Rudy Ford picks off a pass against Dallas. (Photo by Dan Powers/USA Today Sports Images)

5 Days Until Training Camp: 5 Biggest Battles

With the start of Green Bay Packers training camp less than week away, these are the five most-important battles that will be fought.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 21, 2023 3:29 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers training camp unofficially started on Friday with quarterbacks and rookies reporting to Lambeau Field. Everyone else will report on Tuesday, and the first practice is set for Wednesday.

With 90 players on the roster but only 53 surviving to Week 1, there will be battles being waged all across Ray Nitschke Practice Field over the next several weeks. Here are the five biggest.

5. Slot Receiver

Packers coach Matt LaFleur isn’t one to station one receiver at one spot. So, this won’t be like Mike McCarthy rolling with Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams on the outside and Randall Cobb in the slot – period, end of conversation, for 50 snaps per game.

Nonetheless, when he does want to go with more of a traditional look with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs on the perimeter, who will man the slot? Based on the offseason practices, it will be a wide-open battle between second-year player Samori Toure and second-round rookie Jayden Reed.

Toure, with his experience in the scheme, not surprisingly was the more impressive of the two in May and June. Can Reed, who absolutely dominated at Michigan State in 2021, surge in front?

“I’ve had just about every coach come up to me and be like, ‘Holy wow. That guy is twitchy, fast and explosive,’” position coach and passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said of Reed before OTAs. “He has all those traits. You could see it on the college tape. Toss him a ball and he’s going to go make a play.

“But probably the more impressive thing is just his mentality. I told him the other day, I said, ‘You remind me of Randall. You really do.’ There’s something about guys who end up being successful that have that inner drive. When he walks into the building, his eyes are like all ball. He has that going for him.”

4. Defensive Line Depth

Without veterans Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry, TJ Slaton and Devonte Wyatt will move into the starting lineup alongside Kenny Clark. Who will take the place of Slaton and Wyatt as backups? The four front-runners:

- Colby Wooden was a fourth-round pick out of Auburn. Listed by the Packers at 273 pounds – his Scouting Combine weight – will he be big, strong and tough enough to stop the run?

- Karl Brooks was a sixth-round pick out of Bowling Green. He dominated lower-rung competition and most of his playing time came over the edge rather than the interior, so he’ll have a new role while facing considerably better blockers.

- Jonathan Ford was a seventh-round pick in 2022. He was a healthy inactive for all 17 games as a rookie. At 338 pounds (per the Packers’ roster), he’s got the heft that the others lack.

- Chris Slayton was a seventh-round pick by the Giants in 2019. He hasn’t played in a regular-season game in his career but spent all of last year on the practice squad after a strong preseason.

Last season, Slaton and Wyatt as the fourth and fifth defensive linemen combined to play 557 snaps. The players battling for those roles have played zero.

“I wouldn’t say sink or swim,” Clark said of the rookies, “but they’ve got to ball and they’re going to be called on to play. I’m going to do my job in terms of helping develop them, along with Jerry (Montgomery) and everybody else.”

3. Tight End Roles

This won’t be a winner-takes-all battle between Josiah Deguara, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft in the quest to replace veterans Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. There will be snaps for everyone, especially with Green Bay ranking second in two-tight-end sets last year.

With Deguara’s role as the line-up-everywhere player and de facto fullback secure, the spotlight will be on rookies Musgrave (second round) and Kraft (third round) and fourth-year pro Tyler Davis (sixth round in 2020). All three have the size to play as a traditional in-line tight end and the athleticism to flank out as a receiver or slot.

With his size and athleticism jumping to the forefront, Musgrave had a really strong set of offseason practices to take a bunch of first-team snaps.

“First impression of Luke is he’s going to be a great player. He’s a lot faster than I think anybody thought on tape and he’s picked up the offense really fast,” quarterback Jordan Love said.

However, those practices were in shorts and helmets. Tight end is about physicality as much as playmaking. Which of the three will have the best combination of blocking and receiving to become the centerpiece of the unit so the offense doesn’t become stale and predictable?

2. Starting Right Tackle

The hyped offseason battle really never materialized. At least for the five practices that were open to reporters, Yosh Nijman took most of the No. 1 reps ahead of Zach Tom.

A fascinating training camp is ahead. Will the athletic Nijman, given the offseason, training camp and preseason to prepare for right tackle, a luxury he didn’t have last year while filling in for David Bakhtiari at left tackle, be a much better player and keep the job?

In the quest to get the “best five” on the field, will Tom be so good that he has to play somewhere? Or will Tom’s position versatility be at its most valuable as the sixth man able to plug in at any spot at a moment’s notice?

“It’s a competition everywhere,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said before OTAs. “We’ve got a lot of experience in the at room right now, and that’s a good thing. Guys pushing to get better, that’s how you get better, right? Good vs. good. Those guys are pushing themselves. Before Game 1, we’ll figure it out.”

1. Starting Safety

Adrian Amos didn’t just lead the Packers in snaps last season. He led them in snaps in each of his four seasons. The Packers, looking to go younger and less expensive on defense, allowed Amos to join Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets, leaving a huge void in the secondary that must be filled during camp.

There is no sure-fire replacement but there are some decent options.

- Rudy Ford, a sixth-round pick in 2017, made six starts with one interception and three passes defensed in five seasons with the Cardinals, Eagles and Jaguars. In 2022, he had six starts, three interceptions and three passes defensed in his debut season for Green Bay. He’s a playmaker with excellent athleticism.

- Jonathan Owens, an undrafted free agent in 2018, had two starts, one pass defensed and 18 tackles in his first four years. In 2022 with the Texans, he made 17 starts, broke up four passes and recorded 125 tackles. Like Amos, he’s one of the top tacklers at the position.

- Tarvarius Moore, a third-round pick in 2018, was good enough to start 13 games – including eight in 2020 – for the powerful 49ers before suffering a torn Achilles. After sitting out the 2021 season, most of the action in his 13 games last season came on special teams. His lone interception came against Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. He’s got elite speed.

- Innis Gaines, who went undrafted and unsigned in 2020, made his mark down the stretch with 44 snaps during the final three weeks including a start in Week 18 vs. Detroit. He’s called “Thump” by everyone – for good reason, as the name matches his physical style.

- Anthony Johnson had a quiet offseason but has intriguing potential as a seventh-round pick. He played corner at Iowa State before switching to safety for his final season.

Who will emerge as the winner? Ford and Owens were the front-runners during the offseason.

“I’ve got to be able to get guys on the ground,” position coach Ryan Downard said. “So, tackling’s a premium. Obviously, coverage and taking the ball away is a premium. If we have two of those guys who can do both, then we can play them left and right. If we have a guy whose skill-set is anchored more towards tackling or physicality to his game, then we might place him say in the boundary and the other guy in the field. We’ve got to see who’s going to be that guy. I think as a coach, you’ve got to be able to maneuver with what you have.”