6 early breakout candidates for Packers’ 2023 season
The Green Bay Packers are looking for fresh faces to contribute in 2023, as they’ve moved on from several key veterans.
They’ve already completed their Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and are moving into the mandatory minicamp portion of their offseason. After that, they’ll be off until the end of July, when the team is expected to return for the start of training camp.
That still leaves a lot of offseason left–we’re roughly three months until the start of the season. However, some early breakout candidates are beginning to emerge.
These six players on the Green Bay Packers are early candidates to breakout during the youth movement of the 2023 NFL Season.
Caleb Jones
Currently, Green Bay is set at offensive tackle, with David Bakhtiari, Zach Tom and Yosh Nijman leading the charge. However, Bakhtiari’s future beyond 2023 is questionable, considering his massive salary cap hit, and Nijman is on a one-year deal. Caleb Jones was a long-term project last year and has shown strides in workouts this offseason. He’s already making a solid case for the fourth tackle position and could be two injuries away from playing significant snaps.
JJ Enagbare
The Packers selected Lukas Van Ness in the first round of this year’s draft, and he’s expected to play a significant role alongside Preston Smith and Rashan Gary. JJ Enagbare- barely older than Ness and a fifth-round selection last year- will also be a big part of the rotation. He filled in admirably for Gary following the latter’s ACL tear and showed enough flashes to be worthy of a more extended look. If he builds upon last year and Van Ness is a capable rookie, Green Bay suddenly has a quality rotation at outside linebacker.
Zach Tom
Likely, Zach Tom will start somewhere along the offensive line in 2023; we just don’t know where yet. He’ll compete with incumbent Josh Myers at center while also battling Yosh Nijman, whom he replaced later in the season, at right tackle. The Packers have something in Tom, who proved himself to be a versatile, capable lineman in his rookie campaign. I’m excited to see what’s next in his sophomore season.
Devonte Wyatt
Devonte Wyatt rarely saw the field during his rookie year, but that changed over the season’s last three weeks. His best game also happened to be their last one of the season, in which he posted a 90.6 PFF grade on 32 snaps. With Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed gone, Wyatt will step in as the starter alongside Kenny Clark.
Romeo Doubs
Both Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson could become breakout wide receivers this season. With Allen Lazzard, Randall Cobb and Robert Tonyan gone, there are a lot of receptions to go around. Doubs has demonstrated great rapport with the next man on this list and has received heaps of praise from media and coaches during OTAs. His style perfectly compliments Watson, and I’m excited to see what lies ahead.
Next. 5 questions for Packers heading into mandatory minicamp. dark
Jordan Love
Okay, this is an obvious one. After sitting on the bench for three years behind Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love will be able to show us what he’s got. It’s essential to follow in Matt LaFleur’s footsteps and temper expectations, and to be excited at the same time. He has some young, budding weapons around him, and we’ll see how LaFleur makes life easier with some designed offense.