Extracting intel from the first week of Packers training camp
Figuring out what matters after just a few days of training camp can prove challenging. Still, a few developments from Packers camp already appear meaningful.
Good morning!
The Green Bay Packers enter their second week of training camp and first week with pads. This represents an important part of the team's process, as the additional contact allows for better evaluations, especially in the trenches. The activity at Ray Nitschke Field will finally resemble real football.
Today's edition of The Leap attempts to separate the signal from the noise, extracting nuggets of meaningful intel from the first week of Packers training camp.
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Unless Elgton Jenkins and Aaron Banks both make full returns soon, Jordan Morgan won't get a real shot at left tackle
Jason B. Hirschhorn: The notion that Jordan Morgan would compete with Rasheed Walker to start at left tackle always had a tinge of wish-casting on the part of the Packers. While Morgan entered the NFL with extensive experience as a blindside protector -- 37 starts and 41 games total -- concerns about his length suggested that he might fit better along the interior at the next level. Indeed, he only played guard during his six games in 2024 before a shoulder injury ended his rookie year.
Even so, the Packers repeatedly expressed the desire to have Morgan compete at left tackle in 2025. On some level, that approach makes sense. He has three more seasons and a fifth-year option left on his rookie contract, while Walker will hit free agency next March absent a new agreement or a mechanism like the franchise tag. And while Walker has developed into a solid offensive lineman, he hasn't performed so well as to render moot any discussion about replacing him.
And in general, the Packers have enjoyed plenty of success letting offensive linemen take a shot at tackle first before considering a move inside. David Bakhtiari and Zach Tom, two undersized blockers, would never have received the chance to play tackle for many teams, but they thrived in Green Bay as bookends. Morgan, a first-round pick with a background at left tackle, probably deserves his opportunity to stick outside as well.
However, for Morgan to get a fair shake at left tackle, he needs meaningful reps working at that spot with the No. 1 offense. Injuries and/or contractual disputes have limited those opportunities.
At least officially, a back issue has kept starting center Elgton Jenkins on the sidelines so far in training camp. His absence has forced Sean Rhyan, normally a right guard, to work at the pivot. The matter has grown even knottier over the last few days with Aaron Banks, the newly minted $77 million left guard, also tweaking his back.
With both Jenkins and Banks watching instead of participating through most or all of the first three practices, Morgan has spent the majority of his work with the No. 1 offense at guard. Banks did return to the field Sunday but sat out the team period. Granted, this pre-padded part of camp can only mean so much for offensive linemen from a development standpoint, but Morgan can only win a job if he actually gets the chance to rep there.
Perhaps the Packers don't fully believe that Morgan can handle tackle in the NFL. Just this week, general manager Brian Gutekunst seemed to suggest that Walker has a tight grip on left tackle.
"[Walker] has started a lot of games there, and he's got a lot of experience, so there's a comfort level there with him," Gutekunst said. "I think Jordan, in his time last year when he was playing right guard, he played really, really well. He had a really good spring. That's an open competition, but certainly when you have 30-some starts under your belt, there's a comfort level there that something would have to overtake that, I would think."
But even if the Packers don't expect Walker to lose his job, they still put themselves in a better position for 2025 and beyond by finding out whether Morgan even can play left tackle in the NFL. That evaluation won't really take place if Jenkins and Banks don't return in the not-too-distant future.
No more kicker watch
JBH: In each of the past two years, the performance of the kicker(s) became one of the main plots of Packers training camp. Anders Carlson featured in both, showing off a strong leg without the consistency to make sufficient use of it. Greg Joseph also had his moments, though he too ultimately didn't stick the landing. The whole fiasco reached its nadir last September when Green Bay opted for a rookie, Brayden Narveson, who didn't even participate in the competition over multiple kickers who spent months battling for the job, and he imploded not long after.
Such a scenario will not unfold again in 2025. Brandon McManus, the veteran who signed with the Packers midway through last season to take over for the aforementioned Narveson, has simply taken care of business in camp this year. So far, McManus hasn't missed a single kick, converting all 15 attempts through the first two open practices, including three attempts of more than 50 yards and seven total over 45.
The Packers don't need the best kicker in the NFL in order to contend for a Super Bowl, but they do need someone who can reliably make the got-to-have-it field goals. McManus appears more than up to that task. Barring injury or some unforeseeable development, kicker watch has ended.
Too early for anything definitive, but early signs promising
JBH: Whereas the aforementioned situations appear more definitive at this stage, others need more time to provide such clarity. However, the early signs look promising for …
· Matthew Golden
Matthew Golden hasn't subverted the wideout hierarchy, at least as of yet. However, he has shown the reasons why the Packers made him a first-round selection. Golden has caught virtually every ball thrown his way, including some touchdowns during team drills. He also has head coach Matt LaFleur talking about how the rookie's role could expand to include some of the pre-snap motions and jet sweeps that typically go to Jayden Reed.
"Ideally, you'd like to have everybody be able to do that, because then you really don't know where [the motion] is coming from," LaFleur said this week. "So, I think the more guys that we can train to be able to take on that type of role, I just think it opens up things for you offensively."
So far, it seems the Packers envision Golden spending more time outside than Reed which adds some wrinkles to the discussion. The rookie opened multiple team periods with the No. 1 offense, including one in which the Packers started in 12 personnel, suggesting the coaching staff sees him as capable of winning along the boundary as well as the blocking duties that come with it. That doesn't necessarily mean Golden will end up starting in Week 1, but the early signs point to a robust workload and varied deployment for him one way or another.
· Isaiah Simmons
First, let's set expectations here. While Simmons entered the league as the No. 8 overall pick, he has never performed up to that pedigree for any sustained period of time. The Packers signed him a few days after the 2025 draft for roughly the veteran minimum, so any even making the 53-man roster as a special teamer and backup linebacker would constitute a solid return on investment for Green Bay.
With that out of the way, Simmons has flashed during the first week of training camp. The most notable example came during a team period when he tipped a pass from Malik Willis into the waiting arms of another defender. Looking beyond the flashy moments, Simmons has seen action as the third linebacker, suggesting he currently has at least even footing with second-year pro Ty'Ron Hopper.
"You don't really see backers like him with his size, his length that can run, that can cover, that can tackle, can really do all those things and be productive," safety Xavier McKinney said of Simmons. "He's going to be a big part of our defense."
· Carrington Valentine
You know that tipped pass from Willis that ended up as a pick? Carrington Valentine hauled it in, sliding to the ground to secure the football. That interception marked the second takeaway forced by the third-year defensive back over the first three practices of training camp, and he nearly had another later the same day.
Valentine has the opportunity to, in a sense, reshape the Packers' secondary. If the status quo holds and injuries don't intervene, the unit will feature Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon as the starting boundary corners with Javon Bullard in the slot and McKinney and Evan Williams at the safety spots. However, should Valentine continue to perform well, the coaching staff could shift either Hobbs or Nixon to the slot and allow Valentine to take over as one of the starters outside.
Until the pads come on, Valentine's play comes with some significant caveats. But he has a path to major playing time if this continues.