I think it’s important to push that forward to help out the rookies. It can only help our entire team out. The faster they come along, the better we’ll be.”

With roughly 70-80 percent of a team’s defensive snaps coming in nickel with only two linebackers on the field–which up to this point has been Walker and McDuffie–it’s not as if Wilson’s role is going to be massive this season. In addition to that, as Cooper gets more acclimated to the playbook and the play at the NFL level, he certainly could take on a larger role as training camp and the season progress.

However, for the time being, Wilson is a fixture in the Packers’ starting defense when lined up in the 4-3, and as of now, there haven’t been any signs that this is going to change. Wilson is more than willing to help the rookies progress, but because of the work he puts in on a daily basis, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be easy to surpass on the Packers’ depth chart.

“You talk about a pro,” said Matt LaFleur. “He does everything the right way, so dependable, you can trust what he’s gonna do out there. Certainly, he’s made a huge impact on teams, but I also I think he continues to get better and better as a linebacker and so, I think he’s a great guy to have in the room, a real leader in the linebacker room and on this football team.”

Still unknowns surrounding Packers’ swing tackle competition

Paul Bretl | 8/5/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Right guard isn’t the only position along the Packers’ offensive line where a competition is unfolding, but the swing tackle role off the bench is up for grabs as well.

“We have a fun competition there,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “It’s gonna be good.”

This was a role that was previously held by Yosh Nijman, who is now in Carolina after signing with the Panthers as a free agent earlier this offseason. As of now, there seems to be three players competing for this role in Kadeem Telfort, Andre Dillard, and recently, Caleb Jones was added to the mix.

Stenavich has also mentioned Luke Tenuta and Travis Glover when discussing this competition, but so far in practice, Tenuta is spending time at both guard and tackle with the second-team offense and Glover has seen more snaps with the third unit.

As far as who may have the upper-hand now 10 practices in, well, that hasn’t been easy to distinguish, and making that evaluation potentially more challenging is this group going up against Rashan Gary and Preston Smith regularly.

During the first two training camp practices, it was Dillard at right tackle with the ones, while Zach Tom is still working his way back to the team portion of practice. Tom is expected to be back this week in 11-on-11s. For the following six practices, it was Telfort taking the bulk of the snaps with the starters at right tackle, with Dillard being worked in here and there for a few series, but seeing most of his time come with the second unit.

However, roles have since flipped the last two practices, with Dillard primarily back with the ones, with Telfort being worked in occasionally. And then during Family Night, Jones was worked in for some snaps with the starters as well.

“We’ve got a really good competition there,” added Stenavich. “Obviously we’ve got Andre, we’ve got Kadeem, Caleb’s back in practice now, Glover, Tenuta, so we’ve got a bunch of guys we’re going to keep rotating around and see how grabs that spot.”

Telfort spent the 2023 season on the Packers’ practice squad after going undrafted out of UAB–a “humbling experience,” as Telfort put it, but a very valuable one as well. This offseason, he focused on footwork, working out with Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed in South Florida, and losing some weight in the process as well.

At 6-7 – 322 pounds, Telfort is a towering presence on the offensive line, and even saw some work at guard during offseason programs, helping him gain a better understanding of the offense as a whole. Although Telfort may not have the athletic profile of other linemen on this Packers team, he’s very steady.

“He’s been a good surprise and he’s been just a steady guy,” Stenavich said. “He’s not the most athletic. He’s not all that stuff. When you look at the numbers, he’s a big guy. He plays consistently, which in the offensive line is very important. He’s just a consistent presence.

“He’s very football intelligent. He’s just one of those guys that I’m excited to just see how he plays and how he keeps developing. We’ll see at the end of camp how it all aligns.”

Dillard joined the Packers in the offseason on a veteran league-minimum contract with no guarantees. Dillard is a supreme athlete and a former first-round pick in 2019, but has struggled to gain any traction. Last season with Tennessee, Dillard surrendered 12 sacks and 41 pressures, according to PFF, ranking 84th out of 86 tackles in pass-blocking efficiency.

With nearly all of Dillard’s 1,298 career snaps coming at left tackle, the challenge for him in Packers’ training camp has been transitioning to the right side of the line, which obviously is a must if you’re going to be the swing tackle.

“I think we just gotta keep working him on both sides,” Stenavich said. “He looks a lot better on the left side. He struggled a little bit on the right side. Us as coaches, we gotta make sure we put him over there on the right side to make sure he feels comfortable playing over there. It’s a new scheme. Just like anything, new terminology, some different techniques and things like that. You just gotta keep working at it and we’ll keep coaching him up.”

Jones began training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, putting him slightly behind after missing a few practices and then having to ramp up before being fully immersed in 11-on-11s. But now with some reps under his belt, Jones has shown that he’s deserving of some of the first-team reps.

“It felt good,” said Jones about getting snaps with the starters during Family Night. “It felt great to know I’m being considered in the first place. You know, again, like I said, there’s things that I wish I would have done better but I’m not upset at my opportunity to be out there. I’m just excited to be considered and I hope in the future I’ll be able to continue to build on what it is that I’ve shown today.”

Jones is in his third NFL season after spending the previous two on the Packers’ 53-man roster in a developmental capacity. After coming from the run-heavy Indiana offense, Jones said that the biggest strides he’s made have come in pass protection.

“I think coming into this it’s always been a question for me about I didn’t come from a heavy pass-blocking, any organizations before this,” said Jones. “So it’s always been a question, ‘how will he do in pass blocking?’

“I think that’s the biggest improvement on my part, just learning how to pass block and learning how to use my hands. Learning what sets to use at what times. It’s always just a blessing.”

When it comes to filling the swing tackle role, switching from the left side to the right side, or vice versa, isn’t anything new for Jones, which could be to his advantage in this competition.

“I’m somebody who has been swinging from left to right, right to left my entire career playing tackle from high school to college,” said Jones. “Mid-game, mid-series, it’s never really been something that I’ve had too much of an issue with. But for that, it’s kind of like, I can do whatever on both sides.”

With Tom returning to the team portion of practice this week–a welcomed sight for an offensive line unit that has struggled–this competition will primarily take place with the second-team offense–although there still may be some snaps with the starters available as Tom is eased in.

From the outside looking in, as these players continue to be rotated fairly heavily, there isn’t a ton of clarity on where this camp battle stands, but it is still early on in the process, and I imagine that right now it is the Packers’ intention to get each player as many reps as possible right now to have a large enough sample size when it comes to evaluating each of them. Once joint practices and the preseason arrives, we will have a better understanding of where things stand, and how this trio performs in those environments will carry a lot of weight.

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

Return of Zach Tom will be welcomed sight for Packers’ OL

Paul Bretl | 8/4/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The return of Zach Tom to team drills will be a welcomed sight for the Packers’ offensive line–a unit that has taken it’s lumps throughout training camp.

Tom has been at practice going through walkthroughs and individual drills as he works his way back from a pec injury that he sustained back in April. However, this upcoming week when the Packers are back on the practice field, Tom should be joining the rest of the offense for 11-on-11s.

“That is the plan,” said Matt LaFleur after Family Night when asked if Tom would return this week. “So he’s looked great.”

Following the Packers’ annual Family Night practice, Tom acknowledged that even when back on the field for 11-on-11s, he may be on some sort of snap count initially. The rehab process has been “really good,” said Tom, but there is still work to be done when it comes to getting back to full strength–literally.

“Honestly, it’s probably going to be a work in progress,” said Tom about getting his strength back. “I’ve never dealt with this injury, either. I’m sure there’s going to be some things that I’m going to have to work through, but the only way you’ll know is if you start playing football.”

Through what is now 10 training camp practices, the Packers defensive line has routinely controlled the line of scrimmage over their offensive counterpart. Led by Rashan Gary, the defensive front has not only generated regular pressure each practice, but there have been numerous instances where they’ve been in the backfield what seems like almost immediately.

The best way for a defense to disrupt any play–run or pass–is with quick pressure up the middle. In the passing game, it forces the quarterback to rush, not allowing the play to fully develop, which disrupts the rhythm and timing of the passer, oftentimes resulting in a disjointed effort from the offense. Success on the ground has been even more difficult for the Packers offense to come by.

At this time of the year, the defense being in the backfield can make evaluating the offensive side of the football more challenging for the coaching staff.

“It’s tough on the O-line right now,” said LaFleur. “Certainly I think the D-line gets frustrated at times bc in practice we use a lot of chippers, I’m like hey man that’s a credit to you guys, that’s the ultimate complement, we feel we have to get four hands on you to block you. It’s going to happen during the season.”

To a degree, it’s not a surprise that the offensive has struggled. For one, they are at a disadvantage when not in pads, and two, the right side of the line has consisted of rookie Jordan Morgan, who is playing guard for the first time in his career, and either Kadeem Telfort or Andre Dillard at right tackle.

While the current play along the offensive line is far from perfect, it is improving. In recent practices, there has been a bit more cohesiveness, which has provided time for the quarterbacks, but particularly in one-on-one situations, is where we’ve seen the collective unit struggle.

“Pretty good,” said Tom about the play of the offensive line. “Obviously there’s a lot of things that we need to clean up, but that’s what camp is for. I think we’ve done a good job coming in and correcting the mistakes and taking it to the next practice and getting better every day.”

Getting Tom back in the mix should help provide some needed stability for this unit. Last season was Tom’s first full year as a starter. According to PFF, he would surrender just two sacks along with 37 pressures. Out of 50 eligible tackles, Tom ranked 13th in pass-blocking efficiency.

Making Tom’s performance even more impressive was the competition he went up against. Of the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers in terms of total pressures, Tom faced six of them, including Nick Bosa, Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons, and Maxx Crosby, all of whom finished in the top-four of that pressure category.

After that already impressive season, Tom is determined to achieve some big goals this season, and now with this pec injury getting more closer to being behind him, he’ll soon have the opportunity to solely focus on achieving them.

“However many sacks I gave up is too many,” Tom said during offseason programs. “This was really my first year starting and I was able to go up against some of those premier guys. Learned a lot. Now, this year, come back even better. I’ve got big goals in mind for this year.”

Packers’ Family Night Practice: Key Observations and Takeaways

Paul Bretl | 8/3/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers were back on the football field for their 10th training camp practice, but tonight’s practice was not like the previous nine before it–it was Family Night, with the Packers practicing in front of 60,887 inside Lambeau Field.

“What an atmosphere, man,” said Matt LaFleur after practice. “It never gets old, going into Lambeau, the environment, the energy the fans brought.”

With practice being held in front of a full stadium and televised, as LaFleur said, it was very vanilla play-calling on both sides of the ball. With that in mind, here are my key observations and takeaways from what took place.

Who was in and who was out? Josh Myers was back after missing Thursday’s practice for a personal reason. Josh Jacobs went through warmups but did not practice. Jacobs did not practice Thursday with a groin injury but said at his locker afterwards that if it was a game he would have been out there. Still not practicing was Tucker Kraft, Carrington Valentine, Edgerrin Cooper, Donovan Jennings, Deslin Alexandre, Keshawn Banks, and a new addition to the injury report was JJ Enagbare with a hamstring injury.

“We already knew,” said Jacobs after practice about only going through warmups. “Like I said, I could have practiced the other day. It’s not that serious of an issue. I’ll be OK.”

Zach Tom should be returning to 11-on-11s soon and Kraft should be back at practice soon as well.

“That is the plan,” said LaFleur when asked about Tom returning next week, “so he’s looked great. Hopefully we’ll get tucker back in some capacity next weke as well but we’ll see how it goes.”

What’s going on at swing tackle? After a handful of practices where Kadeem Telfort was taking the majority of the starting right tackle snaps, tonight-and Thursday–that role belonged to Andre Dillard. The Packers are trying to figure out who the swing tackle will be this season. For what it’s worth, earlier in the week Adam Stenavich discussed Telfort’s consistency while also mentioning that Dillard had to get more comfortable on the right side. Then near the end of practice, we saw Caleb Jones get his first starting right tackle reps of training camp.

“I think coming into this it’s always been a question for me about I didn’t come from a heavy pass-blocking, any organizations before this,” said Jones after practice. “So it’s always been a question, how will he do in pass blocking? I think that’s the biggest improvement on my part, just learning how to pass block and learning how to use my hands. Learning what sets to use at what times. It’s always just a blessing.”

What about the rest of the offensive line? The rest of the line was as expected with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Myers at center and Jordan Morgan at right guard. The second unit was made up of Caleb Jones at left tackle, followed by Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan, and either Telfort or Dillard. Rhyan saw some left guard snaps with the starters and for the first time since camp began, we saw Jordan Morgan at a position other than right guard, with him lining up at left tackle with the twos to end practice. Stenavich said he’s been at right guard because they believe that is where he has the best chance to compete for a starting role.

The defensive alignment remained the same. Tonight it was Javon Bullard’s turn to start next to Xavier McKinney. The nickel linebackers were Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, while TJ Slaton was next to Kenny Clark on the early downs.

Some of the notable one-on-one results I was able to catch:

Lukas Van Ness beats Caleb Jones
Christian Watson catch vs. Eric Stokes
Karl Brooks beats Royce Newman
Jayden Reed with a catch vs. Kalen King
Kadeem Telfort beats Van Ness
Javon Bullard with a PBU vs. Dimitri Stanley
Jacob Monk beats Jonathan Ford
Julian Hicks catch vs. Corey Ballentine
Dontayvion Wicks catch vs. Stokes
Jaire Alexander keeps Malik Heath out of end zone
Xavier McKinney PBU vs. Luke Musgrave
Alexander beats Romeo Doubs

It was another impressive showing for Doubs. On one reception, he did a really good job of boxing out Alexander and making the contested catch. During the red zone period, Doubs had back-to-back touchdown receptions, beating Stokes on a slant and then making another catch over Keisean Nixon. Near the end of practice, he caught a deep crosser from Love.

“Just repetition,” said Doubs about his red zone touchdowns. “Just make sure I rep it out with Jordan or any other QB as much as I can, get the timing down.”

I know I’ve said this already, but Marshawn Lloyd’s ability to change direction is supremely impressive. There was one run, in particular, where there was nothing open up the middle and he jumped cut to the right to get to the outside in a flash.

In part, you’ve got to give credit to the linebackers and safeties, which I know I’ve mention before have done an excellent job swarming to the ball carrier around the line of scrimmage, but the screen game and outside runs have been tough sledding for the offense.

The play along the offensive line has improved in recent practices, but the defensive front is still largely controlling the line of scrimmage, making it tough on the quarterbacks. The cohesiveness of the offensive line has improved, but particularly in one-on-one situations they are losing those matchups, which is a credit to the defensive front. Rashan Gary was again really impressive.

“It’s tough on the O-line right now,” LaFleur said. “Certainly I think the D-line gets frustrated at times bc in practice we use a lot of chippers, I’m like hey man that’s a credit to you guys, that’s the ultimate complement, we feel we have to get four hands on you to block you. It’s going to happen during the season. I think our D-line is solid, hopefully they continue to get better and improve and just keep coming off the ball the way they are.”

It’s early. Obviously things can change, but my guess right now Tyler Davis ends up ahead of Ben Sims on the depth chart. From what we’ve seen I think he’s been more sound and steady as a blocker. The run game is more difficult to decipher given that there isn’t live tackling.

I thought we saw a nice practice from Quay Walker in coverage. On one rep, he found himself in space against Grant DuBose and remained tight throughout the route to force the incompletion. On another play, he tipped a pass from Love to force an incompletion.

In game scenario: Love and the offense started at their own two yard line. Love completed the first pass to Bo Melton for about seven yards. Second down was a run to Dillon for about a yard, and then on third down Love connected with Reed for a good gain and a first. The drive would stall, however, after a run of two yards and then two incomplete passes from Love–one of which was a miss on his part and the other he tried to fit into too tight of a window. I just have a feeling, based on what we’ve seen in two-minute and other red zone situations, that in a real game Jeff Hafley is blitzing or trying to force the issue when the offense is backed up.

It wasn’t perfect and there are throws he will want back, but I thought tonight we saw more of the Sean Clifford that we remember from the preseason. He was “letting it rip” as LaFleur will say. Meaning, he was on time and in rhythm with his throws, and trusting what he was seeing. To end practice, Clifford went 5-for-9 in the two-minute period to get the offense in field goal range.

Anders Carlson responded well after a rough practice Thursday, making 8/9 of his attempts. Joseph was again solid, but had his first miss in a while, finishing 7/9. Overall, Carlson is 33/39 and Joseph 35/39. Through the ups and downs that Carlson has had, he does always seem to bounce back.

“I would anticipate that,” said LaFleur when asked if the kicking competition will go through training camp, “but things change.”

We did get to see a live tackling period tonight with the third team offensive and defensive units. Michael Pratt began the drive connecting with Dimitri Stanley for 19 yards. The next two plays were runs by Ellis Merriweather for 7 yards and four yards to move the chains. We haven’t seen much of Merriweather, but he runs hard. On first down, the Packers ran an end-around that the defense sniffed out, resulting in a loss of five yards. On 2nd and 15 with pressure closing in, Pratt finds Julian Hicks for 23 yards on an in-breaking route.

Two minute drills: Love and the offense began at their own 25 with 2:00 remaining. The first pass was incomplete to AJ Dillon with McDuffie tight in coverage. His second pass was batted down by Kenny Clark and third down was an over throw, this time with Alexander tight in coverage. On fourth down, Love’s initial read wasn’t there so he threw to Musgrave in the flat where Bullard made the “tackle.”

Two other standouts: Javon Bullard was around the ball, forcing a few incompletions, and Kalen King had a pass breakup during the red zone period and a “sack” on a nickel blitz.

“Ever since OTAs, he’s been making plays,” said Doubs about Bullard. “Glad to have a guy like him on the team. I believe his growth is going to be really good because we have really experienced guys on our defense. Sky’s the limit for him.”