5 position battles to watch at Packers’ mandatory minicamp
The Green Bay Packers kick off their mandatory minicamp this week with practices from June 13-15. It’s open to the media on June 13 and 14, giving us another peek behind the curtain.
Green Bay has more instability on its depth chart than ever before. That’s part of their youth movement and a newfound focus on resetting their roster and salary cap and building around Jordan Love.
With that movement comes a lot of excitement and hope. It also brings uncertainties. With several positions up for grabs this season, here are five position battles to pay attention to during mandatory minicamp.
Keep a close eye on these five position battles set to take place this week during the Green Bay Packers 2022 mandatory minicamp.
Wide Receiver 3: Jayden Reed vs Samori Toure
Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are set at the top of the depth chart for wide receivers. Everything after that is up in the air. Jayden Reed and Samori Toure project to be next in line and should significantly impact this roster. Toure flashed as a seventh-round rookie last year before an injury prematurely ended his season. This year, Reed, a second-round pick, is the perfect slot player for the Packers offense. The two will hopefully be healthy enough to get some on-the-field reps during minicamp and begin what’s sure to be a season-long offseason battle.
Tight end 1: Luke Musgrave vs Tucker Kraft
Josiah Deguar appears set to play more of a fullback role in the Packers’ offense, removing him from this battle. Tucker Kraft missed Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and is behind the eight-ball already, as Luke Musgrave showed out. Musgrave looks like an NFL-level tight end and has a slight advantage over Kraft. However, Green Bay needs at least one of these rookies to produce at a high level in their first professional season.
The Zach Tom battles: Zach Tom vs Josh Myers and Zach Tom vs Yosh Nijman
I combined two battles into one for this one, as Zach Tom will have two opportunities to earn a starting gig. He took over for Yosh Nijman late in the season and held his own at right tackle. Nijman returned on a one-year deal and will be very motivated to earn significant playing time and boost his next contract. If Tom misses out, he’ll have a chance to start at center over the underwhelming Josh Myers. Tom’s versatility will be on full display during minicamp.
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Starting Safeties: Darnell Savage vs Rudy Ford vs Jonathan Owens vs Tarvarius Moore
Most of the attention has been on who will start alongside Darnell Savage, but Savage should be included in any starting safety battle. He lost the privilege of being given a starting nod based on his play in the last few seasons. Green Bay definitely took a quantity-over-quality approach this offseason, collecting a bunch of mediocre at best safeties to see if someone can emerge from the pack (no pun intended). It’s an uninspiring position battle, to say the least.