It’s only been two days, but we can start to identify a couple of the key players and narratives for this year’s Packers team already.
The Green Bay Packers have only practiced twice so far in training camp, but a few things are already becoming clear from this team’s early returns.
First: The offensive line will be a work in progress until the end of training camp, and possibly beyond that. There’s no Elgton Jenkins yet as he is dealing with a back issue and new arrival Aaron Banks sat out team drills in Thursday’s practice. That has led to Sean Rhyan taking snaps as the starting center, while Travis Glover — fresh off a nightmare in last year’s playoff game — subbed in at guard with the ones.
Hopefully the Packers get all of their top linemen back on the field together soon. They’ll need to figure out what’s going on at the right guard and left tackle spots, but without a full complement, it’s difficult to have a true position battle.
Meanwhile, Tucker Kraft might just be the focal point of the passing game this year. He was one nominee when we at APC wrote a series of posts last summer about who the Packers’ number one receiver would be, and he finished second behind only Jayden Reed in receptions and yards, while being 4th in targets. Given all of the talk about finding more ways to get him the football, could he be in for an even bigger role — something akin to peak Travis Kelce in Kansas City?
That’s admittedly a lofty goal. But with the team surrounding Kraft with a glut of receivers with different skill sets, the big tight end might just be the one constant on offense. After all, he’s already a better blocker than Kelce ever was, and he barely ever comes off the field. Don’t be shocked if he ends up as a top-5 tight end in terms of receiving production in 2025.
Today the team will practice for the third straight day, and that session will be followed by the Shareholders Meeting in the afternoon. It’s officially Mark Murphy’s last day on the job. So if you’re in the area, get down to Lambeau and give him a great send-off.
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