Only One Big Training Camp Battle Remains for Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 22 days, the Green Bay Packers will kick off the 2023 NFL season at the Chicago Bears. With the Packers getting set to host the New England Patriots in a preseason game on Saturday night, you could write 21 of the 22 Week 1 starters in ink.
The only spot that would require a pencil and fresh eraser is safety. Jonathan Owens, who started all 17 games for the Houston Texans last year, and Tarvarius Moore, who started 13 games for some strong San Francisco 49ers defenses, are the front-runners. Lurking in the shadows are Rudy Ford, who started six games for the Packers last year, and seventh-round rookie Anthony Johnson.
Ford had fallen to the No. 3 unit during practice but started the preseason game against New England on Saturday.
“Competition is always great, especially this time of year,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said on Friday. “We have an opening at the second safety spot, and we’ve tried to – and will continue to – give all those [players reps]. It’s an open competition right now. You’re taking Rudy, you’re talking T. Moore, you’re talking J.O. and we’ve given all those guys opportunities based on the day to go with the first group, and that will continue.”
Owens probably has taken more first-team reps alongside Darnell Savage than the others combined. With the Texans, he had a productive year in terms of tackles (125) but not ball production (zero interceptions, four passes defensed). Barry is looking for consistency, which is why Owens leads the battle.
However, there’s a push organizationally for that job to go to Moore because he’s such an explosive athlete. It’s an incredibly small sample size, but Owens missed a tackle against Cincinnati while Moore had a couple big-time stops.
“It’ll be important for somebody to step forward,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “I don’t know if anybody’s done that quite yet.”
Jonathan Owens (Photo by Tork Mason/USA Today Sports Images)
Here’s a quick look at six more positions where there were supposed to be battles.
Right Tackle: Zach Tom vs. Yosh Nijman
Based on who takes the first snap and who’s taken the most snaps, Zach Tom appears to have run away with the starting job.
“He’s done a great job,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He kind of knows his strengths and weaknesses. His size, he’s not your typical right tackle where he’s a big, giant dude. So, he’s got to have a different kind of play style and I think he’s doing a good job with that.”
Sixth Receiver: Malik Heath vs. Grant DuBose
In most cases, the tie goes to the draft pick. However, it doesn’t appear to be a tie for the final spot at receiver between undrafted rookie Malik Heath and seventh-round pick Grant DuBose. DuBose is going to need to make a splash to close the gap because of Heath's work as a receiver and blocker.
“It’s tough for any of these young players, specifically UDFAs,” Gutekunst said. “You may only get so many opportunities per day and, when you do, you’ve got to capitalize to try to earn more opportunities. And he’s done that, and I think that’s why you’ve seen his opportunities increase.”
Third Running Back: Can Patrick Taylor Hold Job?
With Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon atop the depth chart, there won’t be many – if any – touches for a third back. Patrick Taylor isn’t the most exciting player but he is the most complete. Can Emanuel Wilson catch? Can Tyler Goodson protect?
“You want a guy that’s just a good, all-around back,” Stenavich said. “He can help in the run game, he can help in protection, he can help on special teams. But you can take a guy that’s super-fast and now you can have a package for him in a different role. There’s a lot of different areas you can go with that spot. So, we’ll just find the best player for us.”
Defensive Line: Young Guys vs. Everybody
Would the Packers have to go shopping to add to their defensive line after losing Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed in free agency? Nope. There’s never been a doubt that Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton would be the primary trio. Behind them, would Jonathan Ford, a seventh-round draft pick who didn’t play a snap as a rookie last year, and Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, a pair of Day 3 rookies, be ready for primetime? We’ll see, but they haven’t been overwhelmed, either.
“Especially you get a fourth- and a sixth-round draft pick like we got, those two guys have done a really good job,” Barry said of Wooden and Brooks. “We’ve got a lot more camp left. We’ve still got two more preseason games left, but I've been very happy with where they're at at this point.”
Kicker: Anders Carlson vs. Mason Crosby and Every Free Agent
The veteran punter has a challenger. The veteran long snapper has a challenger. The rookie kicker with the sketchy history in college? Nah.
Sixth-round pick Anders Carlson will be the Week 1 kicker, plain and simple, even though he missed two extra points vs. the Bengals and has made barely 70 percent of his kicks on the practice field. His leash is longer than Green Bay’s season-ticket list.
“Brian and I were on the same page when we made this decision,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “I think age and wisdom to some degree allows you to have patience, especially with the specialist position. He’s exhibited a lot of the things that we thought he was in a lot of the positive ways, and there’s always going to be things to clean up.”
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