Mucky Tundra
a year ago
One takeaway from each Packers position group after the first week of camp 


Quarterback: Jordan Love shines on Saturday
Jordan Love had what was easily his best performance of training camp up to this point on Saturday, and it was probably the best individual performance he’s had in any practice up to this point in his career. In total, Love was 16-for-22 on the day and 4-for-7 during an end-of-half two-minute drill that resulted in a field goal.
But going beyond the numbers, Matt LaFleur has mentioned that right now, he is more concerned about Love getting the process right, which from my vantage point, appeared to be very sound. Love was quick to get everyone out of the huddle and lined up correctly. He was balanced in the pocket, decisive in his decision-making, knew when to buy time with his legs, and was accurate. The play of the day came during that two-minute period, where Samori Toure ran an out-and-up route where Love dropped the ball in perfectly–out of reach from the safety but also didn’t force Toure to drift towards the sideline. It was a very buttoned-up performance.

Running back: Tyler Goodson's versatility is a differentiator in RB3 battle
You name it, and there is a good chance that Tyler Goodson has been asked to do it. During Saturday’s practice alone, Goodson got carries out of the backfield and caught passes as well. He has lined up out of the backfield, in the slot, and out wide, along with being used as the motion man. As I wrote about here, I expect motion to be much more prominent in the Packers’ offense this season, and Goodson, with his skill set, could fill a Tyler Ervin-like role. The more a player that’s fighting for a roster spot can do, the better, and Goodson is doing a lot right now. If I were building out the depth chart based on what I’ve seen, Goodson would be the third running back and Lew Nichols the fourth.

Tight end: All four players are going to have roles within this offense
Luke Musgrave has basically worked with the starters since day one and brings playmaking as a pass-catcher to the position with his speed and ability to line up in the slot or out wide and stretch the field. Josiah Deguara is the versatile H-back. Tyler Davis has held up really well as a blocker so far, and if he continues to do that throughout the summer, he will carve out a role. Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, has spent most of his time lined up in-line but was very good with the ball in his hands at South Dakota State. Musgrave and Deguara will most likely see the majority of the snaps at the position, but all four are going to be regular members of the offense this season.
“We try to use guys all over the place,” said tight ends coach John Dunn. “Multiple tight end packages, and these guys are all in different roles. And the great part about tight end, is that it doesn’t have to be just one guy out there. These guys are all used in different roles. When we go out there in a game, they’re all out there and playing different roles.”
As was the case a season ago, the Packers are going to use a lot of two tight-end sets. To begin team drills each day, they have started in 12 personnel. The versatile players that they have at this position will allow them to run a variety of plays from one personnel package, helping to create mismatches.

Wide receiver: Finding success over the middle
I got into greater detail here on the impact of attacking the middle of the field, but one big difference we can expect to see with Love at quarterback is him throwing to his receivers in this part of the field. Even going back to offseason programs, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed have all seen ample targets over the middle, and overall, it’s where the offense has found a lot of success. In short, throwing to the middle of the field allows the pass catchers to catch the ball in space, creating big yards after the catch opportunities and, hopefully, some explosive plays. This is an important element of the LaFleur offense and something San Francisco has done successfully for several seasons now under Kyle Shanahan.

Offensive line: Zach Tom is the front-runner for the right tackle job
For a majority of the team drills, Zach Tom has been lined up at right tackle with the starters over Yosh Nijman. This is a change from what we saw during offseason programs, where the two were regularly alternating days in which one was the starter. Tom and Nijman both saw snaps at right tackle in 2022, which was new for each of them, but Tom held up better, and that has been the theme so far this offseason. When the pads come on starting Monday, we will get a better idea of where each player stands.

Interior defensive line: Looks like a much faster unit compared to what we've seen in past years
With Devonte Wyatt seeing a lot more playing time, along with the addition of Colby Wooden, both of whom put up elite speed and athletic testing numbers coming out of college, the speed and explosiveness of the interior defensive line as been evident through the first few practices. Whether it be flowing sideline-to-sideline with the ball carrier or how quickly these players have made their way into the backfield on a few occasions, this position group is faster.
Of course, this added element isn’t by accident but rather appears to be a personnel shift by Brian Gutekunst. Instead of having space eaters in the middle meant to clog up running lanes like Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster, the additions of Wyatt and Wooden add versatile gap penetrators to the defensive front, which is an important style of play to have in the Joe Barry defense.

Edge rusher: I can't wait to see Lukas Van Ness in pads
The pads come on for Monday’s practice, and there may not be a player on the Packers roster who will benefit from that more than Lukas Van Ness. He is a power rusher with an incredible burst when the ball is snapped. There was one play during OTAs where he had Yosh Nijman on his heels as he drove him into the backfield. Then on Saturday, he drove Josiah Deguara into the backfield, and the play had to be whistled dead because he blew it up so quickly. Where exactly Van Ness fits into the pass rush rotation remains to be seen. He did see quite a few snaps with the starters on Saturday. But what we can likely assume is that he is going to be on the field, perhaps even rushing from the interior, on obvious passing downs, where he can get after the quarterback.
One more thing I’ll add is that Van Ness has also looked good as a run defender as well. There are a few plays that stand out where he set a strong edge, forcing the ball carrier back inside. This is an area where the Packers’ edge rusher unit as a whole has to improve.

Linebacker: Reliability at the position
The play of Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell to begin training camp has been really sound. During the first two full-speed practices, Campbell and Walker were key to the front seven’s performance against the run, flowing to the ball carriers and often meeting them at the line of scrimmage. In the passing game, both always seemed to be around the ball when it comes in their direction.

Cornerback: Jaire Alexander is playing at a high level
I know that this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but Jaire Alexander’s start to training camp has been so impressive. The ball is either not going his direction, or when it does, he is all over the receiver, forcing multiple pass breakups.
“It’s great,” said Christian Watson about going up against Alexander and Rasul Douglas. “It’s competitive. There’s always going to be some smack talk out there. It gets us going to know we are going out with, in my opinion, two of the best corners in the league. It’s another opportunity to get better each and every play we are going up against them.”
Other notes at this position group include Corey Ballentine and Carrington Valentine being the go-to boundary options with the second-team defense, along with Innis Gaines seeing a lot of reps from the slot with the twos.

Safety: Is the depth chart starting to take shape?
Matt LaFleur said prior to Saturday’s practice that we will continue to see a lot of rotation at the safety position with both playing time and roster spots up for grabs. However, the depth chart does seem to be taking shape a little bit as well. Darnell Savage and Rudy Ford have been the starters since Day 1 of offseason programs. With Tarvarius Moore now healthy, he, along with Jonathan Owens, have been with the second-team defense for the last two days. Then there is Dallin Leavitt, who will be a core special teams player. A lot can change once the pads come on and preseason games take place, but this could be what the Packers safety room looks like come Week 1.

Special teams: Ups and downs for Anders Carlson
Between going 11-for-12 during minicamp and then 5-for-6 to begin training camp, it was a solid start kicking for rookie Anders Carlson. However, on Saturday, we saw the inconsistency that can come with relying on a young player at this position. From 40-to-45 yards, Carlson was 0-for-3. From 50-to-55 yards, he was just 1-for-3. What’s evident is that Carlson has a big leg, but as LaFleur said a few weeks ago, he needs to find consistency. GM Brian Gutekunst wouldn’t close the door on Tuesday when asked about adding a kicker to the roster to compete with Carlson, but it very much sounds like he is first going to have the opportunity to show what he can do, with the team knowing there will be days like this.



-Looks like Love is building some day to day momentum. 
-Swevin' Tyler Goodson? Doesn't roll off the tongue well but I'm here for all sorts of jet sweeps to him and Reed this year. Who knows, maybe Goodson can be a returner too.
-It looks like the TE group has a clearly defined niche for each guy with Kraft being a sort of all over guy. 
-Getting the ball to guys like Watson, Reed, Doubs etc over the middle is something the offense has sorely lacked the past few seasons. Lotta attention so far for Watson and Reed, Doubs almost flying under the radar even though he's not had any bad days.
-Looks like ZT is in the drivers seat for RT. Lot of praise for ZT from Bakh and MLF:



-A quicker, penetrating Dline is something beast has pointed out several times this offseason. Whether it's a good thing or not remains to be seen with Barry at the helm
-LVN showing pass rush potential AND setting the edge on run defense?! GIMME!
-I will be VERY happy if Quay has a breakout year and Campbell has a great rebound year.
-CB might be one of the most set positions with Alexander, Stokes, Douglas and Nixon. That leaves the #5 spot for Bellentine, Valentine and Jean-Charles. Though I wonder if they'll keep 6 CBs (went with 5 last year) with Nixon expected to do KR duties and potentially taking snaps on offense? 
-Safety, ugh. What a log jam of JAGs. I'm not sure anything about this group appeals to me other than Johnson's potential and Innes' willingness to put his pads on a guy.
-Well, Carlson is a rookie so downs are to be expected. Even if they bring in competition, I think it would just be another young guy. 
 
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Fan Shout
beast (1h) : Might just re-sign the kicker we got
beast (1h) : Are there any kickers worth drafting next year?
Zero2Cool (1h) : Preston Smith for Malik Willis
Mucky Tundra (1h) : Getting a 7th rounder from the Stillers
Zero2Cool (1h) : At least we get 7th round pick now!! HELLO NEW KICKER
Mucky Tundra (1h) : Steelers getting a premier lockdown corner!
Zero2Cool (1h) : Packers are trading edge rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers, per sources.
Mucky Tundra (1h) : Preston Smith traded to the Steelers!!!!
Zero2Cool (2h) : CB Marshon Lattimore to Commanders
Zero2Cool (7h) : Bears are sending RB Khalil Herbert to the Bengals, per sources.
Zero2Cool (7h) : ZaDarius Smith continues his "north" tour.
Zero2Cool (8h) : Let the Chiefs trade a 5th for him
Zero2Cool (8h) : Nearing 30, large contract, nope.
Martha Careful (20h) : any interest in Marshon Lattimore?
Zero2Cool (23h) : What does NFL do if they're over cap?
Mucky Tundra (23h) : They've been able to constantly push it out through extensions, void years etc but they're in the hole by 72 million next year I believe
hardrocker950 (4-Nov) : Seems the Saints are always in cap hell
Mucky Tundra (4-Nov) : Saints HC job is not an envious one; gonna be in cap hell for 3 years
Mucky Tundra (4-Nov) : Dennis Allen has now been fired twice mid-season with Derek Carr as his starting QB
Zero2Cool (4-Nov) : Kuhn let go
beast (4-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers would have any interest in Z. Smith, probably not
Zero2Cool (4-Nov) : Shefter says Browns and Lions will figure out how to get a deal done for Za'Darius Smith..
Zero2Cool (4-Nov) : Packers are more likely to have 1,000 yard rusher than 4,000 yard passer
Zero2Cool (3-Nov) : It's raining hard.
Zero2Cool (3-Nov) : Packers inactives vs. Lions: CB Jaire Alexander S Evan Williams C Josh Myers Non-injury inactives: WR Malik Heath OL Travis Glover DE Bren
packerfanoutwest (3-Nov) : Malik Willis: My focus is helping the Packers win, not proving I can start elsewhere. But he could
Zero2Cool (1-Nov) : I had Texans, but the loss of another WR flipped me
wpr (1-Nov) : I thought about taking the Jets but they've been a disaster. Losing to the Pats last week
Zero2Cool (1-Nov) : Surprised more didn't pick Jets in Pick'em.
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