Kumerow, Shepherd push their way into first-team consideration

There are eight training camp practices, three preseason games and 25 days until the Green Bay Packers kick off the season on Sept. 5. In other words, plenty can change before the Packers travel to Chicago to face the Bears in a Week 1 showdown.

Through 12 practices and one game, one of the big training camp battles hasn’t been settled. Instead, the plot has only thickened. No longer is it Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison battling for the spot opposite Davante Adams. Jake Kumerow and Darrius Shepherd are having sensational training camps and have gotten first-team reps, as well.

So, here’s the question: If Kumerow and Shepherd continue to make more plays than Valdes-Scantling and Allison, would coach Matt LaFleur have the guts to roll out Adams and Kumerow on the perimeter with Shepherd in the slot vs. the Bears?

To be sure, the quiet camps of MVS and Allison are partly due to circumstance. As was the case last regular season, Aaron Rodgers throws the ball early and often to Adams. Because of that, there are simply fewer targets to go around. MVS had a quietly good day on Saturday, with a back-shoulder catch from Rodgers and a nice run-after-catch on a quick pass. Kumerow and Shepherd, however, have had good days every day. Regardless of the competition, they routinely get open and catch the ball.

During Thursday’s preseason game against Houston, Kumerow caught 2-of-2 passes thrown his way for 27 yards and Shepherd showed his skill and toughness with a leaping 14-yard touchdown in which he was hit hard by the defensive back.

They did it again on Saturday. During the first 11-on-11 period, Kumerow blew past Kabion Ento and caught a bomb from Tim Boyle for a touchdown of about 65 yards. On the second-to-last play of the day, Shepherd got behind Natrell Jamerson and hauled in a deep pass from DeShone Kizer for a touchdown. After that play, Rodgers ran downfield and celebrated with Shepherd with a leaping shoulder bump.

For Rodgers, it’s all about trust. There’s no magic formula to earning that trust. It’s being at the right place at the right time. It’s about making plays without making mental mistakes. Kumerow has that trust and Shepherd appears to be working in that direction, too, based on Rodgers’ reaction.

“He’s been consistent,” Kizer said of Shepherd after Thursday’s game. “I think he was probably the first guy in this locker room to learn the playbook – before any quarterback learned it. He was a guy who put a bunch of effort and time into making sure he was going to be prepared to play. We all knew that he had the ability, with the speed and his smarts and his route-running, to be able to play well. I think it’s been shown throughout training camp. He came into preseason Game 1 and did exactly what we expected him to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued to do it all the rest of the preseason and hopefully into the regular season.”

Kumerow was a nice story last summer with his sudden rise up the depth chart. He’s not a nice story anymore. The question no longer is whether Kumerow will make the roster. It’s how big of a role he’ll play on Sundays. If there were a Jake Kumerow Fan Club – and, who knows, maybe there is – Rodgers might be its president.

“He’s an undrafted guy, so he has a tougher climb for sure, but he just looks even more comfortable,” Rodgers said on Tuesday. “He’s always been a very smooth route-runner; he’s just even more comfortable. The thing I look for, the throw I hit him on in Family Night against Jaire (Alexander) was his late hands. That’s just something that’s hard to teach. The trust to wait ’til the last second to put your hands out there against a great defender who’s basically playing his hands and not seeing the football, you can’t teach that. The best guys we’ve had here over the years – from Greg (Jennings) to James (Jones) to Jordy (Nelson) to Randall (Cobb) – all could do that; to run full speed and at last second put their hands up. He’s just a very mature route-runner. I think he’s faster than a lot of guys who line up over him give him credit for until they get beat on top. He’s just a very smart guy, cerebral guy, and you guys know I love playing with those kind of guys.”

Again, plenty can change by Sept. 5. Valdes-Scantling’s combination of size and speed can’t be matched, and his no-nonsense demeanor gives him a chance to maximize those game-changing gifts. Allison was on pace for 1,100 yards last season before getting hurt. They are proven players. But at this relatively early stage of the summer, Kumerow and Shepherd have emerged as real options to be contributors on Sundays.