Packers Work Out Veteran Receiver John Brown, Rookie Corner Bryce Watts

With training camp just one week away, the Packers worked out four players, including an all-USFL tight end and a lineman from nearby Ashwaubenon.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 20, 2022 11:37 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers, who have one open roster spot with training camp just a week away, worked out veteran receiver John Brown, according to multiple reports.

Brown, a third-round pick out of Pittsburg State by the Arizona Cardinals, has 320 receptions for 4,748 yards and 31 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons.

Like new Packers receiver Sammy Watkins, Brown was part of the 2014 draft class. Also like Watkins, Brown had a 1,000-yard season in 2015. Unlike Watkins, who hasn’t touched 700 receiving yards since, Brown caught 72 passes for 1,060 yards and six touchdowns with the Buffalo Bills in 2019.

Last season, Brown spent training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders and had stints with the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He didn’t catch any passes in four games.

Brown turned 32 in April. At the 2014 Scouting Combine, he measured 5-foot-10 and ran his 40 in 4.34 seconds.

The Packers also worked out tight end Sal Cannella, offensive tackle Airon Servais and cornerback Bryce Watts.

Watts, an undrafted rookie who was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers with an injury settlement (hamstring) in May, is an interesting option considering the Packers’ lack of depth at cornerback behind the starting trio of Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes.

Watts started 12 games for Virginia Tech in 2018 but decided to transfer to North Carolina. He had to sit out the 2019 season to comply with NCAA transfer rules, then was a COVID opt-out in 2020. In 2021, he transferred to Massachusetts. He started eight times, intercepted one pass, broke up five and allowed a 58.8 percent completion rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I pride myself on my man coverage. I feel like I can guard anybody,” Watts said before the 2021 season. “Being that I’ve played in the ACC and played against Power 5 schools, I know their techniques, what they’re going to bring to the table. I know the speed of the game.”

Before this year’s draft, he told NFL Draft Diamonds: “If I could hang out with one player it would be Jaire Alexander. His style of play is on point and off the field he seems to be a vibe.”

Before the draft, Watts measured 5-foot-11 5/8 and ran his 40 in 4.40 seconds.

Cannella caught 25 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns in three seasons at Auburn but went undrafted in 2020. Last month, he was named to the all-USFL team after catching 34 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games. He finished sixth in the league in receptions.

Servais, who played his high school ball in the shadow of Lambeau Field at Ashwaubenon, started 60 consecutive games – the longest streak in FBS history. He began and ended his career at center, but also got starts at both tackle spots.

Even with all that experience, Servais went undrafted and unsigned. He got a tryout with the Jets after this year’s draft but was not signed.

Packers Training Camp Preview: Cornerbacks

Packers Cornerbacks Depth Chart

Last season, 77 cornerbacks played at least 400 coverage snaps. For reference, the median completion rate allowed was 62.9 percent and the median passer rating allowed was 90.9, according to Pro Football Focus. Keep those figures in mind for Green Bay’s starting trio.

Jaire Alexander earned All-Pro honors in 2020, when he was fourth in completion percentage (50.7) and passer rating (68.3). While he had only one interception, he picked off Tom Brady twice in the NFC Championship Game. Last season, he made a brilliant interception in Week 3 against San Francisco, when he left his man and flew across the field to pick off a deep shot to tight end George Kittle. A week later, he suffered a serious shoulder injury after delivering a jarring blow to burly Steelers running back Najee Harris. He returned with eight snaps in the playoff loss.

Rasul Douglas was the team’s salvation. Signed off Arizona’s practice squad after Alexander’s injury, Douglas ranked fourth in completion percentage (50.8) and first in passer rating (43.7). There is absolutely no way the Packers would have won 13 games without his five interceptions – including a game-saver at Arizona, a potential game-saver against Cleveland and a pick-six against the Rams. With the trade of Davante Adams, the Packers had the cap cash to re-sign Douglas in free agency. Depending on matchups, he could get slot duty, where his size would be an obvious asset as an extra run defender.

Eric Stokes was a hit as the team’s first-round pick. Given a school-of-hard-knocks education with countless training camp reps against Davante Adams, Stokes finished fifth in the NFL in completion rate (51.8) and 19th in passer rating (78.8). According to PFF, he allowed 102 yards at Minnesota in November but only 115 yards the final six games.

Keisean Nixon, who played in Snoop Dogg’s youth league, was signed in free agency. An undrafted free agent in 2019, Nixon played in 40 games with two starts in three seasons with the Raiders. His resume includes just one pass defensed but a lot of reps on Rich Bisaccia’s special teams. He spent the offseason as the next many up at corner.

Shemar Jean-Charles was a big-time playmaker at Appalachian State, allowing a mere 32.7 percent catch rate as a senior in 2020. The Packers picked him in the fifth round last season but he barely played on defense. When he was on the field, he allowed seven completions in as many targets but did post six tackles on special teams.

Kabion Ento (pictured) played receiver at Colorado and joined the Packers as an undrafted rookie in 2019. So, this will be his fourth training camp with the team. He still hasn’t played in a game, though he has demonstrated his athletic ability and potential on the practice field and in the preseason. Tackling will be important.

Rico Gafford was a cornerback at Wyoming and a receiver for three seasons with the Raiders. He signed with the Packers as a receiver in January but, with the addition of three receivers in the draft, he’s been moved back to cornerback. “I’m going into Year 5 and I haven’t really made a splash or anything in the league. So, I’m like, ‘If I go back to corner, I can really showcase what I can do on the field and what I really am and who I really am at heart, and that’s a DB.”

Kiondre Thomas went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2021 and failed to make the Browns’ roster in training camp. He landed on the Chargers’ practice squad and wound up playing 28 snaps on special teams in four games. The Packers signed him to a futures deal in January. His only career interception in college was with Minnesota in 2019. At Kansas State’s pro day in March 2021, he measured 5-foot-11 3/4 and 186 pounds with a 4.44 time in the 40-yard dash and a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump.

The Packers didn’t draft a cornerback and added only Raleigh Texada in college free agency. Primarily a perimeter cornerback for Baylor, he finished his career with three interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 6.5 tackles for losses. He started 37 games in his career, including eight of his 14 appearances as a fifth-year senior in 2021, when he had one interception and four passes defensed. Baylor coach Dave Aranda called him “a scrappy dude, a guy who will punch you in the face.”

Leader of the Pack

A star player and leader with a big personality, Jaire Alexander is a face-of-the-franchise type of player, which is why they made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. A first-round pick in 2018, Alexander gave up completion rates of 48.5 percent in 2019, 42.3 percent in 2020 and 46.7 percent during his injury-shortened 2021, according to Sports Info Solutions.

“I wanted to be recognized as the best player and the best player gets paid the most,” he said.

Whether he lines up on the perimeter or in the slot, Alexander has the talent to limit, if not outright take away, any receiver in the league.

“I’m just looking forward to getting ‘23’ back on the field healthy and back to himself,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. “I think no one really realizes what he did just to get back for us for the playoff game because he had a major injury. A lot of guys would have just cashed it in and said, ‘Hey, I’ll see you in May.’ He busted his butt to get back and really was not 100 percent. He played his butt off in that playoff game. It goes to show you what kind of character he has, what he’s all about. You talk about football character, Jaire Alexander has it.”

Rising Star

Including Eric Stokes, five cornerbacks were taken in the first round last year and his sidekick at Georgia, Tyson Campbell, was taken with the first pick of the second round. That makes it six corners in the first 33 picks. Their coverage numbers from Pro Football Focus:

Jaycee Horn (No. 8, Carolina): Played only three games (foot).

Patrick Surtain (No. 9, Denver): 16 games, 57.6 percent, three touchdowns vs. four interceptions, 10.3 snaps per reception, 69.7 rating.

Caleb Farley (No. 22, Tennessee): Played only three games (knee).

Greg Newsome (No. 26, Cleveland): 12 games, 63.8 percent, two touchdowns vs. zero interceptions, 10.4 snaps per reception, 96.6 rating.

Eric Stokes (No. 29, Green Bay): 16 games, 51.0 percent, four touchdowns vs. one interception, 12.5 snaps per reception, 78.8 rating.

Tyson Campbell (No. 33, Georgia): 15 games, 67.1 percent, four touchdowns vs. two interceptions, 9.1 snaps per reception, 100.7 rating.

Among all rookie corners who played at least seven games, Stokes was No. 1 in snaps per reception and completion percentage allowed and No. 2 in passer rating.

The Training Camp Battle

Who will provide the depth? This isn’t the olden days when offenses lined up with a fullback and running back and defenses lined up in base with only two cornerbacks. Three-cornerback nickel packages are the universal base defense in today’s NFL. If Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes are on the field for all 17 games, Green Bay’s pass defense could be dominant. More likely, there will be an injury or three and the depth will be tested. Keisean Nixon was the fourth corner during the offseason practices. In three seasons, he’s broken up one pass and averaged 6.8 defensive snaps per game. Of the “other” corners, only Shemar Jean-Charles (pictured) was drafted.

The Big Question

Can Rasul Douglas replicate last year’s production? And can Eric Stokes maximize his potential production? Douglas intercepted five passes last season, as many as he did his first four seasons combined. Douglas’ instincts are superb, leading to optimism that he won’t be a one-year wonder. Meanwhile, Stokes had one interception but his four dropped interceptions were tied for most in the league, according to Sports Info Solutions. Assuming Alexander returns to All-Pro form, the Packers could have a no-fly zone secondary if Douglas and Stokes combine for eight or 10 picks.

Best-Case Scenario

Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas start all 17 games together – or at least close to it – and they’re in top form when the playoffs begin. That group could be the X-factor in potential playoff matchups against the likes of Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott.

“I tell them all the time, Eric Stokes and Rasul, they play as good as any All-Pro corners or any Pro Bowl corner that I’ve see,” Alexander said during minicamp. “That was good to see, being able to pick up where I left off. The sky’s the limit at this point because you know who’s back. The general’s back. So, the sky’s the limit.”

Worst-Case Scenario

Of course, it’s possible Rasul Douglas will be a one-year wonder. And it’s possible the Packers will suffer a major injury. Then what? The reality is there is no proven depth. No amount of words can describe how fortunate the Packers were that general manager Brian Gutekunst found Douglas languishing on the Cardinals’ practice squad. Most of the time, practice-squad raidings provide minimal results. Gutekunst also signed tight end Tyler Davis and outside linebacker La’Darius Hamilton from practice squads last season. They were minor contributors but hardly difference-makers. Should disaster strike, the odds are incredibly long that Gutekunst can find Douglas 2.0.

One Superb Stat

Last season, Rasul Douglas tied for fourth in the NFL with five interceptions. What an unexpected season. Sports Info Solutions charged Douglas with 11 touchdowns vs. zero interceptions with the Eagles in 2019 and the Panthers in 2020.

Douglas credited improved film study with defensive backs Jerry Gray – aka Coach OG – for the difference.

“Earlier in my career, I didn’t know how to watch film. It was kind of like watching a show you’ve watched 1,000 times, so it was getting boring,” Douglas said during the offseason. “I was falling asleep, because I didn’t really know what I was supposed to look at. Sometimes, I caught myself looking up here like, ‘Oh, that’s Julio,’ and I’m watching him make catches, and I’m forgetting I’m supposed to be watching film on how he’s running his routes. So, when I got here, I’d come in at 5 in the morning with OG, and he was just teaching me like, ‘You’ve got to watch it like this because, if you don’t, it’ll get boring to you or you’ll miss what you’re supposed to be looking for.’”