Sportsnaut
Green Bay Packers training camp begins on Wednesday, July 29. It leaves players and the Packers’ coaching staff with just a few weeks more to prepare for the upcoming 2026 NFL season, early steps on the road to potentially hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Before Packers training camp begins, we’re highlighting a few players on Green Bay’s roster who fans should be keeping a particularly close eye on this summer.
The Packers’ defense is poised to be without All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons for at least four games, and there’s a strong chance he misses six-plus. Green Bay’s pass-rushing depth without him—Lukas Van Ness, Karl Brooks, Brenton Cox Jr. and Barryn Sorrell—is one of the thinnest in the NFL. It all puts more pressure on the shoulders of the former first-round pick. The Packers already exercised his 2027 fifth-year team option ($13.752 million), but his long-term future in Green Bay feels uncertain given he’s produced just 8.5 sacks in three seasons. We know he’s a versatile defender, as demonstrated by his ability to kick inside, but what everyone needs to see is if LVN can consistently win the one-on-one matchups to start proving he can become an above-average starter.
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Jager Burton, the 153rd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, made a strong first impression during the Packers’ minicamp and OTAs. It’s still his first summer with the team, and there were some growing pains, but he showcased the tools that could make him a starter as early as this season. Training camp is a different animal, however, with veterans bringing more intensity as the fight for starting jobs and a 53-man roster spots becomes real. It will be very interesting to see how many first-team reps Burton gets and what he does with them, because there’s a path to potentially unseating someone on the interior, and that would mean an immediate return on investment in the fifth-round pick.
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There are quite a few positions on the Packers’ roster that should be a source of some concern heading into training camp. Cornerback stands out the most. Second-round pick Brandon Cisse has the physical tools to become a starter, but he’s not anywhere close to being ready with his technique and discipline to start as a rookie. Free-agent signing Benjamin St-Juste is excellent on special teams and can be an effective rotational corner, but Green Bay would be in an awful spot if he is a primary starter on the perimeter.
This is Carrington Valentine’s job to lose. The 6-foot cornerback allowed just an 83.2 passer rating and 1 touchdown across his first two seasons on 89 targets. Last year, however, he surrendered a 121.1 passer rating and 7 touchdowns. There’s no margin for error here; Valentine needs to look more like the corner Green Bay saw...
