New Packers DL coach DeMarcus Covington eager to work with bevy of first round picks: ‘Sign me up’

Paul Bretl | 5/15/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — I’m going to guess that DeMarcus Covington’s path to being a defensive line coach and former defensive coordinator at the NFL level is a bit of an unconventional one.

Unlike many defensive line coaches, Covington doesn’t have a background playing that position. In fact, during his playing days at Division I-AA Samford, Covington didn’t even play on the defensive side of the football. Instead, he was a wide receiver.

“I think when you think about coaching, coaching is teaching,” Covington said on Thursday. “And when you’re looking at it like that, if you can teach, and you can get the guys to buy into what you’re saying and then understanding and being able to express those things, not only just what you know. Because it’s really not about what I know, it’s what they know and what I can get them to understand and go out there and perform. So I look at it as just being able to teach.”

“That’s how I do it. If you’re able to teach effectively, you should be able to go down the line and teach anything and apply principles to it. Because principles never really, they don’t change. Not ‘not really,’ they don’t change. So, that’s how I look at it. And then obviously you put in the factor of getting the players to buy into you.”

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However, to state the obvious, in order to be an effective teacher, there has to be a deep understanding of whatever that topic might be. And, to a degree, Covington was effectively starting over when he moved to the defensive line.

This transition to coaching the defensive line came in 2012 when Covington was a grad assistant at UAB. Admittedly, at that time, when he was told that he was moving to the defensive line, Covington wasn’t thrilled. But following that “ugh moment,” as Covington called it, he turned the page and jumped right in.

Motivating Covington to not only make progress as he learned to coach a new position, but to make progress quickly was that he didn’t want to be looked at as someone who didn’t know what they were talking about.

“I did a good job of taking great notes, putting myself in those positions doing the drills, so I can feel the techniques, feel the different things and then when you look at receiver and you look at D-line, there’s a good amount of hand combative that’s just the same,” Covington said. “So footwork, hand combatives, it’s not like much of a difference outside of the size and speed and all that stuff.

“I took pride in that and getting to know the fundamentals and technique and the details of making sure that no one, nobody can question me on what I know to this day.”

Having coached in New England since 2017 and having held various roles, Covington got his “master’s degree” while working alongside Bill Belichick. As a coaching assistant his first two seasons, Covington helped out in all aspects, including on offense and on special teams. On defense, he was an outside linebackers coach for a season, a defensive line coach for four years, and he was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator under head coach Jerod Mayo in 2024.

That season as a defensive coordinator, where Covington is not only in charge of one position, but the entire unit, has given him a different lens to look through now in Green Bay. He doesn’t see the game only through the defensive line position.

“I don’t see the game as just a defensive line coach,” said Covington. “You’re talking to a guy who played offense in college, a guy who coached multiple positions, so I don’t see the game just as a defensive line coach. I see it from a coordinator’s perspective, too, so that helped me, that experience doing it and calling it and getting the real game experience and game-like experience.”

One thing about Covington that drew Jeff Hafley to him during the interview process was that he has taught in a number of different schemes. “They’ve done a lot over there,” said Hafley on Monday. In addition to that, Hafley added that Coving can coach a lot of different techniques, and he’s operated in a variety of fronts.

“I love his demeanor, I love the way he coaches, I love the relationship he has with his players,” Hafley said.

Covington will now be tasked with getting more production and consistency out of the Packers’ pass rush. The inconsistencies last season from the four-man rush are well-documented at this point. The lack of pressure at times even resulted in Hafley having to make a fairly big shift in how he built out game plans, relying more heavily on blitzes and simulated pressures to get home.

For Covington, however, he sees tremendous potential and plenty of pure talent within that Packers’ defensive line room. As Covington recalled, he doesn’t believe he’s ever coached a first-round draft pick before, and he now joins a team where there are four–Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kenny Clark, and Devonte Wyatt–just at his position group.

“I would say our personnel guys have done a great job of drafting great, talented players,” Covington said. “Which provides great competition. Which sharpens each other. So, when you as a defensive line coach and you’re looking at players and where to go, I mean, sign me up. Anybody would sign up for this job. Not only just being 1 of 32 to be a defensive line coach [in the NFL], but when you look at the talent we have across the board at each position, sign us up for it.”

New Packers QB coach Sean Mannion has been preparing for coaching opportunity for a long time

Paul Bretl | 5/15/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — New Packers’ quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion has some big shoes to fill, taking over a role that was previously held by Tom Clements, who during his career coached Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and most recently Jordan Love.

“Tom was a great mentor for me to work with last year, to just be around in the QB room was awesome,” Mannion said when speaking with reporters on Thursday. “Such a unique thing, for him to have his fingertips on three great quarterbacks in one organization. To me, Tom was just the picture of stability, being a stable presence in the QB room, even-keeled at all times. There’s a lot of stuff that the quarterback position has to juggle, but he was always a stable presence. And then I think just the focus on the details and the fundamentals, he was a great example of that.”

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Mannion joined the Packers’ coaching staff in 2024 as an offensive assistant and often worked with the quarterbacks. Following his own playing career, which began in 2015 as a third-round pick by the Rams, Mannion jumped right into coaching after retiring as a player in 2023.

Mannion’s playing career includes spending the 2017 season with Matt LaFleur when the two were with the LA Rams under head coach Sean McVay. That time with LaFleur and being in a similar offense helped Mannion assimilate to the Packers’ scheme last season because of the overlap. But beyond that element, Mannion really gained a greater understanding for playing the quarterback position during that 2017 season.

“I think the big thing was just our vision of the quarterback position was in perfect alignment because like I said when Matt got there with coach McVay in ’17, that was a really transformative experience for me in terms of learning how to play the position,” said Mannion. “I know as a player, it helped me greatly and again, having this in mind, it was always like, ‘Oh this is how you teach the quarterback position.’ I got to learn that from Matt directly.”

Even before Mannion made it to the NFL as a player, he knew that he wanted to be a coach. His dad was a longtime high school coach, so Mannion has spent most of his life around the game. So Mannion’s goal early on in his NFL career was to play as long as he could and then make the transition to coaching.

With playing opportunities drying up heading into Mannion’s final 2023 season, that summer, he really dove into the process of preparing himself to make that switch over to coaching. This included reaching out to LaFleur.

“I was reaching out to a bunch of people that I was fortunate to cross paths with, Matt being obviously one of them, so we spoke over the summer and I was getting things ready, kind of through our summer break, as a player, working on an interview presentation, working on learning to draw on the computer,” said Mannion. “I had my own film library. I was kind of working to hit the ground running in this field.”

Before interviewing with LaFleur and the Packers during the 2024 offseason, Mannion had another interview scheduled with the Chicago Bears. Beforehand, Mannion and LaFleur met virtually, at which point LaFleur let him know that after interviewing with the Bears, he and the Packers wanted that same opportunity.

“I had touched base with Matt and then when the season ended,” recalled Mannion, “I was following up with a bunch of people and Matt got right back to me and I was like, hey, I got this interview with the Bears, but i just wanted to circle back and follow up basically.

“So he said, we met over Zoom briefly and just chatted for a little while and he was like, yeah, go do your interview. And he let me do the interview and then he’s like, but we wanna interview you tomorrow so just make sure you fly here so we have an opportunity to interview as well, so I was really fortunate in that regard and went interviewed with the Bears and told them I was gonna interview here as well. Came here and I felt like it was a great fit and I was really thankful for the opportunity from Matt, but that’s kind of how it came together.”

Having nine years of recent NFL experience at the quarterback position, Mannion brings a different perspective to the Packers’ quarterback room–one that has walked in similar shoes as Jordan Love, Malik Willis, and the rest of the Packers’ quarterbacks. As Mannion put it, he can speak to what these players are going through from a preparation and on-field standpoint.

While Mannion may be stepping into a new and more prominent role, there is still a lot of continuity in the Packers’ quarterback room, within the coaching staff, and on the offense as a whole. So Mannion doesn’t have to step in and reinvent the wheel by any means either. A lot of the coaching and teaching points will remain similar because it’s still the same scheme and quarterbacks that he’s working with, but there will also be opportunities for Mannion to “sprinkle” in some of his own experiences when applicable.

Providing each player with an “honest assessment,” as Mannion called it, and being a clear communicator are two of his top priorities. And while Clemens may be retired, footwork and fundamentals will still remain at the core of every quarterback conversation that is had. At the end of the day, it’s Mannion’s job to support Love and the other quarterbacks as best he can to help put them in positions to be successful.

“He’s a great talent,” Mannion said of Love. “He’s a great person. He’s a great person to work with every day and he has great habits, so I think really when you combine those three things, really the sky is the limit. For him, what we’re really trying to focus on I think is the fundamentals and the footwork. I think, like I kinda spoke before, that’ll help you be your most consistent accuracy wise, decision making wise and timing wise.

“So that’s really our main area of focus with him. But it’s a pleasure to work with him and all the quarterbacks we have in the room on a daily basis because of their level of talent but then kind of the way they attack each day as a teammate and then as a quarterback.”

CB Nate Hobbs bringing versatility, competitive play style to Packers secondary

Paul Bretl | 5/14/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The majority of Nate Hobbs’ snaps during his four-year career with the Las Vegas Raiders came lined up in the nickel. However, Jeff Hafley and the Packers view the free agent as someone who can play both inside and out, and that is what he is going to do in Green Bay.

“I see Nate can play outside and Nate can play inside,” Hafley said when speaking with reporters on Monday. “So we’re going to have him do both. His film was, you know, when you’re getting ready for free agency and you’re evaluating tape, it’s one thing that you love about him. He’s had a lot of success inside, and I thought his tape outside was equally as good.”

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Over the last two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, Hobbs has been the team’s primary nickel cornerback. However, he has experience on the boundary as well, playing over 700 career NFL snaps lined up outside, 500 of which came during the 2022 season. Going back to his days at Illinois, Hobbs spent most of his college career on the boundary, playing over 2,100 snaps there over four seasons.

So lining up outside certainly won’t be new for Hobbs.

Although the Raiders tasked Hobbs with playing the nickel, he has the measurables that we often see GM Brian Gutekunst covet at the boundary cornerback position. Hobbs has size and length, listed at 6-1 – 195 pounds and is a good athlete, posting a Relative Athletic Score of 9.61 coming out of Illinois.

“I just think he’s, he’s a really talented football player,” said Rich Bisaccia, who coached Hobbs during his time in Las Vegas. “He’s a lot bigger than you think, until you get up there and shake his hand. He can really run. He’s a physical player. He’s got great length, and you know, he’s played multiple positions.”

Hobbs is coming off of his best statistical season in the NFL in 2024. He would rank 10th out of 42 eligible slot cornerbacks in yards per snap allowed. He was also 16th in snaps per reception allowed, and Hobbs had the 11th best coverage EPA (expected points added) among all defensive backs who saw 40 or more targets.

Versatility is going to be one of the cornerstone elements of the Packers’ secondary this season. Along with Hobbs’ ability to be moved around the defensive backfield, Keisean Nixon, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Xavier McKinney all provide impressive versatility, which for Hafley gives him flexibility as he puts together his weekly matchups.

The ability to mix and match and move defenders around, for one, better equips a team to handle injuries. But in addition to that, putting a variety of different looks on tape leaves an offense with a lot to prepare for. Then, in the game, pre-snap, it becomes more difficult for the quarterback to decipher who is going to be where and what might be coming, which in turn can keep opponents off-balanced and guessing.

Game planning-wise, having interchangeable defenders with differing skill sets affords Hafley the ability to really play matchups and design the play-calls for the week around what the opponent does well and what the Packers want to take away.

Hobbs’ presence in the secondary only adds to that already prominent versatility element that is present.

“He is competitive, he’s tough, he is physical, he plays the game fast, you can tell he loves it,” added Hafley. “It just jumps off the tape. I don’t know if you guys watched any of it, but it certainly jumps off the tape the way the guy plays. And he’s been a great addition and he does give you that versatility where you can move him around and again, I’m a big fan of that.”

The Packers signed Hobbs in free agency to a four-year, $48 million deal. But as Hobbs described when he arrived to Green Bay back in March for the first time, the former Day 3 draft pick who was under-recruited coming out of high school is always going to have an underdog mentality.

With the current unknowns at the cornerback position for the Packers as it pertains to Jaire Alexander’s future with the team, Hobbs is going to play an important role in providing stability at that position group.

“I just think we’re getting a really good guy that loves football and loves the opportunity to compete, and you know, he’s back with Keisan,” added Bisaccia. “That was a good thing at one time, and now we have certainly the leadership of X and the play of X back there. So we’re expecting really good things for Nate.”

Offseason additions give Packers options at returner, including Keisean Nixon

Paul Bretl | 5/13/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Following the Packers’ playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, two-time All-Pro return man Keisean Nixon said during locker cleanout that he was “over it” when it came to being a returner. Instead, he wanted to focus solely on being the defense’s top cornerback.

Understandably so, with that conversation taking place less than 24 hours after a season-ending loss, one in which Nixon fumbled the opening kickoff return, the frustration of that performance was still very much lingering.

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However, in the months since, time has helped heal, and from the sounds of it, Nixon is going to be a part of the Packers’ return man equation.

“I think we’re, you know, I think him and I both, as well as other players, were not in very good mood after that particular game (Philadelphia), and going into that press conference, we’ve had conversations,” said special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia on Monday. “So in my mind, he’s always going to be in the mix, and we’ll see how it works out.”

Under the NFL’s new kickoff rules last season, Nixon didn’t see as many quality opportunities to return the ball as he had hoped. After totaling 35 return attempts in 2022 and 32 in 2023, he had just 22 this season. Overall, he was still effective, averaging 28.3 yards per attempt, although he was missing that big-play jolt.

To further incentivise kick returns, the NFL is again tweaking the rule with touchbacks this season being moved from the 30-yard line, as was the case last year, to the 35-yard line this year.

“The thing I think that’s good for us is we’ve had a year to go through it,” said Bisaccia. “We’ve seen some of the things that we did really well on both ends, the kickoff and the return part, and some things that we did extremely poorly on the kickoff return part. I think we, as coaches, have learned a lot of how we can give our guys in the return game some more tools to probably get themselves in a little bit better position.”

Along with Nixon returning kicks, presumably Jayden Reed will have the opportunity to continue returning punts this season as well. On 16 punt returns last season, which ranked 27th, Reed averaged a modest 8.6 yards per return with two muffed attempts, according to PFF.

But beyond Nixon and Reed retaining the same roles in 2025, when it comes to return man duties, the Packers have several other options on the roster as well. As Bisaccia mentioned on Monday, both rookie receivers, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, have return experience from their time in college.

Golden had 29 kick return attempts during his time at Houston and Texas, averaging 25.8 yards per return, and recorded two touchdowns with his 4.29-second speed. Williams, meanwhile, has 15 career kick return attempts, all of which came in 2020, but his impressive YAC ability with the ball in his hands could make him someone that the Packers want to put on the return units.

Also in the mix now is Mecole Hardman, whom the team signed as a free agent this offseason. Hardman was a second-team All-Pro return man in 2019 and brings more speed to this Packers’ team. During the most recent 2024 season, Hardman had five kick return attempts and averaged 26.4 yards per return. He also had 20 punt return attempts, averaging 10.2 yards per return, which ranked 17th across the NFL.

“Certainly, he’s got great experience in the league,” Bisaccia said of Hardman. “He’s been really productive in both at punt and kick returns. So we’re looking forward to him competing with some of our other guys. But it’s good to have a veteran presence back there that’s made big plays before.”

As training camp and the preseason unfold, the Packers will, of course, be looking for that dynamic playmaking ability, along with reliability at both return man positions. Perhaps also a part of that decision-making process could be the potential workload that a player already has on their plate on either the offensive or defensive sides of the ball.

The success of the return units certainly doesn’t fall only on the shoulders of the returner. The other 10 players have to be positioned well to create running lanes for the return man. Green Bay’s return units certainly weren’t bad in 2024, but there is more opportunity out there as well for those units in 2025.

“I had tremendous conversations with Coach LaFleur and the direction we’re going,” Bisaccia said about the special teams unit, “and felt like I’ve failed him at times and some of the things and the ways in which we’ve played.

“So I have a certain standard and expectation of how we’re supposed to play in the kicking game, and I’m really excited about being here and being here and being back with him and having the opportunity to win a championship. It’s the only reason, really, we get up and go to work anymore in the NFL. There’s really one game you want to go and win that one game.”

Continuity in Year 2 under Jeff Hafley gives Packers’ defense a huge head start compared to 2024

Paul Bretl | 5/12/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — We often hear about Year 2 leaps for NFL players in their sophomore seasons. Well, the same can be true to an extent for entire units that are entering their second seasons within a specific scheme.

As we look at this Packers defense and wonder or evaluate how this unit continues to build upon what they established in 2024, the usual mixture of improved consistency, internal growth from those already on the roster, and perhaps some outside additions are always going to be important elements.

However, in 2025, now also a big part of that equation for Green Bay will be the continuity of being in Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme for a full offseason.

“My relationship with the players in Year 2, I feel like there’s kind of a trust built so the relationship I think can get even better,” said Jeff Hafley on Monday when meeting with reporters. “But to me, it’s how fast can we get to where we finished the season and then build from there and evolve and be more consistent?”

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As Hafley described when meeting with reporters on Monday, this offseason, compared to last, when he was just arriving in Green Bay, is “way different.” A year ago, Hafley and his position coaches were establishing what they wanted to do schematically. They and the team were going through installs for the very first time, and when going through film to show the players examples of how Hafley wanted things done, he had to show clips from previous stops he had been at.

But now, that is far from the case. This offseason, while Hafley self-scouts regularly in-season, the offseason provides a much greater opportunity to make a much deeper dive. The teaching points that the coaching staff and players are able to have are hyper-detailed, with Hafley and Co. able to pull up film from the last year of the players operating within this specific scheme.

“It’s a lot easier to do when you have all this time and you can really pick it apart and you can really talk about it and you can really group it all together and see what worked and what didn’t and who did what well, so that part has been really, really nice,” Hafley said.

“And what’s really nice now is when we’re with the players, we’re watching our tape. We have all this time to sit there and watch what we did and show ’em what we did well and show ’em how we need to get better in certain areas. It’s like you and I sitting down and here was your 1-on-1 tape with your position coach. Coach, what do I need to improve? Well, I don’t have to tell you. I can show you now. Like that’s a huge difference.”

Across the board in Hafley’s first season as defensive coordinator, the Packers saw improved results. This unit finished the 2024 season ranked sixth in points per game, 12th in passing yards per game, and they were top-10 in takeaways. Green Bay’s biggest improvement, however, may have come against the run, with the Packers ranking seventh in rush yards per game, which included allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game for the first time in a season since 2009.

As the season went on, the Packers’ defense continued to improve. That plus the effort that he saw his defense playing with on a regular basis is what has Hafley the most proud of Green Bay’s performance on that side of the ball in Year 1.

“First I would say, I’m proud of the way the guys played in year 1,” Hafley said. “The thing that I’m most proud of, I do believe we got better, and I think we played our best football late in the season, and that was the most important thing to me. Year 1, you’re figuring out the system, you’re figuring out the players and can we get better each week?

“But probably the biggest thing is, I thought we were playing really hard at the end of the year. Like we were really physically, we were really running to the ball, guys were playing confident, guys were communicating and I just felt like we came alive and that’s probably the thing – throw out the numbers, the statistics and where we were – I think we played harder than our opponents at the end of the year and we were more physical.”

What’s next for Hafley and this Packers defense will be building upon that performance and not plateauing, or worse, going backwards. Everything already mentioned will be key components when it comes to taking another step or two forward in 2025, but also a critical factor will be Hafley’s ability to continually adapt and evolve the playbook–a quality he possesses and showcased throughout his first season.

“In a perfect world you want to get back to where you left off as fast as possible and build from there,” said Hafley, “so how fast can we do that? We have guys who have played in the system, we have some new pieces we need to add, we need to evolve, we can’t just do the same thing and say here’s the playbook and this is what we’re running. No. We’re a different team. It’s a different year. Offenses are going to evolved, we have to evolved.

“I would say I would like us to be more consistent, OK. There’s a lot of things we did do well, but I think the consistency needs to improve. Certainly, I need to improve. Looking at myself personally, how I called games, what I called when I called it, how I got to certain things, can I get there faster.”

Like any unit, the Packers have their areas where they have to improve, along with some question marks on the roster. As has been talked about all offseason, Green Bay needs more from its pass rush in 2025. And with Jaire Alexander’s future up in the air, there is uncertainty at the cornerback position.

Ultimatley, we likely won’t know how much or if the pass rush improved or what the state of the Packers’ cornerback position will be until the players take the field and games are played. But with that said, for a group that statistically was one of the better defenses in the NFL and playing its best ball late in the year, that continuity component that this Packers’ defense has in 2025 gives them a big leg up on where they were this time a year ago.

Now it’s about making sure everyone maximizes that element this offseason and into the new year.

“I think the whole key, though, is you gotta get the guys in Year 2 to go in with the same beginning mindset that even though I might’ve heard this all year, I’m gonna listen like I never heard it before and maybe pick up on some things that I didn’t really know or understand,” Hafley added. “That’s the key right now. We gotta push the guys to have that mindset like, pretend you’re hearing this for the first time again and continue to hit the little details.”

Tryout and Canadian QB Taylor Elgersma impresses, earns roster spot with Packers

Paul Bretl | 5/6/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Following rookie minicamp, the Packers announced that they released wide receiver Tulu Griffin, which opened up a roster spot that was presumably going to be filled by one of the tryout candidates from this past weekend.

That ended up being the case, and not surprisingly, it was Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma who was signed to the 90-man roster, according to Bill Huber.

“He’s got a very live arm. We could see that on tape,” said Matt LaFleur during rookie minicamp this past weekend.

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The reason that I say this doesn’t come as a surprise is because at a rookie camp practice that consisted of stretching and mostly half-speed individual positional drills, all eyes were locked on Elgersma.

Elgersma was the lone quarterback at Packers’ rookie minicamp. During warmups as he threw to members of the coaching staff, you could see the “live arm” that Elgersma possessed and LaFleur described a day earlier, particularly when he zipped one over the outstretched hands of one of his pass-catching targets.

As Elgersma went through footwork and movement drills, quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion, pass game specialists Connor Lewis, and senior offensive assistant Luke Getsy were all watching closely. And so was head coach Matt LaFleur.

Rather than overseeing the entire practice, LaFleur spent time watching Elgersma and chimed in with a coaching pointer and even demonstrated how he wanted to see the quarterback go through the drill.

“You’re just looking for traits at that point,” said LaFleur when asked what he’s looking for from a quarterback during a tryout. “Certainly I think just coming from where he’s coming from to this level, I think there’s going to be a big learning curve. But if there’s anybody that will attack it head on, Taylor will. And you that was so evident when he was here on the 30 visit just, and I know he’s been working really hard at it.”

Standing in the Don Hutson Center on Saturday morning, it would have been a pure guess at that time to say that Elgersma was going to be signed following his tryout, but the signs were there.

In addition to this modified practice, the Packers also held a workout solely for the tryout participants to get a better look at them. This extended weekend in Green Bay, however, was far from the first time that the Packers had seen Elgersma up close.

During the pre-draft process, the Packers had him in for an official 30 visit where they could meet one-on-one with him to go over film. In addition to that, Vrable was one of the coaches at the Senior Bowl, an All-Star event Elgersma participated in, and he also took part in the College Gridiron Showcase as well as the Tropical Bowl, where Packers’ scouts got more looks at him.

“Another guy that loves football, and then just watching him throw,” added LaFleur, “he’s got a live arm. So there’s a lot to like about him.”

In Elgersma’s most recent season playing for Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Elgersma completed 74% of his throws for 4,011 yards with 34 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 229 more yards and six additional scores.

Elgersma would go on to win the Hec Crighton Award, which is the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy at the NCAA’s FBS level. This production, however, would come while playing under Canadian football rules with a bigger field and 12 players on each side of the ball. The Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy would equate the level of competition to Division III football in the states.

But at 6-5, 227 pounds, and with a big arm, Elgersma possesses several traits that the Packers want to take a swing at developing and further unlocking.

Elgersma will now be the fourth quarterback on the Packers’ roster. In past seasons, LaFleur has mentioned that with four quarterbacks on the roster during training camp, it can be difficult to get everyone reps because there are only so many throws to go around. However, with Elgersma’s upside, that’s something the team is obviously willing to work around, and to a degree, is some added insight into what the team thinks of the young quarterback.

Continuously developing the quarterback position is something that GM Brian Gutekunst wants to prioritize, even if there is an established starter already on the roster. It’s just too important and valuable a position to become complacent with.

As we look ahead to the 2026 offseason, Malik Willis will be a free agent and there are a lot of unknowns around Sean Clifford, who struggled throughout last year’s training camp, sparking the trade for Willis in the first place. We don’t know what the Packers’ backup quarterback situation will look like a year from now, but any time there are uncertainties, giving yourself options is a good thing, and Elgersma provides that.

He will now spend training camp and the preseason developing his game, and also competing with Clifford for that third quarterback role on this Packers team.

Before signing with the Packers, Elgersma was headed to Buffalo for their rookie minicamp this past weekend, but Gutekunst wasn’t going to let him get that far. Had Elgersma entered the Bills’ facility, there was no guarantee he would have left as a free agent.

OL John Williams uniquely positioned to get off to a fast start in Packers’ offense

Paul Bretl | 5/12/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With the 250th pick in this year’s NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected offensive lineman John Williams out of Cincinnati–a pick that GM Brian Gutekunst was surprised that the team had the opportunity to make.

“We were down there in the seventh round,” Gutekunst said after Day 3 of the draft, “it’s unusual for a guy who can tackle and guard, play four spots for you, to be down there at that spot.”

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Williams started at left tackle for Cincinnati during his final two college seasons. Between Year 1 as a starter and Year 2 in 2024, he saw significant strides made, particularly in pass protection. He went from allowing 14 pressures and two sacks in 2023 to just eight pressures and one sack in 2024. In fact, among all FBS tackles, Williams finished last season ranked fifth in pass-blocking efficiency.

When speaking with reporters after being selected by Green Bay, Williams mentioned that this growth from 2023 to 2024 was “immeasurable,” and he felt like a “completely different player.”

An important part of that development that Williams experienced was thanks to his offensive line coach Nic Cardwell, who implemented NFL-style systems for all of Cincinnati’s pass protections.

“It kind of gave me the confidence to play and be who I could be,” Williams said during rookie minicamp.

The Packers view Williams as someone who can play both tackle and both guard positions. At 6-4 and weighing 322 pounds, he has the size and physicality to work inside, while with nearly 34″ arms and a strong athletic profile, he has the ability to operate in space as well.

“He’s got great length, exceptionally bright,” said Gutekunst of Williams. “Really, really, really smart. He’s got the versatility to play left tackle and guard. He probably could play center because he’s smart enough to, he’s one of the few guys who can really play with full extension with his hands, and is moving his feet at the same time.”

Of Williams’ 1,831 career snaps in college, 1,756 of them came at left tackle. So, whether he sees snaps at guard or right tackle, there is likely to be some level of a learning curve for him.

However, playing those positions won’t be foreign either. Before Williams was a starter at Cincinnati, he would fill in along the offensive line during practices wherever was needed. So there were times in practice when he played guard and even some center.

“A big point for me was just my flexibility,” Williams said of his pre-draft visit to Green Bay. “They want you to play multiple positions, which I think is probably why they picked me, just the ability to hopefully help out wherever I’m needed. I think that’s the biggest upside for me.”

Perhaps what can differentiate Williams from other late-round selections to help him hit the ground running more quickly is that he comes from a college offense that has overlap and, to a degree, functions in a similar capacity to Matt LaFleur’s.

Williams comes to the NFL already somewhat familiar with what the Packers do schematically because his Cincinnati offense watched quite a bit of what Green Bay does.

“A lot,” said Williams when asked how much attention he paid to the Packers in college. “We watched a lot of film at Cincinnati on the Packers just because we kind of have a similar offensive scheme, so we’ve definitely seen a lot of their stuff and was loving it.”

Along with having some familiarity with the offense, as Gutekunst mentioned, Williams is really, really smart. Had football not worked out for him, the aerospace engineer said that he would want to work in the research division of somewhere like Lockheed Martin or SpaceX.

But on the football field, his level of intelligence can help in picking up the playbook more quickly as well as pattern recognition.

“It helps a lot,” Williams said of learning the playbook. “I would say a big part of just intelligence is pattern recognition, which helps a lot in football. Seeing fronts and schemes and understanding what needs to happen. It helps a lot.”

Williams joins a crowded offensive line room for the Packers that includes Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan competing for the starting left tackle snaps, second-round pick Anthony Belton, and 2024 sixth-round pick Travis Glover. Like any seventh-round pick, development time is needed, and in the short term, Williams’ presence can provide the Packers’ depth up front with a needed boost, something that was required after how last season ended.

However, for the reasons mentioned, Williams is also uniquely positioned to be in a situation where, a very late Day 3 pick, he can get off to a fast start.

Second-round pick Anthony Belton adding versatility, size, physicality to Packers OL

Paul Bretl | 5/9/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Second-round pick Anthony Belton played 2,251 career college snaps, according to PFF, and none of them came at guard. The Packers, however, believe that Belton can make the move inside if that’s what is needed, and Belton believes so as well.

“I feel like I’m pretty versatile when it comes to that aspect, being able to play tackle but also leaning back on my physicality to be able to play guard,” Belton said during rookie minicamp.

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As Packers’ VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan described on Day 2 of the NFL draft, what gives the Packers the confidence that Belton could play inside is the “size, the girth, and ability to move people” that he possesses.

During the pre-draft process, Belton measured in at 6-6 and weighed 336 pounds. His strength and conditioning coach gave him the nickname ‘Escalade’ because of his size and how smoothly he moved.

“Over time, I grew bigger but I just learned how to play with it,” Belton said. “I knew I was a big guy and I knew I could rely on my physicality in a lot of aspects, especially run game. So, when it came to me being bigger, I feel like I was able to take that to an advantage when it came to run game.”

The Packers have often prioritized size along the offensive line under GM Brian Gutekunst, but Belton’s people-moving play style also matches the shift that we saw take place within the Green Bay offense last season.

With Josh Jacobs at running back, rather than being an outside zone-heavy offense that we saw in previous years under Matt LaFleur, the Packers were more of a gap, power running team, with Jacobs frequently getting north and south to run between the tackles. It was clear during free agency with the addition of Aaron Banks that the Packers were going to continue to lean into this running style this season, and Belton further fits that mold.

“Especially just being here just today, especially just seeing how the offense is, offensive line, they want to attack,” said Belton. “They’re going to be physical, so they want to kind of be dominant up front.”

This past season at NC State, Belton took a big step forward. According to PFF’s metrics, he went from allowing 22 pressures in 2023 to just 12 this past season over 438 pass-blocking reps. Out of 131 eligible tackles, Belton ranked tied for 32nd in pass-blocking efficiency. His play in the run game very much improved as well.

In part, Belton attributes this growth to his approach to the game mentally, which includes how he studies film to better anticipate what was coming pre-snap, along with cleaning up some technical aspects of his game, like hand placement and pad level.

“So I had a bad habit of kind of collecting instead of striking,” Belton said. “So, a lot of times guys kind of collect it and that’s kind of giving up your chest, so that invites bull rushes. So, now you’re in the quarterback’s lap and especially at this level, you can’t do that against guys like Chase Young, J.J. Watt.

“When it comes to that aspect, I need to do a better job of just using my inside hands and also using my length, keeping that separation so I can’t let guys get in my body.”

While Belton has the size and physicality to operate inside, he also has the footwork and length to play out on the edge. Where Belton is going to end up is far from decided, but in the short term, his ability to play four of the five positions up front gives the Packers’ offensive line depth a major boost, which was a big need coming into the offseason. In the long run, with several current starters set to hit free agency in 2026, Belton can be a starting-caliber player.

“Just my mindset every day,” Belton said, “I just want to be a sponge, continue to learn, but also be the best version of myself when it comes, if it’s on the field, off the field, making sure I’m in the playbook. I feel like all that kind of lines up to allow me to be able to come in, compete and be able to get reps with all the guys.”

Packers go off-script with 2 draft picks, prioritize versatility and new skill sets

Paul Bretl | 5/7/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Going beyond Brian Gutekunst’s tenure as general manager, the Packers have fairly well-established height, weight, and athletic testing thresholds within each position group that they often adhere to during the NFL draft. However, in this year’s draft, with two of the Packers’ four defensive selections, those thresholds took a back seat.

What gave the Packers the confidence to deviate from their norms with two of those picks was the versatility that was added, and the defenders’ fit in Jeff Hafley’s defense.

Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver is a unique addition to the Green Bay defense for two reasons. One is his ability to play both defensive end and linebacker, something he did in college. And second, at 240 pounds, Oliver isn’t the prototypical big-bodied edge defender that we see the Packers frequently covet at 255 pounds or more.

“The niche is that he’s a really good football player,” Director of Football Operations Milt Hendrickson said on Day 3 of the draft. “If you say the old-school DPR (designated pass rusher) situational pass rusher, if you want to put a tag on him right now I’d say that’s probably if you were to put him in a position that would be it. But we took him with the idea that the things coach Hafley wants to do, he’s going to allow some multi alignments that just increased his value in our eyes.”

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Micah Robinson, meanwhile, measured in at under 5-11 and weighed 183 pounds. Both measurements are outliers for a Packers team that typically prefers bigger, longer cornerbacks.

But what the additions of Oliver and Robinson do is enhance that versatility element within Jeff Hafley’s defense, and that is something that appears to be a cornerstone for this unit and can play to the Packers’ advantage.

Oliver will begin his NFL career working with the defensive ends specifically, as he gets onboarded and acclimated to his new team. At 240 pounds, Oliver provides a bit of a change-up to the Packers’ pass rush unit with his ability to win with pure speed.

As Hendrickson described, in today’s NFL, where the quick passing game is prevalent, the ability to win fast is at a premium. In addition to that, Oliver’s presence can provide a change of pace for an offensive tackle after they spend multiple snaps dealing with Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness’ power, which can in turn, keep the blocker off balance.

From a schematic standpoint, Oliver’s presence could allow for more movement up front and multi-faceted alignments. One example might come during obvious passing situations where Oliver is at one defensive end spot and Van Ness is then moved inside to rush from the interior. Even Oliver himself, at 240 pounds, has some experience rushing inside.

“I’m sure the coaches know my strong suits and the talents that I have,” Oliver said during rookie minicamp. “I get to the passer. That’s what I do best. Everything just complements. So whether it’s linebacker, whether it’s edge, whether it’s special teams, whether it’s playing kicker whatever it is, I don’t care, I’m just going to play to the best of my ability whatever that position is.”

With Oliver, his versatility, ability to impact the game in multiple ways, and the flexibility he provides Hafley with from a game planning perspective are all reasons that the Packers were comfortable going off-script at this position. It’s a similar situation for Robinson at cornerback. Although a bit undersized, he has excellent speed, running a 4.38-second 40, and has proven he can hold his own playing off-man coverage, which is no easy task, as Gutekunst pointed out.

“He brought me here because he knows I can make plays,” Robinson said. “That’s all it is, honestly. Just go out there, do my job, make plays, no matter what position it is.”

At the NFL combine, Gutekunst noted the importance of playing with vision on the quarterback in Hafley’s defense and the ball awareness that is needed. Robinson brings that skill set to the NFL level, and it’s evident in his ball production. Over four seasons, Robinson came away with seven interceptions and 21 pass breakups, according to PFF.

While most of Robinson’s college snaps came at the outside cornerback position, he also has a fair amount of experience as a box defender as well. Whether playing off-man coverage, sitting in a zone, making plays on the ball, or helping out in run support, Robinson was able to impact the game multiple ways and in different roles during his season at Tulane.

“Honestly, anywhere,” said Robinson when asked where he fits in the defense. “I could be the cornerback room, nickel room, anywhere, special teams. I’m just, wherever the coaches want to put me, I can play.”

The specific skill sets and versatility that Oliver and Robinson bring to the Packers’ defense only add to the bevy of options Hafley already has on the defensive side of the ball as he puts together his weekly game plans.

Versatility is obviously a crucial element for a few reasons. One of which is injuries happen. However, when that occurs, the ability to move your starters around to fill different roles hopefully minimizes the absence of the player who is sidelined.

But in addition to that important aspect, a versatile defense can put a lot on the plate for an opposing offense. From a preparation standpoint, there’s a lot to watch and be ready for throughout the week when the defense is putting a variety of looks on tape. Then pre-snap, quarterbacks won’t as easily get a beat on what’s coming based solely on where defenders are lined up because it’s either a different look or where players are aligned could change once the ball is snapped.

Hafley obviously has his playbook and defensive philosophies that he believes in and wants to generally stick to. But what we saw in 2024 and will continue to see is an ever-evolving defensive unit that will continue to adjust and adapt on the fly based on who the opponent is and what the players on the Packers’ defense do well, so they can be put into positions to be successful.

In order to accomplish this, versatility is an important factor, and in the process, it makes life more challenging for offenses as well–-and, of course, that’s always a good thing.

“This league’s about matchups and I think if you have guys that can play certain positions that gives you an advantage, then I think it’s our job to coach it and get it done,” Hafley said last season. “I think it’s about adapting. I’ve said this since I got here, it’s not like, ‘Hey, here’s the playbook. This is in. Go run the defense.’ It’s each week, what did we look like? What do we look like when they watch us on tape? What can we do a little bit different to counter that? What do we do really well?

“Let’s do more of it, make it look different. And then as we start to see certain players do certain things, how can we best use them to improve? We have to keep getting better. That’s the whole key to this whole entire thing as we go. Any way that we can adapt and get better, both coaching, playing, scheme, personnel, it’s not just like plug and play. Let’s evolve. I think that’s very important.”

Maximizing the skill sets of Matthew Golden, Savion Williams begins with the fundamentals of Packers’ offense

Paul Bretl | 5/5/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After Day 3 of the NFL draft, when Matt LaFleur was asked about Savion Williams and his versatility, he said that “the only thing that limits your creativity is your imagination,” referencing all the different ways his skill set could be utilized within the offense. Matthew Golden and his 4.29 speed, ability to play inside and out, and attack all levels of the field can also give LaFleur a variety of ways to utilize him within the offense.

The Packers, of course, have a vision for how they want Williams and Golden to fit within their offense, but as is the case with just about anything, the vision is what is being chased; it’s not the starting point.

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First, Williams and Golden must learn the playbook and the core principles of the LaFleur offense.

“A lot of it’s going to be dependent upon them and how well they pick up the offense and how fast they can do it,” said LaFleur during rookie minicamp. “I think it will all work itself out in due time, but obviously very excited about the talent that both those guys bring for sure, especially being out there and just kind of being around them a little bit. I love how serious they are about football.”

The LaFleur offense, as it is, is already one where pre-snap movement, differing alignments, and wide-ranging personnel groupings are key facets of this scheme. So that creativity component that can help maximize the diverse skill sets that Williams and Golden have is baked into the scheme and what the rookies will be learning from Day 1. It’s not as if this is a stagnant offense pre-snap that has to incorporate entirely different elements to fit what Williams and Golden do well.

From there, as the rookie receivers get comfortable operating within the offensive system and what’s being asked of them, LaFleur can begin asking more of them and putting them in different positions and roles.

“We do a lot of that stuff, anyways, within the scheme of our offense, in terms of moving people and putting them in a different position,” LaFleur said about adding more creative elements to the offense. “So that’s kind of the starting point is the stuff that you have done, or in the offseason, study things that you’d like to do off of things that you’ve done. But I think in terms of where that goes, it’s going to happen organically over time.”

Whether it be with Golden and Williams or any incoming rookies, what the Packers want to be mindful of is not putting too much on their plates. These incoming players already have a lot to digest just when it comes to learning the playbook as it is, not to mention adjusting to the play speed and strength of the NFL level.

Running backs coach Ben Sirmans has a saying, “If you think, you stink,” meaning that the team doesn’t want players overthinking when on the field, which can slow them down. They instead want their players out there reacting to what they see and letting their natural abilities take over.

To facilitate this growth and ensure that incremental steps are being made, the rookies are given “point of attack” tape, as LaFleur and the Packers call it, which are put together by the position coaches and highlight what the player does well, along with one to two things to work on. Learning the playbook and mastering these assigned tasks is an important way for a rookie to broaden his role.

“We call them point of attack tapes,” LaFleur said. “And it’s, I guess, a condensed version, you know, maybe it might be 20-30, clips, say, here’s the things that we think you do really well, and here are the one to two things that where we would like you to focus on throughout the course of the offseason. If you master that, then we’ll give ‘em something else.”

So, as we sit here in early May with Phase II of OTAs on the horizon, the Packers’ offense isn’t going to look any different at this time from a schematic standpoint with Williams and Golden now a part of the equation. While they have to learn the playbook and the ins and outs of LaFleur’s offense, the Packers’ coaching staff is doing some of the learning as well.

Getting to know each of these players and watching them work up close rather than just on film can often lead to the coaches discovering something new about their game that didn’t pop up on the tape.

“I think more of that’s determined after the fact,” said LaFleur about adding new wrinkles to the offense for Williams and Golden. “When you get them in the building, you get to work with them on a daily basis, you see how fast they pick things up. Inevitably, there’s going to be something that’s going to surprise you in a positive light, that they do really well, that you’re like, ‘Oh shoot. Maybe I didn’t recognize that, just off the tape.’ So I think it’s all about just that process of working together and kind of growing together.”

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