Some of you are busy in the summer. You don’t have time to follow the training sessions one by one, which you can find HERE by the way. If you are in that training camp, we have just the right solution: Our training camp basics in outline to get you ready for the preseason.
Who starts with the number one units? Where are the camp battles still undecided? Who has emerged this summer? We’ll try to answer all these questions and more in our position-by-position breakdown.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Green Bay Packers’ season opener against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
Quarterbacks
If you’ve been living completely insular, let me be the first to tell you: Jordan Love has signed a contract extension with the team. The team will pay him an average of $55 million per year for the four-year extension between now and the end of the 2028 season. However, the $74.2 million salary cap hit the quarterback will carry in the 2028 season likely means the team will have to restructure or extend his contract at that point.
Behind Love is 2023 draft pick Sean Clifford, currently the Packers’ No. 2 quarterback. Clifford had a rough training camp as backup quarterbacks threw 10 interceptions in limited team action, but he had what head coach Matt LaFleur called his best practice of the summer on Family Night. Despite Clifford’s lack of success, seventh-round rookie pick Michael Pratt hasn’t taken the No. 2 job away from him — at least not yet.
Running backs
Newly signed Josh Jacobs and returning AJ Dillon are taking most of the snaps on first-team defense. Although Jacobs makes significantly more than Dillon, the Packers seem to have opted for a committee approach out of the backfield. The good news is that Dillon has visibly lost mass this offseason, which should hopefully lead to some more explosive plays when it counts.
Third-round rookie MarShawn Lloyd missed some time this training camp due to hip problems. When he returned to the field, the negative marks on his scouting report – fumble – reared their ugly head. Emanuel Wilson is also not out of the running if the team wants to keep a fourth back. Wilson has made some plays, but he will need to have another strong preseason if he hopes to make the roster for a season.
Recipient
At the top of the order, there is a four-man rotation between Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. Doubs has made quite a splash this summer as his one-on-one drills against cornerback Jaire Alexander have worked in his favor.
Behind the top four receivers, Bo Melton is almost certain to make the team as the fifth player at that position. Behind Melton, former draft pick Grant DuBose is making a name for himself as the team’s sixth receiver. Other players being discussed are Samori Toure and Malik Heath. If DuBose can show that he is valuable as a non-returner on special teams, that will go a long way.
Tight ends
Tight end Tucker Kraft just returned to practice after missing much of the spring and summer with a pectoral injury. Without Kraft in the lineup, Luke Musgrave, Ben Sims and Tyler Davis were heavily rotated on the first team. It’s safe to assume all four will make the team, given how valuable tight ends are on special teams. Surprisingly, there wasn’t too much hype surrounding Musgrave this summer.
Offensive Linemen
From left to right, the starters on the offensive line are currently Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jorgan Morgan and Zach Tom. Morgan (shoulder) and Tom (pec) are unlikely to play against Cleveland due to injuries.
When Tom was out of the lineup, there was a three-way battle for the best swing tackle position on the team. The players involved are Andre Dillard, Caleb Jones and Kadeem Telfort. It’s safe to assume that Luke Tenuta and sixth-round rookie Travis Glover are more of a sideline at the moment, as they don’t get used much at the tackle position.
On the interior, Sean Rhyan is the first man off the bench to play all three positions. After Rhyan, Royce Newman is the next guard, although fifth-round rookie Jacob Monk has been on the first team at both guard and center.
Defensive Ends
The starters on this unit will be Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, backed up by Kingsley Enagbare and Lukas Van Ness. This is pretty much a repeat of the 2023 team, although 3-4 outside linebackers are now 4-3 defensive ends.
There have been a few injuries behind the top two lines of the order, including Keshawn Banks, who was activated for the playoffs last year ahead of Brenton Cox Jr. Cox had a fairly quiet training camp until last week, when he was able to string together some spectacular plays. Right now, Cox is probably the favorite for the final roster spot at that position, but defensive tackles Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden have also seen some emergency snaps at defensive end this summer.
Defensive Tackles
Perhaps the biggest surprise of training camp is that TJ Slaton is getting a regular call-up to the first team, rather than former first-round pick Devonte Wyatt. Earlier this week, we wrote about why teams that play single-high schemes don’t typically use nearly 700-pound defensive tackles on the interior. It will be interesting to see if Kenny Clark and Slaton are actually a viable pair on the interior, considering how much this style of defense demands pass-rushing skills.
Wyatt is obviously the first tackle off the bench. Behind him, Karl Brooks appears to be in the fourth defensive tackle spot, while Colby Wooden and Jonathan Ford are battling for the fifth tackle spot.
Linebackers
Second-round rookie Edgerrin Cooper is currently out with a groin injury, but even before his injury, he and Isaiah McDuffie shared nickel linebacker duties alongside starting mike linebacker Quay Walker. In base 4-3 formations, McDuffie and Eric Wilson played outside linebacker alongside Walker instead of Cooper.
Rookie Ty’Ron Hopper, drafted in the third round, hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in the lineup so far and is now out with an injury. After the first lineup, the healthy off-ball linebackers available to the Packers for the season opener are special teams ace Kristian Welch, converted safety Christian Young and undrafted rookie Ralen Goforth. I suspect you’ll be asking “Who’s that?” quite a bit against the Browns.
Cornerbacks
The Packers have given Eric Stokes every opportunity to keep his starting spot this summer. Stokes has started virtually every opportunity for first-team defense this offseason. In addition, Carrington Valentine, who was Stokes’ injured backup last year following the Rasul Douglas trade, is currently dealing with a hamstring injury.
Keisean Nixon is still the team’s starting defensive lineman, but he’s also getting some cornerback duty on the first team defense ahead of players like Corey Ballentine, Robert Rochell and seventh-round pick Kalen King. King has gotten some time in the slot, but behind Nixon and safety Javon Bullard. After Jaire Alexander, Stokes, Nixon and Valentine, the remaining cornerbacks who make up the 53-man roster will likely have to prove their worth on special teams.
Collateral
Across from Xavier McKinney, there was a three-man rotation at the safety position, featuring second-round rookie Javon Bullard, fourth-round rookie Evan Williams and Anthony Johnson Jr. All three have made plays and been in the spotlight as starters quite often, but Bullard has already completed a few practices as a starter before the season opener.
Fifth-round rookie Kitan Oladapo also recently returned to the field. Oladapo began training camp on the non-football injured list as he recovered from foot surgery he had during the pre-draft process.
By the way, McKinney has so far kept everything that was promised of him.
Specialists
The Packers’ kicker battle is the highlight of the specialist this summer. It’s been a close game so far, as returning starter Anders Carlson has made 44 of 54 hits all camp, while Greg Joseph has made 47 of 54. Aside from one day when Carlson was absent, the two have mostly posted the same totals.
Alex Hale was recently added to the 91-man roster and is the fifth kicker the Packers have used this offseason. Hale completed five of six targets on Wednesday, his first and only day as a kicker for the Green and Gold.
Daniel Whelan is the undisputed punter right now. The team appears to be working on its directional kicking this summer. The long snappers in camp are Matt Orzech and Peter Bowden. Bowden, a former Wisconsin Badger, was released at one point to make room for the signing of quarterback Jacob Eason (now released) during Jordan Love’s time off. Orzech has the best chance at the job given the team’s actions so far.
