There are holes on the roster that members of the Green Bay Packers incoming rookie class will have to fill, but they won’t be handed those starting roles right away either.
During Tuesday’s OTA practice, as the Packers were going through 7-on-7 and full-team drills, they had two offensive and defensive groups going at once. In one group, it was the expected starters for the season. In the other group, it was second and third strong players, along with most of the rookies.
When the Packers were in their base 4-3 defense, the linebackers were Isaiah McDuffie, Quay Walker, and Eric Wilson. At safety next to Xavier McKinney was Anthony Johnson. At the offensive tackle spots were Rasheed Walker on the left side and Andre Dillard at right tackle filling in for an injured Zach Tom.
Eventually, we saw Jordan Morgan rotated in at both tackle positions. Edgerrin Cooper took some snaps at linebacker as well, and with Josh Jacobs nursing a hamstring injury, Marshawn Lloyd saw snaps at running back on the ‘starting’ end of the field, but he was still behind AJ Dillon.
The quick transition from being drafted to almost immediately taking part in NFL practices is a lot to absorb right away for any rookie. In addition to that, the Packers are implementing a new defensive system under Jeff Hafley.
So, to make sure everything is being implemented correctly, and players know where their supposed to be and how they get there as the play unfolds, 11-on-11 drills are being done at a little bit of a slower pace, as Matt LaFleur pointed out after practice. He added that this allows for more reps and teaching opportunities.
“I think it’s gonna happen organically,” said LaFleur on when things will speed up. “We kinda approached the offseason last year in a similar fashion. That first week was more jog-through and then we started to pick up the tempo as we went.
“I obviously wanna be mindful and make sure we’re doing things the right way around here, but I think learning how to practice is part of the process. You got a lot of new guys in there and they gotta learn and we’ll pick up the speed as we progress later throughout OTAs.”
This approach with the rookies isn’t entirely new under LaFleur. In the past, few players have come in and immediately been thrust into starting roles. A few that come to mind are Darnell Savage and Quay Walker.
On the flip side, this also doesn’t mean that Johnson will be the Packers’ starting safety next to McKinney come Week 1, or that Wilson will see more snaps at linebacker than Cooper this season. Early-round picks Javon Bullard, Cooper, Lloyd, and likely Morgan will all play key roles on this 2024 Packers team.
However, before getting that opportunity to run with the ones in practice, each rookie must put on tape that they can absorb the playbook in the meeting rooms and then apply it to the practice field. Like anything new, it’s a process.
“They’ve been great,” said LaFleur of the rookies. “I think that’s one thing, personally, that I have so much appreciation for Gutey and his staff for the type of people that they bring in the building.
“You can never be around enough high-character people that love the game of football, that are willing to put in the work and are very coachable. It makes it a lot easier to come to work each and every day. It gives you more excitement to come in here to try to build something special together.”
