Preseason opener provides chance to see rookie class already prepping for impact

Jordan Morgan and Javon Bullard look like Day 1 starters, while Edgerrin Cooper, Evan Williams, and Ty'Ron Hopper are making their cases in training camp.

The Jordan Morgan left tackle experiment lasted through spring ball. Not for the reasons one might have feared when he came out of Arizona with short arms and a thick build. Despite protestations from Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur the team believed Morgan could stick at tackle in the NFL, by the time the pads came on for training camp not only was Morgan working almost exclusively at guard, he was running with the starters on the right side. He’s not alone in this rookie class in the gifted and talented cohort. Javon Bullard holds the pole position at safety opposite Xavier McKinney. Edgerrin Cooper projects as the nickel linebacker next to Quay Walker and there could be roles for another three or four rookies by the time we get to Week 1. Saturday against the Browns provides our first glimpse at how the Packers plan to use them.

That is, of course, unless injuries scuttle their ascent. Cooper, the lightning-in-a-linebacker second-round pick, missed Family Night and the practices since with a hip injury. Morgan dropped out of practice Tuesday though the severity of that injury is yet unknown. Marshawn Lloyd played a scant five snaps with the first team on Family Night because he’s missed much of camp to date with an injury. LaFleur and the offensive coaches have offered their enthusiasm for his ability, but that could serve as a reason for sitting him out of preseason games until he’s fully healthy and up to speed on the offense.

Still, Gutekunst appears to have hit on another promising class. Morgan wasted no time beating out incumbent Sean Rhyan who platooned with Jon Runyan Jr. last year while JRJ dealt with injuries in the second half of the year. A former top-100 pick himself, Rhyan took snaps at center in camp, including with the first team on Family Night, but he’s now facing an uphill battle to start, not because he’s necessarily been bad, but because Morgan’s size, feet, and polish have been too much to ignore.

Coming into the NFL, many draft analysts (including this amateur one) believed Morgan projected best inside as a guard. Gutekunst insisted on draft night that’s where the former Arizona standout could play in the NFL and LaFleur suggested they’d start working him at left tackle, then see where to go from there. But last week, Adam Stenavich admitted they looked at where they could get Morgan on the field right away — that’s how much they think of him — and they determined right guard was the spot.

For the moment that leaves Bullard, the former standout nickel cornerback and safety at Georgia, as the only other no-doubt starter in this group. He’s already played each position for new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and offers the ideal complement to Xavier McKinney, himself a do-it-all safety who can play deep, in the box, or in the slot.