The Green Bay Packers’ annual Family Night practice, which takes place in front of an often sold-out crowd inside Lambeau Field, will take place on Saturday evening, and as always, there will be a lot worth paying attention to.
Every practice matters, but this one very much has a game-like feel, so performing well in this environment is where players can really begin to separate themselves within their position groups, whether they are competing for playing time or a roster spot. From there, as Matt LaFleur frequently points out, it’s about building off those strong performances and being consistent each day.
“The sole focus each and every time you go out there is to try to get better each and every day in everything they do,” said Matt LaFleur. “In order to do that, you have to give max effort, you got to be deliberate about what you’re doing. Know the ins and outs, the details, the why of everything we are asking these guys to do.”
Here are some of the big things that I will have my eyes on when the Packers take the practice field:
Can the Packers offense avoid the post-practice punishment?
To add an additional layer of accountability as well as competition to each training camp practice, each day, there is a specific team drill, whether it be a two-minute situation, red zone, third-down, or something else, that determines the winner for that practice–either the offense or defense. So far, there have been six full-speed practices, and it was the defense who won the first five of them, resulting in the offense doing push-ups or up-downs after practice. However, on Thursday, the offense got its first victory by picking up a first down in the four-minute drill. Now they will look to build upon that momentum at Family Night with another win.
We’ve seen some “wow” throws from Jordan Love, which goes to show his ceiling and the potential he has as a passer. But right now, winning these drills often comes down to being able to move the ball consistently, which — not surprisingly — is still an area Love and this offense as a whole is still trying to improve. As Matt LaFleur has pointed out, it’s about the process before the ball is even thrown. Is the offense getting to the line of scrimmage quickly? Is Love throwing on time and in rhythm? How is his footwork? Is he going through his progression? What about his mechanics?
All of these are things to watch for, and if done correctly, the results will follow.
Can Bo Melton continue to make plays?
It’s not a given that the Packers keep a sixth wide receiver on the 53-man roster. With the five receivers ahead of him, along with the Packers’ heavy usage of 12 personnel, and with how often the tight ends and running backs are used in the passing game, the role of the sixth receiver within the offense is going to be small to nonexistent.
Also, up until recently, there hasn’t been a receiver who has been consistent enough to push for that roster spot until Bo Melton began to string together some solid practice performances this week. Often lining up in the slot, we’ve seen Melton find the end zone on a few occasions, once on a quick slant form inside the 10-yard line and another on a downfield pass. Whether in one-on-ones or team drills, Melton has been making his plays against the Packers’ second-team defense, beating Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine, and Innis Gaines. Although not used in this capacity yet, with 4.34 speed, he is someone who could potentially fill the gadget role as well.
Where is Zach Tom playing and how much is he playing there?
During these last few practices, Zach Tom has spent time starting at both right tackle and center. We know the right tackle spot is available, and he is competing with Yosh Nijman for playing time there. But for the first time this week, we saw the Packers really trying to create some competition at center with Josh Myers. LaFleur would say on Thursday that Myers has done a nice job, but what they need from the position is more consistency. As we often hear, it’s about putting the best five offensive linemen on the field, and Tom is very much one of those five.
We just got our first glimpse of Tom playing center with the ones this week, but for what it’s worth, Brian Gutekunst did say earlier this offseason that during the pre-draft process, the team evaluated center as his best position. Ultimately, in determining where Tom ends up, I believe it will come down to where the biggest talent gap is, whether that’s between him and Myers at center or him and Nijman at right tackle.
Jonathan Ford's development
Second-year interior defensive lineman Jonathan Ford was someone that Matt LaFleur unprompted mentioned by name the other day, saying that he has really “upped” his game. Ford is not a roster lock by any means, but at 6-5 and 338 pounds, he can be a backup option to TJ Slaton at nose tackle. His path to making the final roster is going to come from standing out against the run, an area where the Packers have a lot of unknowns — as Brian Gutekunst said recently, Green Bay has a lot of pass rush options inside, but it all starts with stopping the run.
Can the interior DL continue to build momentum?
Given the past performances from this unit over the years, I’m sure most agree that we need to see this unit consistently play well when it matters before being fully bought in. But what I will say is that this group has looked a lot faster and have been able to create a consistent push up the middle through the first seven practices. With Devonte Wyatt taking on a larger role along with the additions of Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, there is a lot more speed up front, and you see this flash at times with how quickly they make their way into the backfield or in how well they flow horizontally in pursuit of the ball carrier. TJ Slaton, meanwhile, looks like someone poised for a jump in his third season, doing a very good job of clogging up the middle and getting into the backfield against the run.
“I think our D-line has done a really nice job,” said LaFleur on Thursday.
The safety rotation
It feels like, from a roster standpoint, this room has begun taking shape, with Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore, and Jonathan Owens taking all of the first and second-team defensive snaps as of late, along with Dallin Leavitt being a core special teams player and locker room presence. However, as LaFleur pointed out recently, they are going to continue to rotate these players heavily, with playing time still to be determined.
“It’s going to be one of those things that’s pretty fluid,” said LaFleur, “in regards to whose running with the ones, whose running with the twos. We are going to rotate those guys quite a bit.”
Savage and Ford have dominated the starting snaps throughout offseason programs as well as during training camp, but on Thursday, we saw Jonathan Owens with the ones alongside of Ford. Given the sample size and that LaFleur said they would be rotating players, I wouldn’t read too much into it as of yet, but Owens has looked good this summer. Right now, it’s about giving all four of those players the opportunity to showcase what they can do before final decisions have to be made.
Ultimately, what the Packers are looking for at safety is stability. This was a position group where miscommunications, coverage breakdowns, and missed tackles happened all too often last season.
Can Anders Carlson bounce back?
After starting training camp 5-for-6 on field goal attempts, rookie Anders Carlson has since battled inconsistency. He is currently 16-of-27 on attempts through seven practices. When asked on Friday about Carlson’s performance, Gutekunst said that there was “no concern” at this time. He added that many rookie kickers go through ups and downs and that this was expected. As of now, the Packers are preaching patience with him, knowing that there would be practices like this. Roughly 73,000 tickets to Family Night have been sold and will create a game-like environment for Carlson to kick in. As LaFleur said earlier in the week, it’s all about how he bounces back.
How the running backs perform without the ball
The third running back spot is up for grabs, and competing for it are Lew Nichols, Tyler Goodson, and Patrick Taylor. While there is a certain prerequisite that each player has to meet as a ball carrier, how they perform without the ball in their hands, from the sounds of it, will play a bigger role in determining who wins this battle. As Gutekunst told reporters on Thursday, being reliable as a pass-blocker and a special teams contributor will be key deciding factors, which makes sense, given that with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon handling the lion’s share of the running back snaps, those aspects are going to be how the third running back is able to contribute on Sundays. Being a sound pass catcher will also be a big part of the evaluation.
“Particularly for that third running back,” said Brian Gutekunst on Friday, “not only does he have to run the ball, but almost more importantly, he has to catch it, be able to pass block, and be able to play a little bit of special teams because if he’s lacking in that area, if he can’t play special teams, if he can’t pass-block, it’s going to be hard to use him on the 48-man roster.”
So moving forward, pay attention to how each of these backs holds up in these areas along with how many special teams snaps they are seeing and with what units. This is, in large part, why Patrick Taylor was the third running back for much of 2022.
Backup QB battle
The backup quarterback role is still very much up for grabs. A big contributor to the offense only winning one practice – as highlighted above – is because of the play of the second and third team offenses, led by quarterbacks Danny Etling, Sean Clifford, and Alex McGough. Etling has been with the second-team all of training camp, with Clifford and McGough rotating with the third-team. Each of these players have been able to make some plays, but no one has been able to separate themselves either, with, you guessed it, consistency being an issue. All will see plenty of opportunities when the preseason games begin to separate themselves but Family Night provides them with that chance as well.
“There’s some good competition,” said Brian Gutekunst on Friday. “Each guy’s had their moments, which is good. I think, particularly, a couple of the new guys are learning the offense and making plays in the offense. That’s going to be important. In the preseason games they are going to get a lot of work, and that should probably separate some things.”
Along with how they perform on the field, an important part of being a backup quarterback is to support Love and to be an extra set of eyes for him on Sunday’s, in the film room, and practice field. As I’ve written before, I don’t see the Packers releasing Clifford, who they just drafted, so if he does not win the backup role, I do believe keeping three quarterbacks on the 53 man is in play.
Who to watch for in one-on-one drills
With the pads on this week, the Packers have been going through one-on-one drills before 11-on-11s take place. These matchups include the interior offensive linemen and defensive linemen facing each other. Edge rushers verse tackles, and cornerbacks verse receivers, among others. Here are some of the players I will be watching closely.
Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs vs. Rasul Douglas and Jaire Alexander: As you’d expect, these players have been matched up often against each other, and frequently it’s been by choice. Alexander and Douglas have really been pushing and working with Watson and Doubs to help their development along. A year ago, it was the cornerbacks winning just about every matchup. Now this year, we are seeing Watson and Doubs find more success, a sign of the progress that they’ve made.
Lukas Van Ness: This is Van Ness’ time to shine. One-on-one and with the pads on where his speed and power can be on full display.
Sean Rhyan: Although a 2022 third-round pick because of the PED suspension and being inactive on most gamedays prior to then as a rookie, I did not consider Rhyan a roster lock this year. He has, however, been playing guard with the second-team offense and is 8-0 in these one-on-one drills.
Luke Musgrave: Blocking is still a work in progress but where his biggest impact is going to come from right away is in the passing game, with that field-tilting ability on display in these matchups. Musgrave is a matchup problem for defenses, with his speed and ability to play from the slot and on the boundary as well. He is going to be a big target over the middle and down the seam this season.
Yosh Nijman: Although this is not team drills, Nijman is still competing for that starting right tackle role, and every rep matters for him, so holding up well in these one-on-ones against the Green Bay edge rushers is a must.
Tyler Davis: We won’t see Davis blocking in these one-on-one drills, but I’ll be watching him closely in team drills as a blocker. He has been very consistent as a blocker throughout the start of training camp, and may be the best blocking tight end on the team right now. If he can continue to play at this level, in a young room where there is a steep learning curve, especially as a blocker, Davis will carve out a role in this offense.
Jayden Reed: In these one-on-one drills is where Reed’s speed and attention to detail have really shined. During a rep against Innis Gaines on Thursday, it looked like Reed was running a go-route, and to help sell it, he threw up his hand as if to tell the quarterback, I’ve got a step, hit me downfield, but then he stopped on a dime in what ended up being a comeback route, as Gaines flew past him. It was a really impressive, veteran-savvy move by the rookie.
Devonte Wyatt: Like most young players, it’s about consistency for Wyatt, but when he has popped, he has really been able to pop. His ability to get into the backfield as quickly as he does sometimes is impressive. And those flashes are starting to become more consistent. We know Wyatt has the pass rush ability; the next step – along with consistency – is refining his run game technique.
