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Several Packers starters play key special teams roles in Week 1

By Paul Bretl

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 11: Rasul Douglas #29 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before the start of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Packers 23-7. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 11: Rasul Douglas #29 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before the start of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Packers 23-7. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /
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There is no magic cure-all for the Green Bay Packers special teams unit. Rather, it was going to take a culmination of things taking place, including potentially using key players on special teams.

This is something that head coach Matt LaFleur said the team would look into following their playoff loss to San Francisco. It’s also an idea that new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia discussed this offseason.

Several key Green Bay Packers starters played key roles on special teams against the Vikings

Throughout training camp, we would hear reports about starters taking special teams reps. Those obviously weren’t only for emergency situations, as several key starters played a healthy dose of special teams snaps against Minnesota.

According to PFF ($$), Darnell Savage, Adrian Amos, Dean Lowry, Rashan Gary, Jarran Reed, Kenny Clark, and Preston Smith all played between five and seven special teams snaps on Sunday. Josiah Deguara would play 11, with Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes each on the field for 12.

For some context, Gary, Smith, and Clark all played fewer than 13 total special teams snaps a season ago. Douglas had 90, Lowry 136, Deguara 141, Amos 15, Stokes 48, and Savage 18—all of whom (except for Lowry) are going to blow those snap counts out of the water on their current pace.

On the flip side, Green Bay’s top special teams contributors in 2021 were Oren Burks, Henry Black, Isaac Yiadom, and Ty Summers, none of whom are even on the team anymore.

The end result of Sunday’s game was a special teams unit that wasn’t great by any means, but one that avoided major mistakes and was fundamentally more sound than what we’ve previously seen—although, don’t get me wrong, there is still room for improvement. For what it’s worth, the special teams unit still didn’t grade out well by PFF’s metrics.

As is always the case in football, there are many factors that went into the special teams’ performance, but you have to think that having some of the Packers’ best players on the field certainly helped.

There is, of course, injury risk to key players that comes with this, and it is something LaFleur acknowledged in the offseason. However, based on week one, it’s a risk the Packers are willing to take in order to turn this unit around.

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