Packers Stock Report With Half of Training Camp Practices Complete, Preseason Next

GREEN BAY, Wis. – By the calendar, there’s a long way to go in Green Bay Packers training camp.

The three-game preseason will kick off on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The joint practice against the Cardinals will be held on Aug. 26. Roster cuts aren’t due until Aug. 30. Week 1 at the Vikings is set for Sept. 13.

However, of the 13 public practices, seven are complete. To say time is running short for players in heated roster battles obviously would be inaccurate. But, as the saying goes, it’s getting late in a hurry.

With half of the practices in the books, here is our first Packers stock report.

Stock Down: Backup Quarterbacks

This isn’t a knock on Tyrod Taylor and young prospects Kyle McCord and Kyron Drones. It’s just the reality that they are not Malik Willis.

Then again, Taylor probably would be more effective behind the No. 1 offensive line, because the No. 2 unit has been overwhelmed, for the most part. The Packers will be in good hands if Taylor has to play.

Stock Up: RB MarShawn Lloyd

At the beginning of the offseason, I wondered if MarShawn Lloyd would even be on the roster. After two seasons ruined by a long list of injuries, why would anyone assume he’d be healthy for Year 3?

Lloyd’s offseason work has paid off. He has participated in every practice dating to the start of OTAs. If that continues, the Packers will finally have their thunder-and-lightning tandem with Josh Jacobs and Lloyd after having thunder-and-thunder the last two years with Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson.

Stock Up: RB Pierre Strong

Green Bay Packers running back Pierre Strong Jr. (22) catches a punt during practice on Friday, July 31. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While it might seem obvious that the Packers will go into Week 1 with Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks as the only running backs on the roster, it should be noted that Pierre Strong has been a wing with the No. 1 punt unit throughout training camp.

If Strong had a nickname, it might be Capt. Cutback. His speed and vision are obvious assets as a ball-carrier.

Stock Up: TE Drake Dabney

One man’s pain is another man’s gain. That’s the reality in the NFL. With Tucker Kraft being eased back into things and Luke Musgrave out with a neck injury, Drake Dabney – who signed to Green Bay’s practice squad after Kraft’s injury last year – has taken a lot of first-team reps and showed some pop as a blocker.

“Dabney’s probably more of an on-the-ball guy, but he’s still taken a lot of steps forward and he’s improved as much as anybody over these first few days,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said on Wednesday.

Stock Down: TE Luke Musgrave

This was supposed to be a huge training camp for Luke Musgrave. With Tucker Kraft out, he would be getting a lot of reps with a chance to earn a key role on an offense with a limited number of proven options in the passing game. Coming off two disappointing seasons and entering his final season under contract, his next paycheck would hinge on the role he earned during camp.

Instead, Musgrave “felt something” in his neck during minicamp, coach Matt LaFleur said on July 30. He hasn’t practiced and there’s no firm answer as to when he will practice – or if he’ll ever practice.

Stock Up: OL John Williams

The Packers used key assets on only one offensive lineman this offseason, and that was when they drafted Jager Burton in the fifth round. Really, the Packers got two additions with the return of John Williams.

A standout left tackle at Cincinnati, he was a seventh-round pick last year. Back surgery sidelined him for the offseason practices, training camp, preseason and most of the regular season. He was designated for return from injured reserve and practiced for the final three weeks of the season before reverting back to IR for the playoffs.

Williams has played center, left guard and left tackle during camp. He took the No. 2 reps at left tackle on Friday night.

“I got to remind guys, 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,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said this week. “It’s really good to see him out there. He’s been competitive. They’ve moved him all around. I think he’s played almost all five spots, you know, which you know is music to my ears.”

He hasn’t been great – he’s far from a lock to make the roster – but after a lost rookie season, he would be an incredible asset if he proves he can provide multiposition depth.

Stock Down: G/T Anthony Belton

Last year’s second-round pick, Anthony Belton was thrown into the fire at right guard as a rookie. It didn’t go well – learning a new position on the fly is never ideal – but there were enough flashes entering this year to assume he would start again and be an asset.

Instead, he spent the last two practices at right tackle, a sign the coaches might prefer to go into the season with Jacob Monk or Jager Burton as the starting right guard and Belton serving as the swing tackle.

Stock Up: WR Matthew Golden

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) catches a pass during practice on Friday, July 31. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

All the offseason roster decisions at receiver were aimed at getting Matthew Golden more opportunities. So far, so good.

Golden has been one of the best players on the field at practically every practice, something that carried over to Family Night, when he made his first deep catch of the summer. Like Kwik Trip, he’s always open. His hands are exceptional.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” LaFleur said after Family Night.

If he stays healthy, it’s easy to see him finishing as the team leader in receptions.

“I feel real confident,” he said after a big night. “Just taking it day by day and just building chemistry with Jordan, being on the same page with him, communicating as much as I can. I feel like each and every day we go out there in practice, I feel like the chemistry between us is growing, for sure.”

Stock Down: WR Consistency

The Packers will be able to cook with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden atop the depth chart. But receivers get hurt. They need breaks. Those three probably can’t carry the load the way Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb did in 2024.

Who will be that reliable next man up? Savion Williams had a big-time touchdown catch on a 50/50 ball from Tyrod Taylor on Friday, but it was the type of play that was memorable because he hasn’t made many of those in his year-plus with the team. Skyy Moore and Bo Melton were drafted in 2022 and haven’t been consistently reliable playmakers. Expecting that to be the case this season seems foolish.

The fourth receiver right now is probably Melton, who has 28 catches in four seasons in the league.

“I think he’d be a big piece for us,” Watson said this week. “Obviously, we’ve seen him move all over the place. Obviously, he’s huge for us on special teams. But, I think that he’s definitely a super-reliable playmaker who, when his number is called, he’s going to go out there and make plays. So, definitely think he could be a piece for us, for sure.”

Stock Up: Literally All of the Defensive Tackles

Either Green Bay’s interior offensive line stinks – and that’s probably not the case – or it has an unexpectedly deep group of defensive tackles.

Even with Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave not taking part in team drills, it’s been a formidable group. It’s possible no player on the roster has taken a bigger jump than Warren Brinson. Karl Brooks, who is coming off a disappointing season, has been in the backfield with frequency. Chris McClellan looks like he’ll be an immediate asset as a rookie.

Even players with low expectations entering camp have been excellent. Nazir Stackhouse and Jonathan Ford have been forces against the run. Anthony Campbell has been the story of training camp, having gone from one tackle in two seasons at the University of Miami to a consistent menace. Jaden Crumedy, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Panthers in 2024, has been good, too, including a sack on Family Night.

That’s every single player on the depth chart having shown he’s worthy of a spot on the roster.

“I’ll tell you what, those guys have shown up repeatedly,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Family Night. “It’s a tough battle in that room right now, not only for playing time but for roster spots.”

Stock Down (But Reversing?): Edge Lukas Van Ness

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (90) runs through a tackling drill at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Few players on the roster are more important than fourth-year edge player Lukas Van Ness. After three so-so seasons to start his career, the pressure will be on him to help replace some of the lost pass-rush production from Micah Parsons.

For the offseason practices, he was hot. For the start of training camp, he was hot. For the first few padded practices, he was not.

Under the lights, though, he was a flaming-hot menace. On several occasions, he barreled through left tackle Jordan Morgan or right tackle Anthony Belton, either to pressure the quarterback or ruin running plays. The Packers need that version of Van Ness this season.

Stock Up: CBs Brandon Cisse, Benjamin St-Juste

The team’s additions at cornerback, second-round pick Brandon Cisse and free-agent Benjamin St-Juste, have had a promising first eight practices of camp.

At this point, Cisse might wind up being a Week 1 starter. He hasn’t been a lockdown cornerback but there’s been a lot more good – even really good – than bad.

“Yeah, just one day at a time and challenging myself, just trying to continue to get better every day,” he said on Friday night. “Try to go against the best of the best and hold your own and that’s what I’m trying to do every day. I’ve still got a long way to go, trying to get better.”

St-Juste is off to an excellent start, too, even though he hasn’t made any headway against Cisse. If nothing else, they’ll have a matchup option against bigger receivers and infinitely better depth than last year.

Stock Down: Day 1 Starting Cornerbacks

Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine were the cornerbacks for most of last season and were with the No. 1 defense at the start of camp.

Nixon has been much better in 11-on-11 settings than during individual drills, which is all that matters. Matthew Golden dominated the one-on-ones on Friday night, for instance, but Nixon was barely targeted in team drills. Valentine, meanwhile, got off to a productive start to camp but is out with an injury. With Brandon Cisse’s performance the last few days with the starters, Valentine might never get back into the lineup.

Stock Up: S Mark Perry

The Packers usually keep five safeties. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams and Javon Bullard are locks for three spots and Kitan Oladapo probably is a lock for a fourth. Who would be the fifth? Mark Perry has been part of the No. 1 kickoff unit throughout camp.

Stock Up: K Trey Smack

There was nowhere to go but for Trey Smack’s stock after a sketchy offseason and rough start to training camp. His only miss on Friday night was a 51-yarder, a performance that ended with him making field goals at the end of both 2-minute drills.

To be sure, Smack is a long ways away from winning the job, but general manager Brian Gutekunst and the coaches must be feeling a lot better about the rookie.

Here are the winners and losers from Packers Family Night, headlined by a new starting competition on the offensive line. ⬇️https://t.co/z9WiEX2rFT
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 8, 2026

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER

Add us as a preferred source on Google