With OTAs wrapping up this week, the Green Bay Packers returned to the practice field on Tuesday for their third and final practice that was open to the media. Here is a rundown of my observations and takeaways from what I saw:
— Just like last week, Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Jonathan Garvin were not present, but everyone else was. Not practicing was Grant DuBose (who hasn’t been available at all this offseason), Dontayvion Wicks, Jake Hanson, and Dallin Leavitt for the second consecutive week. Tucker Kraft and Devonte Wyatt were both back participating.
— The starting offensive line included David Bakhtiari, who was participating some during the team drills this week, along with Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and Yosh Nijman. Previously, we had seen Tom taking the initial first-team reps at right tackle. In addition to right tackle, Tom took some snaps at right guard with the twos and was warming up as a center in individual drills.
— Without Bakhtiari and Jenkins playing every series, Caleb Jones and Rasheed Walker were rotating at left tackle with Royce Newman seeing a lot of starting snaps at left guard.
— Other notes with starters: the skill position starters were made up of Josiah Deguara, Luke Musgrave, Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs. On defense, it was Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, and TJ Slaton inside, with Lukas Van Ness and Preston Smith at edge. Keisean Nixon was in the slot, with Corey Ballantine and Shemar Jean-Charles on the boundary. The safeties were again Darnell Savage and Rudy Ford.
— As the summer unfolds, keep your eyes on safety Tarvarius Moore. While Ford has been the clear No. 2 at the position, Moore has regularly been taking snaps with the ones the last two weeks at the open practices. Matt LaFleur said after practice that Moore has “shown a lot of flashes of making some really good plays.” Owens has also seen some snaps with the ones.
— Carrington Valentine had two really nice pass breakups on back-to-back plays while covering Romeo Doubs.
— It was a solid practice from Wyatt, who made his way into the backfield on a few plays. A few weeks ago, Kenny Clark said that Wyatt has the makings of being a disruptive pass rusher, but where he needs to continue to refine his technique is against the run.
— Overall, I would say the defensive front got the better of the offensive line today, but again, that was mostly without Bakhtiari and Jenkins on the left side. The edge rushers also did a very nice job and forcing the ball carriers back inside on running plays. This is an area where this unit has to improve in 2023. After practice, I asked Preston Smith what it takes to be a good run defender at the edge rusher position, and he talked about being violent, both in getting off the ball and shedding blocks.
— There was a noticeable uptick in the number of hard counts Jordan Love used today. On a few of those instances, he was able to get the defense to tip their hand a bit, and the offensive line also jumped offsides on two occasions as well. I asked him about this after practice, and he mentioned that it is a point of emphasis right now, not only to get the offensive players used to his cadence but also to test the defenders.
— The third running back role is up for grabs this summer, and again, it feels like it is going to be difficult keeping Tyler Goodson off that final roster. He displayed great vision and burst as a ball carrier and can also be a threat in the passing game, lining up in the slot during today’s practice. Recently, running backs coach Ben Sirmans said that special teams play would determine who that third running back is since Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon will handle most of the offensive snaps. Goodson took some reps last preseason and today as the kick returner. Another undrafted aspect to winning that position battle is blocking abilities. Afterward, LaFleur discussed Goodson’s explosiveness and ability as a pass catcher. He also mentioned that he’s got a “much better” grasp on being a pro.
— During defensive drills, the Packers were sending Keisean Nixon as a blitzer from the slot during a specific period. We’ve seen him blitz a fair amount during team drills, which I imagine is to test Love and the young pass catchers, but I do wonder if we see more of that, in general, this season.
— LaFleur mentioned Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks, Lukas Van Ness, and Brenton Cox as several of the young players who have stood out over the last few weeks.
— From a contract standpoint, the Packers can move on from Justin Hollins quite easily, but without how often he is on the field with the first and second-team offense, if him being left off the 53-man roster is a possibility, I would guess it’s a very small one.
— Love has really been attacking the middle of the field during OTAs. The Packers have been running a lot of slants and crossers, and Love has been finding the soft spot in the defense. Love’s connection with Doubs was also evident again. The play of the day was during the red zone drill where Love found Doubs in the corner, as he made a contested catch and got both feet in.
— As OTAs unfold and the Packers get a little bit deeper into the offense, we are seeing the versatility that they possess on display, with a variety of players lining up in different formations. I went into greater detail here on the impact this can have within the offense, but in short, the versatility will allow LaFleur to keep the concepts simple while still being deceptive for defenders.
— I said this during rookie minicamp, but if you’re looking for a UDFA to watch closely, keep your eyes on receiver Malik Heath, who seemingly makes at least one play each practice. On Tuesday, he made two.
— During the two-minute drill, Love did throw an interception when rolling out to his right and making the cardinal sin of throwing back across his body over the middle. Tarvarius Moore came away with the pick. Not surprisingly, but from the pocket, he has been much more accurate, whereas on the run, he’s been off at times.
— It wasn’t only Jayden Reed as the return man, there were a number of others including Nixon and Watson on kickoffs, but he was being utilized on both kick and punt return units. Reed brings experience in both aspects to the Packers from his time at Michigan State.
