The Green Bay Packers will play their first preseason game on Friday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and there will be plenty of things to keep our eyes on.
The first three weeks of training camp practices have provided us with a lot of insight into where things currently stand among position groups and how individual players look as well. But as far as the final decisions around roster spots and playing time go, the performances in the upcoming preseason games and remaining joint practices with New England are going to carry the most weight.
“It’s a piece of the puzzle,” Matt LaFleur said before Wednesday’s joint practice with Cincinnati, “so it gives you a better indication of where you are in the moment, knowing that there’s a long time between now and Week 1 that you’re going to hopefully continue to get better and better.”
Below I go through each of the Packers position groups with one big thing to keep your eyes on during their preseason game with the Bengals, along with a few honorable mentions.
Quarterback: Protecting the ball
Winning the turnover battle is always important. Since taking over as head coach in 2019, Matt LaFleur’s Packers are 33-3 when winning the turnover battle. This season will be no exception to that rule, in fact, there may be an even greater premium on protecting the ball considering the offense — at least early on — may not have the fire power to overcome a turnover deficit. This then means that Jordan Love has to take care of the ball.
Love is expecting to play a few series against the Bengals, and one big thing that we want to see are no turnovers or even turnover-worthy plays. On Family Night, after a few early incompletions, Love settled in well, took what the defense gave him, and — with the help of his pass catchers — was able to create a few big plays as well. Minus the overthrows, a similar performance in Cincinnati would be a terrific outcome.
It’s unclear how many snaps, if any, the Bengals starting defense will play, but Matt LaFleur mentioned prior to Wednesday’s joint practice that their secondary would be a “great challenge” for Love, which is what the Packers want. They want to really test him this time of the year in preparation for the regular season.
Honorable mention: How does Love do on the deep ball? So far, through training camp, downfield throws have been hit-and-miss for Love, with overthrows being a common occurrence.
“It’s just something we have to keep working on,” said Love about the offense’s deep ball accuracy on Wednesday. “It’s obviously different looks. Receivers might be getting held up a little bit, so the timing is off, but we just have to keep working at it.”
Running back: Who is featured and how do they perform without the ball?
Tyler Goodson, Patrick Taylor, and Lew Nichols are battling for the third running back role. LaFleur said last week that to help determine the winner of this camp battle, each player would be featured in a preseason game. As of now, it is unknown who will be the lead back in Cincinnati, but my guess is it’ll be Taylor after he saw his share of snaps with the starters during Monday’s practice.
Along with who is starting, keep your eyes on how each of these running backs performs without the ball in their hands. Both LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst recently mentioned that special teams play and blocking abilities would be deciding factors in who the third running back is. With Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon taking all the offensive snaps, special teams is going to be the third running back’s path the contributing. Reliability as a pass catcher will play a role in the decision as well.
“Obviously, and this goes for most of them,” said Gutekunst, “but particularly for that third running back, 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.”
Wide Receiver: Bo Melton and Malik Heath
If the Packers keep six receivers, the sixth roster spot is up for grabs, with Bo Melton and Malik Heath building momentum over the last week of practices. Grant DuBose will also be competing for that roster spot, but with him being activated off the NFI list earlier this week, I’m not sure if he will play or not.
As LaFleur discussed, Melton and Heath bring different skill sets to the receiver position. Melton is really fast, running a 4.34 40-yard dash coming out of Rutgers, and LaFleur called him “scrappy.” Heath is a “very physical” receiver at 6-2 and 213 pounds. Melton has been targeted on a lot of quick routes to get him the ball in space or downfield with his speed, while Heath has shown the ability to create space consistently, especially on intermediate routes.
Both must carry the momentum they’ve built into the preseason if they are going to continue pushing for a roster spot, and as always, with these back-end-of-the-roster openings, special teams contributions are going to be important.
Honorable mention: As mentioned already, the Bengals’ secondary will be a very good test for the Packers’ passing game. In Wednesday’s practice, Sam Monson of PFF said that Doubs was consistently getting open. With Watson, we have seen his versatility on display a lot more this summer as he’s moved around pre-snap and been asked to run a greater variety of routes. The test that the Bengals’ defense will provide is not only for Love but the young receivers as well.
Tight End: How do Musgrave and Kraft perform?
There is a lot of potential and excitement around these two rookie tight ends. But there have been growing pains as well, specifically in the form of missed blocks and dropped passes. As LaFleur has often noted, the learning curve at this position is steep with all of the responsibilities that come with this role.
Musgrave is going to be a Week 1 starter and based on what we’ve seen in practices so far, targeted very heavily over the middle of the field, whether that be on stop-routes, crossers, or down the seam. We are going to see him lined up in the slot and on the boundary fairly often, where he can create mismatches. His presence will not only create big plays for himself but others in the offense with the attention he draws and the spacing he forces the defense to create.
Kraft, meanwhile, has been building a lot of positive momentum over the last few practices. His best performance came on Family Night, where he made a few catches, showcased his YAC ability, and made some key blocks in the run game as well.
Honorable mention: Tyler Davis has been the most consistent blocking tight end in training camp up to this point, which is going to earn him more playing time this season. The Bengals have a very good group of edge rushers, so let’s see how he performs.
Offensive Line: Where is Zach Tom lining up?
Zach Tom has spent most of his time in training camp at right tackle, and that is where he played during the entire joint practice on Wednesday against the Bengals. But over the last week, we’ve also seen him rotated in at center with the starting offense for Josh Myers. There have been a few bad exchanges between Myers and Love at the snap during training camp, and ultimately what LaFleur wants to see more of at the position is consistency. We do not know how much of the starting offensive line we will see – I’m guessing at a minimum, however long Love plays – but the amount of time we see Tom at center in these preseason games will give us a better gauge of how serious this positional battle may or may not be. Tom is going to be a starter, the question is just where?
“Zach Tom’s been doing a really great job at right tackle,” said Love after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s smart, he knows what he’s doing. He just keeps building those days and being consistent. It’s great work for him as well.”
Honorable mention: Of course, the flip side of this is we need to be keeping our eyes on Myers and how he is performing. When he’s playing well, he does play well, but stability and consistency at center is crucial with a young quarterback, and that’s what LaFleur wants to see from him.
Interior Defensive Line: Can the young players build momentum in the preseason?
I’ve been really impressed with the play of this position group up to this point. There’s been a consistent push up the middle, and the offense has struggled to run the ball between the tackles. TJ Slaton has been giving Myers fits at center against both the run and the pass. Devonte Wyatt appears to be making that Year 2 leap, making a lot of noise as a pass rusher. Colby Wooden has established himself as the fourth member of the rotation, while Karl Brooks has forced a pressure or two in each practice over the last week. With Wyatt taking on a much larger role, along with Wooden and Brooks being added to the mix, this is a group that is playing a lot faster than last year. Let’s see how they perform against a good Bengals offensive line.
Linebacker: Tariq Carpenter
As a unit, especially De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker, the linebackers have been very solid over the first few weeks of training camp. They are filling gaps in the run game, not letting ball carriers get outside, and always seem to be close by in the passing game. So that could be something to watch early on, but not knowing how much playing time Campbell or Walker will see, I’ll be watching Tariq Carpenter.
Carpenter is making the position change from safety to linebacker and had what he called his best practice at the position during Family Night, where he came away with two interceptions — one off a deflected pass and another where he read Sean Clifford and the receiver well, jumping the route. Carpenter’s primary role is again going to be on special teams, where he emerged as a key contributor in 2022. But for a young player who is learning a new position and was asked to fill a lot of roles as a rookie — we saw Carpenter at safety, linebacker, and even as a pass rusher — it’s important that he find a defined role on defense where he can contribute if needed.
“As far as my traits go, I’m long, athletic, explosive, not really a stout type of guy,” Carpenter said via Packers.com. “I’m more of an athlete. I’m strong going forward. I’m strong coming with speed and like I said, I just gotta grow into it.”
Edge rusher: Lukas Van Ness
Lukas Van Ness has been seeing more playing time with the starting defense over the last week of practices. With his burst at the snap and overall power, he has put together a number of impressive pass rush reps, driving blockers into the backfield. The Cincinnati offensive line, specifically the starters, will provide a good test for him. His power as a pass rusher is evident but what secondary move does he have in his repertoire if the offensive tackle counters Van Ness’ power. I’ve also seen Van Ness standout in the run game at times as well, setting a strong edge and forcing the ball carrier back inside. Joe Goodberry, who was in attendance at the Packers-Bengals joint practice, called Van Ness a “handful” during one-on-one drills. I’ll also be interested to see if at this stage of the preseason the Packers give Van Ness any pass rush reps from inside.
Honorable mention: Justin Hollins and Brenton Cox. As I’ve discussed before, from a salary cap perspective, Hollins is not a roster lock but given the number of starting snaps he has seen in practices while also contributing on special teams, it very much feels like he will have a role this season. Brenton Cox, meanwhile, has been with the third team defense for much of training camp. Although they could keep six edge rushers, that is going very heavy at the position. So it will be interesting to see if in a transition year, the Packers choose one year of Hollins’ production over Cox’s upside and potentially losing him to another team if placed on the practice squad. Cox will need to show more consistency moving forward, but preseason performance and the number of snaps each player sees should tell us more on where they truly stand on the depth chart.
Cornerback: Carrington Valentine
Jaire Alexander has gone through individual drills this week but not team drills, which probably means that he isn’t playing on Friday. So in his place with the starting defense has been rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine. During the start of OTAs in the spring, Valentine was mostly with the third-team defense. But by the end of minicamp, he was routinely with the second unit and now appears to be the fourth cornerback option on the depth chart.
Valentine has terrific athleticism and good length, which has helped put him in a position to make plays on the ball. During one practice, he had back-to-back pass breakups covering Romeo Doubs. In another, he had a pick-six off Danny Etling. And during Wednesday’s joint practice, he had a pair of pass breakups in the red zone. As Valentine said, he is very comfortable playing one-on-one on an island.
Honorable mention: Innis Gaines has missed the last two practices with a quad injury, so I’m not even sure if he will play. But if he does, keep a close on him. He is listed on the depth chart as the backup nickel cornerback, which tracks with what I’ve seen in practice, with most of his reps coming from the slot with the second-team defense. The cornerback and safety rooms are crowded, but Gaines is someone who can contribute on special teams and adds depth on defense.
Safety: Who is playing with what unit?
The only thing we know right now is that Darnell Savage is going to be starting in Chicago in week one. Despite all of the movement at this position, which LaFleur said would happen, he has remained the lone starter. For all of offseason programs and the start of training camp, Rudy Ford was next to Savage and is listed as a starter on the depth chart. However, Jonathan Owens has lined up next to Savage over the last week of practices, while Tarvarius Moore has spent all of his time with the second-team defense. It sounds simple, but what the Packers need and are looking for out of this position is reliability. Last season, there were too many missed tackles and blown assignments from this position group.
“When you have a vacancy,” said Joe Barry earlier this offseason, “especially with a starting spot and you have a number of guys in competition for that, the biggest thing I look for as a coach is the overall consistency every day. Then obviously you have to get into your job, making plays, and being productive, but it starts with being a consistent guy every day to be one of those 11.”
Honorable mention: Keep your eyes on Dallin Leavitt on special teams. At a position where the Packers are looking for contributors on defense, special teams is where Leavitt’s impact is going to come, but is that enough to earn a roster spot again? Wes Hodkiewicz noted during the joint practice that Owens was in as the personal protector on the punt coverage team, a role normally filled by Leavitt. If Leavitt is left off the roster, that could open a spot for Gaines or rookie Anthony Johnson. It’s certainly something to watch moving forward.
Specialists: The field goal operation
As Gutekunst said, the Packers knew there would be ups and downs relying on a rookie kicker, and so far, we’ve seen that. After starting 5-for-6 on field goals in training camp, a rough week for Anders Carlson had him below 60 percent, making just 16 of his 27 attempts. However, he bounced back on Family Night, going 8-for-9. During Monday’s practice, he was 5-for-6 and then 7-of-10 in the joint practice. So if the Packers get an extra point or field goal attempt on Friday, all eyes will be on Carlson.
Also worth watching on the field goal attempts is who the holder is–whether that be Pat O’Donnell or Daniel Whelan. In recent practices, the two have been alternating as holder, but this will be an important aspect in determining who the Packers punter is this season.
Honorable mention: Sticking with O’Donnell and Whelan, I’m curious to see how the Packers split up punting opportunities in the preseason. Perhaps this will give us some added insight into where things stand.
