A rainy morning in Green Bay, Wisconsin gave way to sun for the Packers’ first training camp practice of 2023, although it remained windy. The pads were not on yet, but there was still plenty to take away. Here is a rundown of everything I saw at Ray Nitschke Field:
— There were several players who didn’t practice. Of course, this included Rashan Gary and Eric Stokes, who are on the PUP list. Tarvarius Moore and Tariq Carpenter are on the NFI list with an illness, and Grant DuBose is there with what Matt LaFleur revealed to be a back injury. Also sidelined was Caleb Jones with an illness. To make room for newly signed wide receiver Cody Chrest, the Packers released Jeff Cotton, who was placed on the PUP list last Friday. Carmen McDonald was practicing, meaning he was removed from the NFI list.
— The starting offensive line today consisted of Zach Tom at right tackle and the usual four along side of him. Yosh Nijman, who is competing with Tom at right tackle, was with the second team. For what it’s worth, Tom and Nijman often alternated days starting during offseason programs. With David Bakhtiari not playing every snap, Nijman saw some starting left tackle reps as well.
— The second string interior line was made up of Royce Newman at right guard, Jake Hanson at center, and Sean Rhyan at left guard. Rasheed Walker was the second-string right tackle. Tom did take some snaps at center with the third team offense.
— One under the radar player fighting for a roster spot is Luke Tenuata, and he had a good day at right tackle, which included impressive reps against Lukas Van Ness and Brenton Cox, who he was able to get to the ground. Tenuta was claimed off waivers in 2022 by Green Bay. With unknowns at offensive tackle next offseason, the Packers could roster him again, giving Tenuta another year to develop. Jones and Walker are in similar positions. Based on playing time, Tenuta has been behind those two up to this point.
— In one practice, we saw the good that Luke Musgrave can bring to this offense, and also where he needs to improve. On a play down the sidelines, Musgrave had cornerback Corey Ballentine beat by a few steps. On another, where he was a blocker, Preston Smith ran right past him for a would-be sack. Musgrave’s speed brings big play potential for himself and will create better spacing for the offense as a whole, but blocking is an important part of his role as well.
— Overall, Jordan Love completed 7-of-14 passes. On a windy day, a few downfield passes hung up in the air and ended up as pass breakups by the defense. Where he, and the offense in general, found the most success was on short to intermediate routes and attacking the middle of the field. We saw this often during OTAs and minicamp, and it’s an important part of the Matt LaFleur offense. It gets pass catchers the ball in space and creates YAC opportunities.
— Along with attacking the middle of the field, the Packers also ran a number of two tight end sets. Green Bay utilized 12 personnel at the second-highest rate in football last season, and it figures to be a big part of the offense once again. Especially with tight ends who can impact both the running and passing games, a heavy usage of two tight end sets creates mismatches and allows the offense to run a wide variety of plays from one personnel grouping.
— Danny Etling was the quarterback with the second-team offense and Sean Clifford worked with the third team. As a fifth-round pick, Clifford will be on the final roster, the question is whether the Packers decide to keep a third.
— It was clear that the defense won the day and LaFleur agreed as well with the offense having to do push-ups at the end of practice. The run defense actually held up quite well. There was a consistent push from the defensive line, the edge rushers did well to contain the ball carries, and the linebackers were flying around, flowing to the football. The coverage was sticky, even on completions, there were defenders nearby. This isn’t all that surprising given its a young offense and oftentimes at this time of the year, in general, the defense comes out on top.
— The starting defense was made up of Preston Smith and Justin Hollins at edge. Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, and Devonte Wyatt along the interior. Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas at cornerback, along with Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage at safety. When in nickel, Keisean Nixon was on the field and either Wyatt or Slaton came off, depending on if was a run or passing down.
— We’ve seen come creative looks from the linebacker position this offseason. During one practice, only De’Vondre Campbell was on the field for a few plays. Then today, Green Bay used three linebackers, with Isaiah McDuffie being the third, and all three showed blitz, but all dropped into coverage. Not sure if this is to give Love and the offense some different looks or if the defense is experimenting for themselves.
— The second-team safeties consisted of Dallin Leavitt and Jonathan Owens. Rookie Anthony Johnson continues to be the clear fifth option at that position, although he had a really nice play, where he identified the run and filled the gap at the line of scrimmage. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this ends up as a developmental season for him, and that could include being on the practice squad depending on how things play out.
— Lukas Van Ness and JJ Enagbare were the third and fourth edge rushers. Corey Ballentine and Carrington Valentine were the backup boundary cornerback options.
— A name to watch is Innis Gaines. I’m not sure how he fits on this roster at safety or cornerback, but he continues to see second team reps in the slot, a position where the Packers don’t have many true options to fill that role outside of Nixon. He also can saw snaps in 2022 on special teams as well.
— Of note, Jonathan Garvin, previously an edge rusher, was working out with the interior defenders today. His path to making the roster at edge rusher is a difficult one to say the least. In fact, he could be as low as the eighth man on the depth chart. But the back end of the defensive line room is more open. This also may be a last effort by the coaching staff to find some sort of role for him.
— The wind was quartering from the right and behind Carlson on his field goal attempts, but he finished the day making 5-of-6, all between 40 and 45 yards. As I said after minicamp, he packs some power. Pat O’Donnell was his holder on those attempts.
— Preston Smith had a really nice day. He was in the backfield on several occasions, beating Musgrave, Tyler Davis, and Tom. Put Kenny Clark in the really nice day category as well.
— Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson each had a few targets, but as was the case in minicamp, with Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas on the field, moving the ball through the air was a lot more difficult.
— I suspect that Dontayvion Wicks’ role will be somewhat limited this season, given that between the receivers ahead of him, as well as the tight ends and running backs being used in the passing game, but he is really fun to watch. Although not speed like Jayden Reed or Christian Watson, he knows how to create space with his releases and route running abilities.
