GREEN BAY, Wisconsin – During Thursday’s first 11v11 phase of practice, Ben Braden lined up on the right guard. That is the position that Lucas Patrick filled so well last season.
While left Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins slipped out on the left tackle, Braden and Jon Runyan Jr. took the left guard for the first seven practice sessions at Green Bay Packers Training Camp. However, this rotation is just a starter to the battle for the right guard.
Notably, Runyan played the left guard and center and Braden played both guard places. Presumably this means that it could be Patrick versus Braden on the right guard once all-pro left tackle David Bakhtiari is healthy and Jenkins returns home to the left guard.
“There’s competition everywhere,” said coach Matt LaFleur before training on Thursday. “But especially these interiors for sure. Really, any position is always open to competition. What do we like to do? Use the best [five] out there.”
Patrick had an understated season on the NFL’s top scoring offensive. He started 15 games and finished third on the offensive with 939 snaps. Among the 60 guards with at least 350 pass-protecting snaps, Patrick took 10th place in the pass-blocking efficiency of ProFootballFocus.com, which measures sacks, hits and rushes per passing game. Out of 48 guards with at least 250 run-blocking snapshots, Patrick was ranked 11th with a blockage rate of 1.4 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions.
And yet the professional is fighting for his job in the fifth year.
“My mental attitude is that I love competition,” he said after training. “To speak as openly as possible, I think the NFL is great because you have a healthy fear for your job. Scouts, they scout people, they scout thousands of college kids, they scout people on different NFL teams, they scout people who are free agents. I’ve had this mentality since day 1. It doesn’t matter if I started 100 games or zero, I’ll do it the same way. Competition for me, I think everyone goes up or the best will come out of it. If it is me, great. If not, then I’ve worked just as hard that this person has to defeat me.
Defensive improvement begins with these two
Two of the Packers’ most maligned defensive players from last year, outside linebacker Preston Smith and defensive tackle Dean Lowry, have got off to a strong start.
During the 11v11 periods, Smith had a “sack” and perhaps another that would have prevented Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Allen Lazard. Lowry knocked down a pass from Rodgers and came back a couple of times; At one point, Rodgers gave Lowry a playful nudge.
Rashan Gary is now a powerhouse every day. On the second snapshot of the day, he “fired” Rodgers. It will be interesting to see Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry manage his external linebacker trio of Gary and The Smith Bros.
Game of the day
Rodgers fired a ball into the sideline for Marquez Valdes-Scantling. For a man who dropped too many passes last season, Valdes-Scantling showed exceptionally strong hands to hold onto the ball despite a tug-of-war with rookie cornerback Eric Stokes.
Injury report for packers
New injuries: WR Chris Blair (ankle).
Old injuries: OLB Randy Ramsey (ankle), ILB Kamal Martin (knee).
Back to practice: LB Ray Wilborn (COVID), TE Josiah Deguara (knee). Deguara only took part in individual exercises. “We will slowly bring him back into practice,” said LaFleur.
List of non-soccer injuries: CB Kevin King (thigh), S Will Redmond (foot), OLB Za’Darius Smith (back), LB Isaiah McDuffie (upper tendon), DT Kingsley Keke (ankle).
List physically not executable: TE Dominique Dafney (knee), LT David Bakhtiari (knee).
Some quick reading
– The Packers added an outside linebacker and released a long snapper.
– During a field goal phase, Mason Crosby appeared to go 7 out of 8. He made the first seven tries, which ranged from 28 to 50 yards, but it looked like his 58-yarder was being pushed to the left.
– Tight end Jace Sternberger, who was a disappointment as the third round pick in 2019, had one of his better days on the team. He made a sensational one-handed catch during a one-on-one phase – enjoy this fan video; Reporters are not allowed to shoot during this time. He also caught a checkdown, made a move, and piled a few yards after the catch.
– Rodgers and Jordan Love did 2 minute exercises that did not reach the end zone. Starting at 30 with 1:30 on the clock, zero timeouts and the need for a touchdown, Rodgers completed passes to tight end Robert Tonyan and receiver Randall Cobb for first downs. The drive got stuck, however, and a false start from receiver Devin Funchess didn’t exactly help. Rodgers’ last chance, Hail Mary, was intercepted by Jaire Alexander.
With Love’s opportunity, successive completions from Reggie Begelton brought the ball close to midfield. His third and two pass to Sternberger was almost intercepted by linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. The journey inexplicably ended at this point.
– It was a typical day in the Stokes office. While fighting in individual fights, he stuck to a deep ball in Davante Adams’s hip pocket early in practice and was full of a deep ball for Sternberger during the 2-minute drill.
– Each of the quarterbacks had a chance to play a two-point game. Rodgers converted to Aaron Jones with a pass and Love converted to Amari Rodgers with a degree. Kurt Benkert’s back shoulder pass to Funchess was wonderfully interrupted by cornerback Kabion Ento.
– During a youth phase at the end of training, Safety Innis Gaines almost intercepted Love’s pass to Sternberger and intercepted Benkert’s bomb on the last play.
– Right tackle Billy Turner swept a pair against Preston Smith during the one-on-one pass rush drill, although Smith had a good boost on the first rep. Kenny Clark won both reps against right guard Patrick, center Josh Myers won three reps against TJ Slaton, left guard Runyan shared two reps against Dean Lowry and Rashan Gary shared two reps in the Clash-of-the-Titans against Elgton Jenkins .
Packer’s training camp schedule
The team will do a walk-through on Friday, which is closed to fans and reporters. Saturday is family home evening. The gates open at 5:20 p.m., players are introduced at 7:20 p.m., and training begins at 7:30 p.m.
“We can’t wait for family night,” said LaFleur. “I think it’s going to be great, especially for our young players who may not have had a chance to play in front of a large crowd. It’s almost like their first preseason game. And that’s how we’ll treat it, especially at the end of the night when it comes to live action. “
Next week’s public exercises will take place Tuesday through Thursday, with all three starting at 10:10 a.m.
Here is the exercise plan.
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