Highlights From Practice 14 of Packers Training Camp

One rookie might be making a big move on the depth chart, another rookie destroyed a two-minute drill and much, much more from Sunday at Packers training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Elgton Jenkins is back.

Maybe not fully back, but with the 2020 All-Pro guard activated from the physically unable to perform list, the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line got infinitely better on Sunday – exactly four weeks from the season-opening game at the Minnesota Vikings.

The assumption all along is that Jenkins would play right tackle once he’s fully cleared. Sure enough, during individual drills, he lined up to the right of last year’s starting right guard, Royce Newman.

Speaking before practice, Packers coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t tip his hand.

“There’s not too many guys that are, No. 1, as talented as he is, but also as versatile as he is,” LaFleur said. “We can put him anywhere on that line. Shoot, we could probably put him at tight end. Maybe we will. I don’t know. You guys want to write a story about that?”

Jenkins’ return was part of the big news of the day; tight end Robert Tonyan and rookie receiver Christian Watson also were activated from the PUP list. But it was only a layer to one of the most interesting developments in training camp.

When the No. 1 offense took its first snaps of the day, the line consisted of Yosh Nijman at left tackle, Jon Runyan at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jake Hanson at right guard and Newman at right tackle. That’s the same group that started at San Francisco on Friday night and got the No. 1 reps for most of last week.

On the fifth snap, rookie Zach Tom entered the huddle and stepped in at left guard rather than right tackle, where he had been challenging Newman. And when the No. 1 offense came out for a starters vs. starters two-minute drill to end practice, it was Tom – not Runyan – at left guard.

“That would obviously be one of the goals,” Tom said of winning a starting job. “If you’re not here to win a job, nobody wants to be a backup.”

Player of the Day

Kingsley Enagbare (USA Today Sports Images)

Rookie outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare had been having a quiet training camp.

Not anymore.

After recording one sack and three pressures against San Francisco on Friday night, the fifth-round pick dominated a two-minute drill at the end of Sunday’s practice.

On first-and-15 from the defense’s 47, Enagbare lined up at left outside linebacker and beat right tackle Royce Newman for what might have been a sack before Rodgers found Amari Rodgers all alone downfield for a gain of 33 to the 14.

Later, on fourth-and-5 from the 9, Enagbare again beat Newman for what might have been a second sack but Rodgers found Aaron Jones for a leaping touchdown. The offense went for two points and the win but, again, it was Enagbare in Aaron Rodgers’ face. Enagbare figured that would have been a third sack; Rodgers’ pass was incomplete, anyway.

“The last couple practices, I feel like I’ve been coming along and I’ve been able to stack a couple good days,” Enagbare said. “It’s trying to stack each day and having a focus each day, whether it’s my hands, my get-off, things like that. Just have a focus each day and try to attack that so, slowly but surely, getting better each day.”

Plays of the Day

Rasul Douglas (USA Today Sports Images)

The best plays came at the end of the aforementioned two-minute drill. On the touchdown pass, Aaron Rodgers extended the play away from Kingsley Enagbare and threw one up to Aaron Jones. The 5-foot-9 running back, not exactly the quintessential red-zone receiving threat, made a leaping touchdown catch and was mobbed in the end zone by just about every member of the offense.

The celebration perhaps caused a delay-of-game penalty because the offense’s two-point try started from the 7. Once again, Enagbare made life difficult for Rodgers. Sack or no sack, Rodgers kept the play alive before being forced to throw a prayer into the end zone. Romeo Doubs made an acrobatic catch in the end zone but was forced out of bounds by Rasul Douglas’ superb coverage. There were no officials on the field, so Douglas did double-duty as cornerback and referee.

Packers Depth Chart Notes

Zach Tom (USA Today Sports Images)

- As mentioned earlier, rookie Zach Tom took some first-team reps at left guard in place of Jon Runyan, including for the entire two-minute drill.

- With Dallin Leavitt, Tariq Carpenter and Innis Gaines out with injuries, Micah Abernathy – who joined the team on Wednesday – took second-team reps at safety alongside Shawn Davis.

- With Tipa Galeai and La’Darius Hamilton out with injuries, the No. 2 pairing at outside linebacker was Jonathan Garvin and Kobe Jones.

Packers Injury Report

Dallin Leavitt (USA Today Sports Images)

Of the injuries from the 49ers game, only Leavitt’s was of long-term concern, coach Matt LaFleur said.

New Injuries: S Dallin Leavitt (shoulder), S Tariq Carpenter (knee), OLB Tipa Galeai (elbow), WR Juwann Winfree (groin), DT Akial Byers (toe).

Returned from injury: WR Christian Watson (knee), WR Randall Cobb (foot), OLB Randy Ramsey (ankle), OL Elgton Jenkins (knee), TE Robert Tonyan (knee), DT Devonte Wyatt (head but not concussion).

Old injuries: S Darnell Savage (hamstring), CB Donte Vaughn (hamstring), S Innis Gaines (hamstring), TE Dominique Dafney (knee), C Cole Schneider (ankle).

Physically unable to perform list: K Mason Crosby (knee), RB Kylin Hill (knee), LT David Bakhtiari (knee).

Packers Training Camp Schedule

Matt LaFleur (USA Today Sports Images)

The Packers will hold a closed-to-the-public walk-through on Monday before hosting the New Orleans Saints for joint practices at Ray Nitschke Field at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those will be the final public practices of the summer.

Highlights from Practice

Aaron Rodgers (USA Today Sports Images)

- Marcedes Lewis might be the oldest tight end in the NFL but he’s a physical marvel. Tasked with pass protection against outside linebacker Rashan Gary one-on-one, Lewis slid backward awkwardly. But, being impervious to injury, he kept Gary away from Aaron Rodgers and went back to the huddle.

- Later, Lewis again was one-on-one with Gary. Just when it looked like Lewis had lost the rep and Gary had a free run at Rodgers, Lewis turned around and caught a clever screen.

- Jonathan Garvin, who seems to be the front-runner for the No. 3 outside linebacker job, easily shed a blocker to stop running back Patrick Taylor at the line of scrimmage.

- First-round defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt was back after being examined for a concussion and drove center Michal Menet into the backfield with an impressive display of brute force. Wyatt didn’t make the tackle but 99 out of 100 referees would have called holding.

- New kicker Ramiz Ahmed had a strong debut. Not long after signing, he was either 5-of-6 or 6-for-6 on field goals ranging from 33 to 48 yards. There were no officials standing under the uprights to provide a signal, so the results are based on the unscientific approach of seeing where the equipment staffer caught the football in relation to the hashmarks.

- Aaron Rodgers’ ball-handling was in midseason form with a spectacular display of fake handoffs and misdirection plays. At one point, his footwork indicated a downfield throw. Instead, he threw a ball into the flat by using some sort of funky arm angle. On another, he faked the handoff AJ Dillon and zinged a pass into the flat to Aaron Jones for a touchdown.

- Rodgers’ cadence also was in midseason form. He got his own man, receiver Samori Toure, to false-start on one play. However, late in the two-minute drill, he got the defense to jump offside. On the free play, Rasul Douglas intercepted the pass and then chucked the ball back toward the offensive huddle in frustration.

- One of Rodgers’ passes into the flat was thrown behind Dillon. Dillon stuck out his left hand and made a one-handed catch look easy.

- A toss to Aaron Jones went nowhere because All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell continues to play like an All-Pro linebacker. He’s been perhaps the best defensive player in training camp.

- Coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t happy with the receivers’ blocking on Friday. Early in the two-minute drill, Allen Lazard caught a screen but Douglas beat the block to limit to a gain of just a few yards.