Green Bay Packers: 3 players trending up & 3 trending down

With the completion of the Green Bay Packers first preseason game, these are three players who helped themselves and three who hurt themselves.

The Green Bay Packers took the field for their first preseason game against the Houston Texans. The final score of the game was 28-26 in favor of the Packers but ultimately, the final score doesn’t matter.

However, what does matter is who helped themselves in terms of making the 53-man roster and who hurt their cases and now have an uphill battle ahead of them.

There are still a number of practices and three preseason games left but after the first game, these three players are feeling pretty good about where they sit, while the other three should be a bit concerned.

Guys who helped themselves

Darrius Shepherd

Shepherd is a player that’s been getting some buzz out of camp the last couple of days. Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers have both complimented him and how he’s performed early in camp.

Shepherd was able to make a play in front of the Lambeau faithful when he caught a touchdown pass from DeShone Kizer. Shepherd is an interesting prospect because of his ability to play in the slot.

As it stands, the Green Bay Packers don’t have a “traditional” slot receiver on their roster. Even with all the buzz Shepherd is a long shot to make the roster at this point but if he continues to make plays and provide value on special teams, he’ll give himself a fighting chance.

Ty Summers

Summers had an excellent opportunity fall into his lap early in the game when he was announced as a starter. Summers had been running mostly with the 3s behind Curtis Bolton and James Crawford in training camp.

However tonight, Summers was all over the field early in the game. He was able to show the sideline-to-sideline speed that made him a draft pick. He has some things to work on, but with Oren Burks potentially sidelined due to a shoulder injury, he will have more opportunities to make a name for himself.

Ka’dar Hollman

Hollman was kind of a forgotten man in the Packers’ secondary coming into Training Camp with the presence of guys like Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, and Tramon Williams, it’s easy to forget that Hollman is on the team.

But the rookie continues to open eyes with an impressive Training Camp and that continued during the game against the Texans. Hollman was sticky in coverage and picked off Joe Webb in the red zone in the first half. Hollman remains unlikely to make a significant impact on the regular season roster, but if he continues to string together solid performances he will be hard to ignore.

Guys who hurt themselves 

J’Mon Moore

Moore simply hasn’t been able to put things together through his young NFL career. It probably seems harsh to say these things, but he has yet to make a play of significance to this point of his career.

He was able to catch a touchdown after two bad drops but bobbled the ball on the play. His hands have been inconsistent at best during his short time in the league and to this point, there’s no question that there have been at least six receivers on the roster that have played better than him.

When you’re in a position battle that’s this close, you have to take advantage of every opportunity. Moore hasn’t done that yet. Things can change, but right now it’s hard to imagine he’s feeling comfortable about his chances to make the roster.

Lane Taylor

Taylor didn’t do anything on the field necessarily to hurt his play, but the sign of him playing when the rest of starting offensive line is on the bench isn’t a good one. The Green Bay Packers haven’t come out and said anything, but Taylor is competing for his job.

Earlier in the week, rookie Elgton Jenkins was taking snaps with the starting offense. Jenkins was a top-50 pick in this year’s draft and it’s likely the Packers want him to get on the field early if it’s remotely close between Jenkins and Taylor. Right now, it appears it is and Taylor has some work to do if he wants to remain in the starting lineup long-term.

Oren Burks 

Forgive the pun, but the old adage is that you cannot make the club in the tub. Burks lost a chunk of last preseason with a shoulder injury. That injury along with the inability to develop kept him off the field for a majority of the season.

There are already questions as to whether Burks can hold up in the run game and the Packers’ depth at inside linebacker is paper-thin after Blake Martinez. They need Burks to be the player they drafted him to be. For now, he’ll be on the trainer’s table hoping to get back on the field as quickly as possible.