Three Packers that came out of OTAs/minicamp as winners
The Green Bay Packers are officially done with OTAs and minicamp, so now we wait until the back half of July, when training camp starts. There won't be much going on, if anything at all, over the next five weeks, but there's still plenty to talk about. Especially with a young team like the Packers […]
The Green Bay Packers are officially done with OTAs and minicamp, so now we wait until the back half of July, when training camp starts.
There won't be much going on, if anything at all, over the next five weeks, but there's still plenty to talk about. Especially with a young team like the Packers that is reloading and undergoing a ton of change.
So, without further ado, let's talk about three players that really saw their stock rise after OTAs/minicamp.
Three Winners From Packers OTAs/minicamp
DB Innis Gaines
The Packers have a ton of bodies vying for jobs in the secondary, so players are going to have to find ways to stand out if they want to make the team.
Gaines is doing just that, according to reports from camp. The Packers are trying him at both safety and nickel, which is obviously great because the more you can do, the better the chances of surviving final cuts.
But Gaines is also making plays. Per Packer Central's Bill Huber, the second-year player picked off the final pass of minicamp. His offseason has been solid enough to where he has a legit shot of making the roster.
Gaines will enter training camp in position to earn a roster spot, even with the seventh-round draft picks used on cornerback Carrington Valentine and safety Anthony Johnson and the additions of veterans Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore in free agency. Gaines started one game last season and is a viable option to play safety and slot. – Bill Huber, Packers Central
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The Packers have three viable perimeter corners in Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Eric Stokes, but they have a big question mark at the nickel position. Keisean Nixon is currently the No. 1 option and it sounds like he's had a good offseason, so far. But, as we all know, all it takes is one bad injury for Nixon to go down.
So, the Packers need a capable guy backing up Nixon. That opens the door for Gaines as he continues his push to be a part of the final 53. It's awesome to see him still in the mix, considering he was working for Door Dash just a few years ago.
OLB Justin Hollins
Reports out of OTAs were along the lines of a solid session for rookie first-rounder Lukas Van Ness. So of course the Packers threw everyone a curveball by giving Justin Hollins the No. 1 reps throughout minicamp.
He didn't join the Packers until Week 12 of last year, but he still managed to rack up 2.5 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits on about 21 snaps/game. So, it makes sense Joe Barry would want to see if that's carrying over into the offseason.
The Packers may as well experiment while Rashan Gary is out. It's unclear if he'll be ready to go by training camp, but the end of July marks the 8-1/2 month mark since his injury and the initial recovery timeline was reported to be around 9-11 months.
So, it'll be interesting to see if the Packers continue the Hollins experiment at the start of camp. And it'll be even more interesting to see if the veteran can hold off Van Ness and second-year pass rusher Kingsley Enagbare.
K Anders Carlson
The Carlson Era continues to roll right on along. The rookie hooked a 44-yarder wide right on one attempt, but nailed the other 11, finishing his minicamp with an 11-of-12 hit rate that included a 100% rate from 50+.
He even has his teammate, star running back Aaron Jones, raving about him.
"Man, this guy can kick with some power and he's a big guy, too," Jones told reporters during camp. "… I believe he can hit [a] 60 [yard field goal], easy… You can ask [running back] AJ [Dillon]… When he [Carlson] was hitting him, I was over there cheering, like 'Aaahhh!'… I'm excited to see him."
It's never easy replacing a franchise great and Carlson still has a long way to go, but so far, everything is falling right into place for the young man.
Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave just missed the list, as he continued to climb the Packers depth chart during OTAs/minicamp and there's also the ever-evolving Jordan Love-Romeo Doubs connection, so there's a lot to like from the last few weeks.
But, as we all know, the cream will really start to rise when the pads come on during camp. That doesn't take anything away from the last several weeks, but it will certainly have a major hand in what happens leading up to final cuts.
Featured image via Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
