Notes & Takeaways from Packers Family Night Practice

The Green Bay Packers held their annual Family Night practice at Lambeau Field on Friday evening.

Here are the key notes and takeaways from what took place with the Packers.

-As Matt Schneidman of The Athletic would note, edge rusher Randy Ramsey did not suit up. He suffered a severe ankle injury last summer and missed the entire 2021 season. Brian Gutekunst mentioned Ramsey as someone that the team was “excited” to have back this summer. La’Darius Hamilton and Tipa Galeai have dominated the early reps with the second-team defense, but Ramsey, Jonathan Garvin, and Kingsley Enagbare have all had reps as well.

-Ramsey was the only new addition to the injury list, but other Packers still sidelined included Crosby, Watson, Nixon, P. Taylor, Hill, Schneider, Bakhtiari, Jenkins, Mitchell, Tonyan, and M. Taylor.

-Green Bay’s starting offensive line tonight was a combination that we’ve seen a lot of so far, with Nijman at left tackle, followed by Runyan, Myers, Hanson, and Newman. Zach Tom was also worked in at right tackle as well.

-Hanson flies under the radar, but with his ability to play any of the interior positions, he very much seems like a roster lock.

-Romeo Doubs, Ishmael Hyman, Amari Rodgers, and Aaron Jones all had return opportunities. But as Matt LaFleur said earlier this week, Jones is getting reps for emergency situations. Meanwhile, Doubs averaged 12.4 yards per punt return while at Nevada, per PFF ($$).

-Savage left with what looked like a hamstring injury. Vernon Scott took over for him. There has been some very good competition at safety this summer, but this is a position very much lacking experience behind Savage and Amos.

-Running sideline to sideline against this Packers defense has proven very difficult so far this summer. The defensive front is flowing well with the football while Campbell and Walker are flying around filling gaps.

-TJ Slaton continues to have a really nice summer. He took some reps with the first team defense tonight as the nose tackle. He may not always fill up the stat sheet, but he will take on double-teams and eat-up space which will benefit his teammates.

-Isaiah McDuffie had a near interception of Jordan Love. It’s early, but he’s put himself in a good position to make the roster–specifically, as a special teams contributor, although he does appear much more comfortable in this defense in Year 2.

-Jack Coco has taken most of the field goal snaps with the first team unit, but on punts tonight, he and Steven Wirtel were alternating. It’s important to note that Coco only worked with the field goal unit while at Georgia Tech.

-Overall, it was a rough showing for the punt team. High snaps, penalties, and pressure on Pat O’Donnell. Amari Rodgers did look much more decisive returning punts–as I”m sure you recall, he struggled to get vertical last season.

-Dominique Dafney had some reps with the first team offense. As of now, he may be the odd man out at tight end, but he’s a willing blocker and effective out of the backfield. He is also a player who could thrive on special teams under Rich Bisaccia. I don’t think that keeping five tight ends is out of the question.

-Rookie kicker Gabe Brkic remains inconsistent, which is what is expected from a young kicker and why Mason Crosby is going to be the Packers’ kicker for another year.

-Samori Toure made several plays on Friday night. It’s been a quiet camp for him so far offensively–at least from the outside looking in. He and Juwann Winfree are competing for that seventh wide receiver role, if the Packers even keep that many. My guess is that they roster only six.

-We keep hearing about Jordan Love’s confidence growing this season, and it was evident on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Toure as he had Devonte Wyatt in his face. But Love stepped into the throw and delivered a strike. Overall, it was a bit of an up and down performance for him.

-It was a rough night for rookie Sean Rhyan at right guard, who was called for two penalties and burned by Wyatt on the play mentioned above.

-As Aaron Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show last month, it could be a long training camp for the offense, and this practice was another example of that. Whether on the ground or through the air, the defense is allowing very little.

-Quay Walker was everywhere tonight. There was one play where he lost Josiah Deguara, but his skill-set next to De’Vondre Campbell is going to allow this defense to play so fast and with a lot of flexibility.

– There were lot of opportunities for UDFA running backs Tyler Goodson and BJ Baylor with Patrick Taylor out. The third running back role still seems to be very much wide open.

-We haven’t heard Wyatt’s name a lot this summer, but he had several nice pass rush reps tonight, displaying speed, power, and a spin move.