Five Overreactions From Packers Family Night

The Green Bay Packers held their annual Family Night practice on Saturday night at Lambeau Field. Here are five key takeaways.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Aug 6, 2023 11:20 AM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A big seven-day stretch for the Green Bay Packers kicked off with Jordan Love and Anders Carlson delivering in the clutch at the annual Family Night practice on Saturday night at Lambeau Field.

That was the appetizer for what’s to come: a joint practice at the Cincinnati Bengals – “one of the best teams” in the NFL, as coach Matt LaFleur put it – on Wednesday followed by the preseason opener between the teams on Friday night.

Wednesday, in particular, will provide a vital measuring stick, but here are five overreactions from Family Night.

Undrafted Rookie Streak Will Continue

The Packers have had at least one undrafted rookie make the opening 53-man roster each of the last 18 years. With a massive draft class of 13 players, would there be room for an undrafted free agent to make it again?

Yes, and his name is Malik Heath.

At 6-foot-2 3/8 and 213 pounds, he looks the part. He doesn’t have great stopwatch speed – a woeful 4.64 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine – but he plays faster. If not for some off-the-field issues, he probably would have been drafted after catching 60 passes last year at Mississippi.

Heath scored two touchdowns on Saturday night, including a long catch-and-run score in which he sprinted through the secondary.

In a way, receiver is a dime-a-dozen position. The college game produces so many receivers who have size or speed and are good enough to make a roster but can’t because the supply is so much greater than the demand.

Malik Taylor, Darrius Shepherd, Max McCaffrey, Jake Kumerow, Myles White and Tori Gurley were all training camp sensations who faded into oblivion after either barely making or barely missing a spot on the 53. Just about every team can produce a similar list.

Heath, though, appears different. The longer seventh-round pick Grant DuBose remains sidelined, the better the chances that Heath can make the opening 53.

“I’m a changed man, and I’m trying to build on that,” he said last week.

Malik Heath (Photo by Sarah Kloeppeing/USA Today Sports Images)

Third-Round Jinx Is Over

The Packers haven’t drafted a regular starter in the third round since tight end Richard Rodgers in 2014. They haven’t drafted an above-average starter in the third since safety Morgan Burnett in 2010. Amari Rodgers, Jace Sternberger and Khyri Thornton are among the busts.

The jinx might be over.

Rookie tight end Tucker Kraft had his first really good day of training camp. He caught a couple passes, including one for a touchdown, but, more importantly, his blocking was really solid. On both of AJ Dillon’s explosive runs, it was Kraft delivering a key block to spring the big back into the open field.

Remember, Marcedes Lewis is gone. Someone’s got to block. It’s not going to be fellow rookie Luke Musgrave and it’s not going to be fellow third-round pick Josiah Deguara, who is a valuable player but not a true in-line tight end. There’s a golden opportunity available to Kraft. On Saturday night, he appeared ready to seize it.

Sean Rhyan

Speaking of third-round busts, offensive lineman Sean Rhyan had about as bad a rookie season as humanly possible last year. He had as many suspensions (one for six games) as snaps (one on special teams during his only appearance).

Don’t write off Rhyan just yet, though. The one-on-ones are an easy measuring stick. He’s been invincible of late, though most of his wins have come against second- and third-teamers such as rookie Colby Wooden.

While Royce Newman got the start for Elgton Jenkins on Saturday night, Rhyan has had the better camp. When it’s time to pick the 53-man roster, don’t be surprised if Rhyan is one of the next men up and Newman is on his way out.

Defensive Line Depth

Perhaps the team’s biggest on-paper weakness entering training camp was the defensive line. It wasn’t just whether Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton could adequately replace the veteran duo of Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry in the starting lineup, but if there would be any credible depth.

On Saturday, rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks and might-as-well-be-rookie Jonathan Ford were excellent. Unofficially, Wooden (fourth round) and Brooks (sixth round) had two sacks apiece. Ford, a seventh-round pick last year who was a healthy inactive for every game, spent a good portion of his night creating havoc in the backfield.

While their production came against down-the-depth-chart blocker, Wooden, Brooks and Ford showed they could be ready to turn weakness into strength.

“I feel like they had great a night,” Slaton said. “We need those guys to make sure there’s no drop-off when we’re subbing in and out. They’re doing very well. They’re coming along. We’ve got a little bit more work to do and it’s going to come.”

Anders Carlson

No player needed a good night more than rookie kicker Anders Carlson. After a miss-filled career at Auburn, Carlson had a miss-filled start to training camp. After going 5-of-6 to start camp, he had made only 11-of-21.

After three consecutive disappointing performances, how would Carlson perform with 65,000 fans in the stands? Carlson had more than a good day. He had a great day. He made 9-of-10 attempts, including makes from 51 and 53 yards during a field-goal drill and from 51 yards to end a 2-minute drive. His only miss was a 50-yarder following a bad snap, but even that was on target.

Obviously, one good performance doesn’t enshrine Carlson as the next great Packers kicker but there seems to be little doubt that he’ll be kicking at Chicago in Week 1.

“I think any time you get in an environment like that, it can’t help but build confidence for him,” LaFleur said. “Yeah, I was super-proud with the poise that he showed and the execution. So, if we can get that, I think we’re going to be A-OK, because he’s got a big-time leg. I think you guys can see that and just really happy for him.”