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Eight Packers You Might Not Be Watching But Should In Preseason at Steelers

Here’s a look at eight under-the-radar Packers players at eight position groups who have had good training camps and will try to take the next step on Thursday night at Pittsburgh.
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers quarterback Kyle McCord warms up for a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Kyle McCord warms up for a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – You know the headliners for the Green Bay Packers in their preseason game at the Steelers on Thursday night. Jordan Love and the No. 1 offense will be on the field to start the game. Rookie Brandon Cisse will continue his quest to start at cornerback. Trey Smack will attempt his first kicks against another opponent.

Those are three of the obvious names. But what about some of the under-the-radar players?

Here are eight players – one at eight position groups – that will be worth watching once the starters are off the field.

QB Kyle McCord

Based on reps during the last week of practices, Kyle McCord has taken the lead in the race to be the No. 3 quarterback, with the winner ticketed for a spot on the practice squad.

McCord has benefited from reps behind the No. 2 line and some plays with the No. 2 skill-position group. He’s taken advantage at times, too.

Undrafted rookie Kyron Drones is physically talented and probably boasts more upside than McCord. His scrambling and playmaking ability could jump to the forefront late in the game, when things tend to break down with nothing but young players on the field.

RB Pierre Strong

Pierre Strong, a fourth-round pick in 2022 who has a 5.0-yard rushing average for his career, is the wild card at running back. Nobody is keeping track of rushing yards on the practice field, but Strong almost certainly leads the team because of his ability to find cutback lanes and accelerate through them. It’s noteworthy that he’s been on the No. 1 punt team, too.

Josh Jacobs definitely won’t play against the Steelers and Chris Brooks probably won’t, either, after being limited to individual drills upon returning from an injury that sidelined him for the start of camp.

So, MarShawn Lloyd will start and probably get some run with the starters. After that, Strong will be the next man up. The door is open to win a roster spot if what he’s done on the practice field translates to real competition.

WR Will Sheppard

At receiver, it’s easy to fall in love with the size and speed of first-year player Isaiah Neyor and undrafted free agent J. Michael Sturdivant. Who doesn’t love a receiver with elite RAS scores?

Will Sheppard does not have an elite RAS – though it’s pretty good – but he’s got good size, good hands and a knack for getting open. That combination has made him the most consistently productive receiver from the young group chasing a roster spot.

Presumably, he will be on the field at the same time as Neyor and Sturdivant. The receiver who gets the most targets probably is the receiver who is getting open and has the trust of the young quarterbacks. 

OL John Williams

A seventh-round pick last year, John Williams missed almost every bit of his rookie season following a back injury that required surgery. He missed OTAs and the minicamp, training camp and the preseason. He didn’t get on the practice field until the final three weeks of the regular season, when he was designated for return from injured reserve.

A college left tackle, Williams opened training camp playing guard and center. The last several practices, though, most of his action has come as the No. 2 left tackle.

“I’m the kind of person I kind of just pour myself into whatever I’m doing,” he said recently. “So, I’m kind of just all in on playing center right now, and then if they tell me to play guard or tackle, then that’s what I’m doing that day. It is what it is. But I feel like I’m getting a lot better – I think.”

Williams could be a tremendous asset if he can provide quality depth at multiple positions. The key will be proving during the preseason that he can be a quality backup.

“It’s great to see him out there after a full year of him being a rookie and not being able to compete,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week. “I’m sure he’s pretty eager to get out there. For what he’s done so far in a week has been pretty impressive with the fact he hasn’t played football in a year.

“But it’s really good to see him out there. And, again, he’s been competitive. They’ve moved him all around. I think he’s played almost all five spots, which you know is music to my ears. But at some point, I think he’ll start to settle in somewhere, so we can get a really good look at him. I’m excited to see the preseason games and see what he can do there.”

Green Bay Packers offensive linemen Dalton Cooper (78) and John Williams (73) run through a drill at training camp.
Green Bay Packers offensive linemen Dalton Cooper (78) and John Williams (73) run through a drill at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Edge Collin Oliver

Speaking of draft picks who were injured for their rookie season, Collin Oliver suffered a hamstring injury at the Scouting Combine that he aggravated at the rookie camp (and a few more times along the way) before he was designated for return from injured reserve late in the season.

Finally, Oliver got on the field for Week 18 at Minnesota and contributed a couple second-effort pressures.

Oliver hasn’t consistently gotten to the quarterback during training camp, but he’s gotten there enough to make you believe he could provide one or two impact rushes in most games. He’s undersized but has the quickness and shiftiness to beat his man.

“He’s been having a really good camp. I’m so proud and happy for me,” fellow edge player Barryn Sorrell said. “Obviously, you never can guess what happens with injuries and all those types of things, but just seeing him back out there flying around, he’s a really good player and he’s been showing it.

“I’m excited for me. He has a lot of different things. He’s a really explosive, twitchy guy who can help us on the pass rush side of things. Looking forward to him putting it on display on gameday.”

The Packers have a lot of potential depth on the edge with Lukas Van Ness, Sorrell, Brenton Cox, Dani Dennis-Sutton and Oliver. Oliver’s unique skill-set could make him an X-factor as the team looks to replace Micah Parsons’ production at the start of the season.

DL Anthony Campbell

Nobody has come out of nowhere during training camp quite to the extent of Anthony Campbell, who went undrafted in 2025 after barely playing in two seasons at Miami.

Campbell has been a force as a pass rusher, pass deflector and run defender. Green Bay is surprisingly strong on the defensive line – or appears to be, anyway – but Campbell is thrust himself into the mix for a roster spot. On Tuesday, he blew up a running play and was held while getting to the quarterback. That’s been pretty typical of his summer.

Asked if he was looking forward to “beating up on someone in a different jersey” on Thursday, the affable Campbell said, “I don't know about that. I'm just going to go out there and do my best. Not think a lot, just go. Do my job. Whatever they tell me to do, I'm going to do it.”

CB Jaylin Simpson

We profiled Jaylin Simpson earlier in the day, including his unique mentality.

In a crowded room, Simpson has emerged as an unexpected and worthy challenger for a roster spot.

“I think I’m doing pretty well but, for me personally, it’s not about the room,” he said. “I understand. I understand we got guys, but I wake up every day and it’s just me versus me. Telling yourself you’re competing with the best DBs in the world, if you compete with them, you ain’t going to do nothing to make yourself mad because they’re just going to continue to make plays, too, because they’re the best. You know what I’m saying?

“I feel like I’m one of the best, too, so it’s just me versus me. I ain’t worried about what’s going on. I’m just worried about making plays and celebrating with my brothers.”

S Mark Perry

The plot thickened at safety with this week’s release of injured Johnathan Baldwin.

Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard are the top three, obviously, and Kitan Oladapo almost certainly will be No. 4.

If the Packers keep five safeties, which is usually the case, who will win? Mark Perry, who went undrafted in 2024, and Murvin Kenion, who went undrafted this year, are the frontrunners over a couple safeties added this week.

The Packers are Perry’s sixth team but he has not made a roster or played in a game. However, he has run with the No. 2 defense since the first day of OTAs and he’s been on the No. 1 kickoff units. He plays with some pop behind his pads, too.

“Just being able to apply different things we're being taught,” he said of what he’s shown. “Whether it's in the meeting room, indy, making sure that everybody's lined up (and) knows what they're doing. Being communicative – it’s obviously something I'm still working on.

“Staying ahead of the play. Offenses today bring a lot of things, moving a lot of guys, trying to get your eyes go this way when they're going that way. Trying to overcommunicate to where guys can anticipate what's coming before it happens so we're not caught off-guard.”

The preseason, obviously, will be huge. It won’t be so much about making plays as it will be about simply getting the ball-carrier to the ground on defense or special teams.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.