After over a week of live practice, and a Family Night scrimmage cut short by rain, the effects of the lockout were fairly obvious in the early stages of preparing for the season. The Packers have since come down from the Super Bowl high after a long hiatus, but hope to pick up right where they left off.
The Packers as a whole have a lot of bumps to smooth out. However, there were a few individuals who really raised some eyebrows during the early stages of training camp. Many of these players were locked in position battles, and can be looked at as early front-runners.
Davon House
I was only able to see Davon House practice twice, but that was all it took to make a good first impression on me.
House was a second round talent, taken at the end of the fourth round by the Packers. House could ultimately be the player that replaces Charles Woodson when his tenure is done. With the exception of an injury suffered last Friday, House has yet to disappoint.
House was able to shut down Greg Jennings during practice, held up in one on one drills, and had a nice pick off Aaron Rodgers. He is both quick and physical, and has pretty good size. Davon House could be one of those mid-round picks that goes under the radar and turns out to be an above average NFL player.
James Starks
James Starks was reported to have put on 10 pounds of muscle on during the offseason. Starks looks a lot stronger, and plays more explosive than last year. He looks more like a downhill runner with the power to run over defenders, but retains the speed to break outside.
The Packers offense hasn't faced live tackling yet, but Starks has made it clear that he has stepped up his game in the stand-up drills, delivering a pop here and there or breaking a long run.
Though Starks is no Adrian Peterson, his style of play is looking quite similar, and Packer fans can only hope that the results will be similar too. If James Starks keeps it up when facing live tackling, he is sure to impress the coaches and maybe win the lone starting position over Ryan Grant.
Erik Walden
Randall Cobb
Tim Masthay
EDITED
Bleacher Report wrote: