Paul Bretl | 8/8/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field Thursday with this session closed to the public and only open to media members. It was a cooler, cloudy day in Green Bay, and a shorter practice as well for the team, with there preseason opener against Cleveland only two days away.
“Excited to see how everything is going to be,” said Kenny Clark about seeing the new defense in action. “We’ve been working on it all camp, all OTAs and all that kind of stuff. For us to get in a game setting and go against somebody else, somebody who doesn’t know what we’re gonna be doing is gonna be exciting to see. Can’t wait to get out there.”
Today’s practice would last only an hour and 36 minutes and the pads were not on. But nonetheless, we still have some takeaways to dive in to.
Injury report updates: The one addition to the injury report was rookie linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper–who had put together a nice week of practice–dealing with an ankle injury. Elgton Jenkins had a vet rest day, and some good news was that Jayden Reed was back at practice after missing Wednesday with a calf injury and so was Christian Watson, who had to be helped by the training staff on the final play of practice the day prior.
“That was a big time scare,” said Matt LaFleur before today’s practice. “Yeah, he seems to be doing well this morning and just got hit on the knee.”
Still sidelined were Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), Carrington Valentine (hamstring), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), Edgerrin Cooper (hip), and Donovan Jennings (knee). Tucker Kraft continued to go through the individual portion of practice.
Who was starting on the offensive line? Without Morgan or Jenkins, we Sean Rhyan begin at right guard and Royce Newman at left guard. The tackle and center combination remained the same with Rasheed Walker on the left, Zach Tom on the right, and Josh Myers in the middle. The second team offensive line was Andre Dillard at left tackle, Lecitus Smith at left guard, Rhyan at center, Luke Tenuta at right guard, and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. Both Dillard and Telfort continue to get work on both sides of the line while Caleb Jones was with the third unit.
There doesn’t appear to be much of a competition at all at right guard. If you noticed, I said Rhyan would “begin” practice at right guard. On the first play of 11-on-11, Rhyan had a false start penalty and was immediately replaced by Jacob Monk. Rhyan did not see any snaps with the starters the remainder of practice. I get the sense between that decision and Morgan being a mainstay at right guard when healthy, that this isn’t much of a positional battle at all. And granted, the pads weren’t on, but I thought Monk held his own, which included an impressive pass pro rep against Devonte Wyatt.
“They were good,” said Monk after practice about his reps. “Really just nice getting adjusted. Just keep working, honestly.
“It’s crazy lining up and seeing someone like Kenny Clark right in front of me and seeing the speed that he plays with and the intent that he has coming off the ball,” Monk added. “It’s definitely different to see out there.”
I don’t think I’ve spent any time talking about where the receivers are lined up or who’s “starting” each day because the rotation and mixing and matching is so heavy. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks will all be regulars in the offense, they’ll all have various roles and alignments, and they’ll all get their opportunities. Bo Melton is getting his share of opportunities as well.
Safety Javon Bullard continues to get some starting snaps in the slot, where he saw plenty of playing time during his time at Georgia. This is a great way to get Bullard, Evan Williams, and Xavier McKinney all on the field together. As I mentioned yesterday, we also continued to see Keisean Nixon getting a few snaps on the boundary, which appears to be part of the cross-training that the Packers are doing with all the slot cornerbacks.
“I really didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you,” said Bullard about transitioning from college to the NFL. “I was just going to come in and work. But I feel like I transitioned well. Great group of guys. Great leadership. Excellent organization. Those guys helped me along the way. I feel like I transitioned pretty good.”
If I had to guess what the cornerback depth chart looks like right now, Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes will be starting on the boundary with Nixon in the nickel. Valentine is next in line and I still think Corey Ballentine is ahead of Kalen King, although I’m excited to see King play in the preseason. He’s gotten work both inside and out, and brings a physicality to the position. Robert Rochell would be next, with him seeing most of his snaps with the second defense, lined up opposite of Ballentine with King in the slot.
Tyler Davis continues to look really good as a blocker–just steady and reliable. As I said earlier in the week, I think he sees more opportunities–at least early on–over Ben Sims.
Brenton Cox has really come on strong over the last week. His ability as a pass rusher has always been the strength of his game, and playing in Jeff Hafley’s attacking defensive system magnifies that and has him causing regular havoc at the line of scrimmage. On Wednesday’s practice, we even saw Cox take some snaps lined up inside. Overall, the play and depth of the Packers’ defensive end position has been fantastic throughout camp. JJ Enagbare continues to make regular plays as well.
“Just hustling, just trying to be violent and attack the quarterback,” said Cox. “Getting back there, that’s the main thing. Get back there, and everything else will fall into place.”
Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph were back at it today and both had a much-needed bounce-back performance, with each kicker going 6/6, including some kicks from 50-plus yards. The last time we saw them kicking was on Tuesday during a very windy practice, with both struggling. The Packers also added Alex Hale to the mix on Wednesday.
“Not necessarily,” said LaFleur when asked if the addition of Hale is due to the performance of Joseph and Carlson. “I think it’s just you’re always trying to add value to your team and bring in competition. It just so happens to be at that position. We signed a couple edge rushers too, you know.”
The starting offense had a red zone period where they ran six plays inside the 10 yard line. The first play featured good coverage but also good protection, giving Love time to find Jacobs over the middle for four yards. The second play was a slant to Reed who made a diving play in the end zone between two defenders but the the official called it incomplete. The third play was a touchdown pass from Love to Melton in the back middle of the end zone–well-placed between the safeties. On play No. 4, Love was flushed out of the pocket by Karl Brooks and through an interception on the run. It was Stokes who made the play on a pass intended for Watson. I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication between Love and Watson.
“It was red zone,” said Stokes. “I know that it was 9 coming across on the over and I ain’t have to take mine. Luckily Love threw it to me. I mean, he threw it at 9 but luckily 9 didn’t see it.”
Play No. 5 was a touchdown pass to Wicks on an out route at the right pylon. Lastly, after initially blocking off of play-action, Sims leaked out into the flat and had Van Ness on him in who was flagged for pass interference. Brooks had another pressure on that play.
“He’s playing tremendous,” said Stokes about Love. “There’s a lot of throws that you all see where you’re like, that is a throw, that is a throw. So you’re seeing all that stuff but then again, I believe us a defense, we’re only making him better and he’s making us better.”
A bit of a miscellaneous note, but Ellis Merriweather runs extremely hard with the ball in his hands. He bring a very physical running style to the practice field. Also, tight end Joel Wilson has seen his share of opportunities the last week or so, getting open in the passing game with the second and third offenses, but has to take advantage by hauling thoe passes in.
Watching Jeff Hafley coach up the cornerbacks for 10 minutes was the highlight of practice for me. There are no words that I can type here to do it justice, but the attention to detail, the constant coaching, the emphasis on footwork, the player’s eyes, and how they tie together was masterful. With Hafley’s coaching background being with the defensive backs, you could tell he was in his wheelhouse here. “Fast eyes, fast feet.”