This is a very important week for the Green Bay Packers. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the roster comes together for the mandatory minicamp, the last week of offseason activities before the summer break — and after that, it's training camp time.

Most of the team was already in Green Bay for OTAs, which made head coach Matt LaFleur excited for what's ahead.

"Our attendance here, I know we had one guy (cornerback Robert Rochell) missing today for a personal matter," LaFleur mentioned. "But we've had almost 100% the entire offseason, which has been the best that we've had since I've been here."

Anyway, the mandatory minicamp is another chance for players to be on the field together. As the practice time has been limited over the last decade, each and every opportunity to get on the same page is invaluable.

For the defense, it's a particularly relevant moment. Players are still learning the new scheme under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and team reps are decisive to get ready as soon as possible.

"I think it's going to be really good," defensive tackle Clark said during OTAs. "It's one of the things where all my career I've been kind of playing this way but in more of a controlled way. And I think now this is giving us a chance to shut all that other stuff off. Just use your ability and just go up the field and be disruptive. I just think with my get-off and how I am, I think it's going to suit me well."

And the mandatory minicamp is a big spot for these three players, including Clark.

Kenny Clark

This is a big year for Clark for several reasons. First, he's entering a contract year and hasn't reached an extension with the Packers. Moreover, the new scheme motivates him to rush the passer, which can be helpful when the talks about a new deal heat up.

"I always wondered what it was like," Clark said about playing under this type of defense. "But now that I'm in it, I see how they made so many TFLs [tackles for loss] and all those plays they were always making. It all makes sense."

Clark has practiced more as a 3-tech, reducing his original role as a nose tackle. That brings him more responsibilities as a pass rusher, and his ability to penetrate the offensive line will be extremely important for what the Packers want to do.

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Quay Walker

The Packers drafted Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hopper on day 2, but they still need Quay Walker. As both rookies are will linebackers, Quay is expected to move to the middle and wear the green dot to call defensive plays.

They count on him to master the system and take a step forward to at least partially justify the big investment the Packers made in him two years ago, taking him with the 22nd overall pick.

"Quay's a talented player," Jeff Hafley said. "As we build this thing, we're going to make sure he's in position to make a lot of plays. So whatever we feel as we piece it together where that is, that's where we'll put him."

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Eric Stokes

Stokes has a lot to prove in 2024, after two rough seasons with injuries and bad performances. The Packers declined his fifth-year option, which means he's also entering a contract year — and without assurances of what's ahead. After so many issues, Stokes just wants a new chance to be what he showed in 2021.

"Of course, from the start, I was mad," Stokes said about his sequence of injuries. "I was frustrated, everything just going wrong. But at the end of the day, it's a bigger picture with everything. It was a lesson I had to go through for every little thing. Now, it's time to show."

Stokes spent a part of his offseason trying to understand the root of his hamstring issues. Alongside Christian Watson, he visited with specialists at Badger Athletic Performance on the campus of UW-Madison to make tests. It was determined that his surgically repaired foot wasn't as strong as it needed to be, which caused more pressure on Stokes' hamstring and calf.

Now that Stokes knows that, his job is to prepare the right way to be ready for a full season.

Three key Packers offensive players to watch in the mandatory minicamp

Green Bay has the last activities of the offseason this week