4 Under the Radar Green Bay Packers to Watch in Training Camp
By Paul Bretl
On the high end, there may be about 45 roster spots already accounted for on this Green Bay Packers team. On the low end, there could be around 40–depending on how you feel about certain players.
Every year during training camp and the preseason, there is a player or two who seemingly comes out of nowhere to impress and earns one of those available spots on the 53-man roster. Here is a closer look at potentially four of those players who are flying a bit under the radar heading into the summer programs.
Green Bay Packers Under the Radar Player: Rico Gafford – CB
The Green Bay Packers signed Rico Gafford earlier this offseason as a wide receiver, which has been the only position that he has played since entering the NFL in 2018 as an undrafted rookie. However, prior to OTAs, Gafford made the move to cornerback, which is the position he played while in college at Wyoming.
While how Gafford performs on defense this summer will of course be important, if he is on this Green Bay Packers 53-man roster, it is going to be more so because of his potential special teams contributions.
Eric Stokes, Jaire Alexander, and Rasul Douglas will see most of the snaps, while Keisean Nixon appears to be the front-runner for that fourth cornerback role. I also expect Shemar Jean-Charles to make the roster as well because of what he can offer both from the slot and on special teams–leaving one spot open if the Packers keep six cornerbacks as they regularly have under Matt LaFleur.
What makes Gafford an intriguing player to watch this summer is that coming out of Wyoming, he possessed 4.22 speed. That ability to get downfield quickly will serve him quite well as a gunner, where he spent time with the first team during minicamp–which included recovering a fumble on a muffed punt.
One of the big questions with Gafford in that gunner role, however, will be how well does he tackle? Especially since he is just now making the switch from the offensive to the defensive side of the ball.
After an ugly performance by the special teams unit a season ago, there is a needed emphasis on that phase of the game this offseason, which creates a more defined path for Gafford to make this roster if he can perform well this summer.