Quick observations from Packers first 2023 minicamp practice
The Green Bay Packers held their first of two minicamp practices open to the media on Tuesday. The weather forced the Packers inside, so we didn’t get to see full-speed team drills, but there were still a number of takeaways from what took place inside the Don Hutson Center.
Here are my quick observations from what I saw:
— Matt LaFleur said before practice that the Packers had perfect attendance for minicamp, which is mandatory, but according to Ryan Wood, players not practicing included Dallin Leavitt, Eric Stokes, Tarvarius Moore, Rashan Gary, Jonathan Garvin, Jake Hanson, Tyler Davis, Grant DuBose, and Chris Slayton. Dontayvion Wicks, who had missed the last two OTA sessions open to the media, was back on the practice field. Wicks needs to continue developing, but he is a smooth route runner who can be asked to run a variety of routes.
— The starting offensive line from left to right consisted of David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Ruyan, and Zach Tom. If I were to guess right now, this is the starting five come Week 1. We will see Tom moved around this summer, and Yosh Nijman will get right tackle snaps, but Tom is too good to be on the sidelines, and until I see otherwise, I’ll choose Myers’ and Runyan’s experience to win out.
— Green Bay’s starting nickel defense consisted of Preston Smith, Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, and Justin Hollins along the defensive front. De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker were at linebacker, with the secondary made up of Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Keisean Nixon, Darnell Savage, and Rudy Ford. When the Packers go into their base 3-4, my guess is that Devonte Wyatt comes in, and Nixon goes out. In passing situations, we will see Wyatt next to Clark with Slaton on the sidelines.
— With Tarvarius Moore not practicing, Jonathan Owens was the third safety behind Savage and Ford. The third and fourth boundary cornerbacks were Carrington Valentine and Corey Balentine, who I would say are the favorites for the fourth and fifth roster spots at the position if Stokes begins the year on the PUP list. Valentine was a seventh-round pick this year, and Ballentine was a core special teams player from Week 10 and on in 2022.
— I mentioned this last week, but Hollins continues to see snaps with the starters. His contract may not say he’s a roster lock, given that the Packers can move on from him with very little dead cap hit, but how he’s being utilized says he will be here. Hollins was very good against both the run and pass last season, with pass rush coordinator Jason Rebrovich saying that he took on a leadership role in the edge rusher room.
— While the tight ends were going through individual drills, Josiah Deguara, and undrafted rookie Henry Pearson, who is listed as a fullback, were going through individual drills of their own. It will be interesting to see how Deguara is utilized this season, especially early on. As an H-back, he has different responsibilities than a traditional tight end, but as the veteran in that room, the Packers may lean on him to fill that more standard tight end role, and Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft acclimate to the NFL and have more added to their plates. How the Packers strike that H-back v. tight end balance with Deguara will be worth monitoring.
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— I’m a broken record on this one, but Malik Heath has apparently caught the attention of the coaching staff. In each of the final two OTA practices, Heath made at least one impressive catch in each of them. Today, the offense and defense were split up into two groups on opposite ends of the field, and Heath was in the offensive group that featured many of the starters. Also on that end of the field with the starters were Bo Melton, La’Darius Hamilton, and JJ Enagbare as the third and fourth edge rushers, Isaiah McDuffie as the third linebacker, and Innis Gaines lining up in the slot, where he saw snaps last season.
— The Packers did do full-speed 7-on-7 drills in the red zone. The first session was dominated by the defense, which included a tipped pass by Nixon, and pass breakups by Savage and Alexander. However, the play of the day also came in this session, with Love finding — you guessed it — Romeo Doubs in the back left corner of the end zone. Doubs made a sliding catch on an excellent over-the-shoulder touch pass from Love, with Alexander close by in coverage.
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— In the second session, which had the offense backed up in their own territory, the offense faired much better. Samori Toure was wide open on a busted coverage by the defense. The runner-up for play of the day came on a deep ball down the sidelines to Christian Watson. The closest defender was Alexander, but he wasn’t all that close, and Love hit Watson in perfect stride. Later, during that same drill, Musgrave made an excellent contested catch over the middle. Rudy Ford was in coverage and positioned well, but it was just a better throw and catch by Love and Musgrave.
— Speaking of Toure, during individual drills where the receivers were running go routes, he made an excellent catch where he tracked the ball down the right sidelines, adjusted to it as the ball carried him towards the sidelines, and made a sliding catch.
— If the Packers are back outside on Wednesday for practice, we will hopefully get a better glimpse of these young receivers going up against Alexander and Douglas. Last week, Green Bay’s pass catchers were facing Carrington Valentine, Shemar Jean-Charles, and Corey Ballentine. In the glimpse that we saw today during 7-on-7, there weren’t as many openings for Love to put the ball. There were also a few nice coverage plays from linebackers Campbell and Walker against the tight ends and running backs.
— Love and Doubs have absolutely developed a connection, but don’t forget about Watson, who has looked confident, smooth, and of course, fast on the practice field. As LaFleur said last week, you can feel his speed on the field, and his knowledge of the offense in Year 2 is “night and day.” LaFleur added that Watson is a leader in the receiver room and does an “outstanding job.” While Watson will still be a vertical presence with his speed, he is going to be asked to run a greater variety of routes this season, providing different ways for him to impact the game.
— Today, we got to see Anders Carlson in action for the first time. In session one, Carlson made kicks from 41 and 47 yards but missed right from 44. In the second session, he was good from 49, 51, and 54 yards. Prior to practice, when meeting with reporters, LaFleur mentioned that Carlson has the power, but it’s about consistency with him. Well, that power was on display with those kicks. From 50-plus yards, things seemed pretty effortless as the ball cleared the crossbar with ease.
