GREEN BAY – The Packers conducted a full-pads practice in front of a lively crowd at Nitschke Field on Tuesday.
Here are five things learned from the workout:
1. It's clear who the tone-setter is on each side of the ball.
The ramped-up intensity from Sunday's practice carried over to Tuesday, and two guys remained right in the middle of all the action, doing their part to bring the juice – TE Tucker Kraft and LB Zaire Franklin.
On one pass Kraft caught in the flat, he collided with Franklin in the open field with a hit more forceful than the typical practice "thud." Then later, after Kraft caught another pass over the middle, Franklin came in a tad late with his shoulder, knocking Kraft down.
"Coach makes us put shoulder pads on, so I got to make sure they work," Franklin joked. "That's all that is."
Kidding aside, Kraft and Franklin actually got into it a little bit in last summer's joint practice in Indianapolis, when Franklin was with the Colts. He claims he doesn't remember it, but as for the here and now, the veteran linebacker has a ton of respect for how Kraft plays the game.
It's not coincidence in Franklin's mind the last two practices have been Kraft's first in 11-on-11 work and the most spirited of camp thus far.
"Yeah, he's a dog. That's how it's supposed to be," he said. "With Tuck being out there, I told him, 'I feel like that's what the team is missing.' Like, he brings that same energy, that same competitiveness, that same (mean) mentality that I feel like I bring on the defense. That's what Tuck can do for the offense.
"We laugh about it. Me and Tuck eat breakfast together every morning. I think we could just decide that we're fighting that day, and we're still going to eat breakfast together the next morning. So yeah, it's good to have them out there for sure."
2. The Packers appear to be getting healthier.
RB Josh Jacobs returned to practice from his early camp groin injury and was doing individual drills only. Edge rusher Lukas Van Ness also returned after missing Sunday's practice due to a shoulder injury.
Meanwhile, LG Aaron Banks and DT Javon Hargrave took their first 11-on-11 snaps of camp as both are working their way back from knee injuries.
"It went well," Banks said of his limited work. "Took a big step today and got to go do some team reps, and I was very intentional with those, being locked in. It's just being intentional in my fundamentals. I know I've got less time than the guys have had, so that's the main thing."
At cornerback, both Carrington Valentine (hamstring) and Domani Jackson (core) were active in 11-on-11 as well after separate layoffs.
The only new absence was undrafted rookie edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly, who sat out with a knee injury.
WR Bo Melton also dropped out of practice late after barely missing a diving catch on a deep ball. He was slow to get up, left the field with the athletic trainers, and then returned to the sideline without his helmet and pads. He told reporters he had a stinger from the fall and was fine.
3. The cornerback rotation is in full swing.
Keisean Nixon, Brandon Cisse, Benjamin St-Juste, and Valentine all got snaps with the first-team defense at different points during practice in what has become the biggest competition of camp. Even the rookie Jackson, just getting back into 11-on-11, got some reps with the ones.
"It's only gonna make us better," safety Xavier McKinney said. "You see the guys keep elevating their game each and every day, and that's going to be good for us in the long run. Because even the guys that will be the depth guys, you still have that level of competitiveness and just that intentionality about everything you do, so when you do go in there, there's no drop off."
Head Coach Matt LaFleur suggested the corner competition won't necessarily end when Week 1 rolls around.
"We're just looking for 11 starters out there," he said. "If we have to rotate guys (in games), we'll rotate them – we're not afraid to do that. We do it on the offensive side, we do it with our D line, we've done with our O-line, we've done it in the receiver room. So, I'm not afraid to do that in that room, either."
4. There were several candidates for play and/or player of the day.
QB Jordan Love had a strong day with a number of sharp throws, including several completions to WR Matthew Golden. Love concluded with a perfectly thrown seam ball to TE Drake Dabney for a touchdown in red-zone work at the end of practice.
Earlier, TE Josh Whyle made a diving catch near the sideline on a nifty back-shoulder throw from Love (though the defense might've had a sack before he got the pass off), and Kraft made a highlight-reel one-handed grab of a shot up the seam. Kraft reached up between two defenders, deflected the ball to himself, and even used his helmet to help bring it in. And then managed to keep running.
"That was crazy," Love said. "As I threw it, I'd seen Keisean kind of falling off. I was like, 'Oh, I think I overthrew this one.' That's just a crazy, crazy catch by him, making a one-handed play. But that's just some of the magic he brings to the field."
WR Savion Williams also had an impressive diving catch on a deep ball from QB Tyrod Taylor, and Williams had a pair of receptions from QB Kyle McCord as well.
Defensively, Van Ness in 11-on-11 and Brenton Cox Jr. in one-on-ones both had strong days rushing the passer. The defense also won the two-minute drill between the first units, as it came down to a red-zone pass with 12 seconds on the clock.
Love tried to fit a ball into a tight window to WR Christian Watson at the goal line. Amidst the traffic, LB Edgerrin Cooper deflected the ball several feet up, and Franklin brought it down for the interception.
"Coop made a great play," Franklin said. "The ball was in the air, and X is a good teammate. He let me catch it."
McKinney replied: "Nah, he was gonna get that anyway. He was closer to it than I was."
5. The starters will play again, in the second preseason game in Denver, but that'll be it.
LaFleur confirmed the starters will get more preseason game action this week, but they won't play in the preseason finale next week because they'll get extensive work in the joint practice with Arizona two days prior.
The No. 1 defense played just three snaps in the preseason opener, getting a three-and-out against Pittsburgh. But McKinney said even a small workload helps because there's live tackling, which isn't done in practice.
"The real speed of the game is always a good refresher for us," he said. "So I think that's why we do it. Since I've been here, we've done it … just so when we actually start the season, we start the first game, it's not our first time of full live action."
