Breaking down the Green Bay Packers training camp battles to watch heading into 2024.
Last season the Green Bay Packers surprised everyone. What looked to be the beginning of a rebuild with a new quarterback quickly turned into a retooling, as the team became the youngest team in NFL history to make the playoffs. Jordan Love progressed and continued to show flashes, the run game was dominant and the defense elevated their play to a competitive level. The Packers were a fun team to watch. They even went on to upset the Cowboys in Dallas and take the eventual NFC Champions, the San Francisco 49ers all the way to the wire. Entering the 2024 season, the Packers look to continue to develop their young talent. Here are five of the most important position battles to keep in mind as the Packers enters training camp!
Left Tackle
During the first game of the 2023 season, David Bakhtiari went down with an injury that would sideline him for the entire season. It would also thrust Rasheed Walker into the starting role. Walker played respectfully in his first season as a starter (ranked 44th overall by PFF), but during the 2024 NFL Draft the Packers used a first round pick on Jordan Morgan to be the tackle of the future. The two will battle in Packers training camp for the right to protect Jordan Love’s blind side, but don’t be shocked if the loser of this battle is moved to another position along the line, continuing to shake up the group up front for the Packers.
Wide Receiver
One of the main surprises of this Packers team is how young their receiving core is. The main battle during camp here is who will emerge as the true top target of the offense. Jayden Reed looks to be the best overall receiver, but Christian Watson has the higher ceiling with “boom” games. Romeo Doubs also stepped up when the others were out with injuries and Dontayvion Wicks even showed some flashes as a weapon for Green Bay. Overall, the receivers should continue to develop chemistry with franchise quarterback Jordan Love. Yet, all eyes will be on who emerges as the main threat for the team.
Safety
The Packers main focus this offseason was looking at the safety position. The team signed Xavier McKinney from the New York Giants in free agency, who was graded in the top five by PFF the season prior. However, the real position battle in camp is who is going to be lined up beside him. The Packers drafted three safeties from the second round of the draft to the fifth round. That is a sign that the team wants a change to occur sooner rather than later within the secondary. Evan Williams, Javon Bullard and Kitan Oladapo are all competing for that secondary starting job and will be one of the pristine matchups to watch during Green Bay Packers training camp.
Running Back
The Packers and Aaron Jones each went their separate ways this season. Yet, instead of turning to AJ Dillon – the running back in waiting – the Packers signed Josh Jacobs to a new deal. At first, this just seems like business as usual. However, during the draft, the Packers picked up running back MarShawn Lloyd No. 88 overall.
AJ Dillon’s yards per carry has dropped each season he’s been in the league, down to 3.4 this past season, and has been dealing with some injuries that have left him sidelined. If he ends up having a less then stellar camp, the “Quadfather” might be out of his role as the RB2 in Green Bay.
Quarterback
Cheeseheads, don’t worry, I’m not about to make the claim that Love is going to have to compete for the starting job. He earned the title as the Packers next franchise quarterback with his play throughout the second half (and playoffs) of last season. No, this camp battle is going to be between the backup quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.
Pratt was a quarterback that many scouts had as a project piece who could one day shine in his own right. He was a projected second to third rounder who the Packers were able to secure in the seventh. Clifford is by no means an awful backup, but when you have the talent available at the position the two players will look to battle it out during the camp process.
Randy Vuxta
Randy Vuxta (@RandallVuxta) is a beat writer covering sports picks and dynasty/redraft content for The League Winners with a little over a decade playing fantasy football. Before joining the staff, he studied Journalism and Sports Business management and created The Randy Report, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all things sports. When he’s not watching game film or the latest Marvel release, he can be found on Twitch streaming everything from Spider-Man to NBA2K. Randy looks to not only win every league he joins, but help others achieve that goal as well.