Jermichael Finley is the kind of player who stands to gain the most from working at Larry Fitzgeralds offseason camp in July.

Finley, the Green Bay Packers fast-ascending tight end, plans to work out with Fitzgerald and a group of invited receivers, tight ends, quarterbacks and defensive backs at an unofficial camp Fitzgerald is conducting for the second straight offseason at the University of Minnesotas new football stadium.

Fitzgerald, the Arizona Cardinals star who grew up in the Twin Cities and is arguably the NFLs best receiver, is regarded as one of the most obsessively hard-working and competitive players in the NFL. So watching him and instructor Cris Carter, among others, will give Finley a first-hand look at the time, effort and attention to detail players outside his Packers teammates put in when preparing for the season.

Ive been sharing with him, too. Its more than just running routes, said Greg Jennings, the Packers receiver who spent about a week in Fitzgeralds camp last summer. Thats the perception a lot of guys have, Were going to be running routes. Youre working. It will almost break you down. It will take you to that edge to see if youre going to push through it or you make an excuse for why you have to go home. Its definitely a grueling workout.

Fitzgerald invited Jennings to the camp last summer after Jennings went to the Pro Bowl with an 80-catch season in 2008. Jennings introduced Finley to Fitzgerald in January when the three had dinner together the night before the Packers and Cardinals played in a wild-card playoff game at Arizona.

By that point, Finley had developed into a key weapon in the Packers offense in the second half of his second season in the NFL. Though still raw, Finley closed the regular season with 38 receptions for 416 yards in the final seven games, after returning from a knee injury. That projects to 87 receptions for 951 yards over a 16-game season.

Arizonas official offseason work is finished this week, so Fitzgerald will begin his camp next week, Jennings said. It will last for about a month, with various players from around the league coming and going, and the former standout receiver Carter among the instructors.

Last year, for instance, Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice attended as an instructor, and among the receivers who participated at various times included Jennings, Brandon Marshall, Lee Evans and Sidney Rice. The cornerback group included DeAngelo Hall and Malcolm Jenkins.

After the Packers official offseason work ends with their mandatory minicamp June 21-23, Finley will spend most of the rest of the offseason working in Arizona with a personal trainer. But in early July, he will buy a ticket for a round-trip flight and pay for a hotel room and food for the trip to Minneapolis.

Im stoked, Finley said. This is my first time doing an organized workout besides doing it by myself. Im pretty excited to take my game to the next level. Thats what Im looking for.

Jennings said hell probably go to Fitzgeralds camp for several days also, though he has offseason family commitments that could prevent it.

Youre making sure everybody is reaching their potential, pushing everybody to work harder than what they worked before, Jennings said of the camp.

And at the same time, its extremely competitive because you dont want to get shown up by the next guy. Its a good deal.