Packer Central

Five Standouts from Packers vs. Patriots

The Packers took on the Patriots in their second preseason game. With position battles still up in the air, here are five players that stood out from Saturday's game.

Jacob Westendorf

Five Standouts from Packers vs. Patriots
Five Standouts from Packers vs. Patriots /
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The Green Bay Packers, after a hotly contested week of joint practices, got to play a game on Saturday night. 

In a sloppy back-and-forth affair, the Packers lost 21-17 to the New England Patriots in a game that was ended early due to a scary injury involving Patriots defensive back Isaiah Bolden.

Jordan Love started, and once the starting offense shook off an errant snap from Josh Myers, they were able to move the ball consistently against a tough Patriots defense.

Love finished 5-of-8 passing for 84 yards and an impressive touchdown strike to rookie receiver Jayden Reed. 

Love has led a touchdown drive in both of his preseason games. His ball placement has been spotty at times but, overall, the results have been good. 

In addition to Love, here are five other players that stood out. 

Rasheed Walker

Walker stood out before the game even started.

David Bakhtiari is one of few starters not playing this preseason as the team tries to get him ready for the games that count in the standings. 

When Bakhtiari has been on the shelf in recent years, Yosh Njiman has been his primary backup.

This year, Njiman was in a competition for the right tackle spot, but it appears Zach Tom has run away with that job.

While Njiman has started 21 games in the last two seasons, it appears he's not only lost out on right tackle but lost ground for the swing tackle spot, as well.

Walker along with the rest of the first-team offensive line kept Jordan Love clean. 

LaFleur was asked about Walker starting instead of Njiman. He noted that Walker had a good week of practice and the team wanted to see him against the Patriots' starters. 

Walker played the entire first half before trading in the helmet for a baseball cap for the second half. 

Njiman is entering a contract year. The Packers have typically gone heavy on the offensive line. Maybe this development is just to see what Walker has, but one has to wonder what this means for Njiman's short- and long-term future.

Kingsley Enagbare

Kingsley Enagbare
Kingsley Enagbare (Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images)

It'd be easy to forget about Kingsley Enagbare in the Packers' edge room. 

Of course, that room is led by Rashan Gary and Preston Smith. The fanfare this offseason has gone to first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and undrafted rookie Brenton Cox. 

Meanwhile, Enagbare had a good season as a fifth-round pick a year ago. He was mostly pressed into starting duty after Gary went down for the season with an ACL injury. 

Enagbare had a full day's work in just a little more than quarter of action. He finished the night with two sacks, including a strip-sack in which he recovered the fumble. Talk about doing it all.

The turnover led to the Packers' second touchdown drive of the night. 

Gary has yet to return for team drills. If he is not fully ready by the first week of the regular season, Enagbare has the best case to be the team's starter opposite of Preston Smith at this point.

Karl Brooks

If not for Enagbare's performance, Brooks might have been the most impressive player on the Packers' defense.

Brooks lived in the Patriots' backfield. 

My unofficial count had him at three pressures and a tackle for loss against the run. He also had a sack wiped out by an illegal-contact penalty. Brooks and his draft classmate, Colby Wooden, have given the Packers' pass rush some juice early in preseason.

The next step for Brooks will be whether he can make plays against starting-caliber offensive linemen. 

Malik Heath

There may not be a greater compliment Matt LaFleur can give than calling one of his wide receivers a "goon."

That's exactly the type of phrasing he used to describe Malik Heath's play style earlier this preseason. 

“They are looking for a goon, so I’m going to try and fill that role,” Heath said last Sunday. “I’m going to try to do anything to make this team."

That includes blocking opposing defensive backs into oblivion.

Saturday night, however, Heath showed off his skills catching passes, as well.

Dontayvion Wicks was sidelined most of the night with a hamstring injury. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed didn't play long.

That meant Heath was one of the receivers given the lions share of reps on this night. Heath was the team's leading receiver with five receptions for 75 yards. 

It's unclear if Heath will make the roster but, as of now, he's been the best receiver in preseason outside of their top three. 

He will have one more big week ahead of him as the team has one final exhibition game before the final cut-down day on Aug. 29. 

Anders Carlson

Carlson has had an up-and-down training camp. 

He has plenty of leg but has struggled with accuracy. That was on display last week as he made his first three kicks before missing two straight extra points.

General manager Brian Gutekunst and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia both gave Carlson a vote of confidence in their media availability this week. 

"Not right now,” Gutekunst said when asked about bringing in competition. “Certainly, that’s something as we go along, we’ll always take a look. We’re always prepared from an injury perspective and have all those things ready. But not something I would do any time soon."

Just before halftime, Carlson made what is to date the biggest kick of his career. A 52-yard field goal before halftime gave the Packers a 17-14 lead. It was just one kick, but it's easy to wonder what that might have done for the young kicker's confidence. 

More Green Bay Packers News

Five things we learned from Brian Gutekunst

Packers-Patriots preseason: Five players to watch

Packers-Patriots preseason: Here’s why Jordan Love will start

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF

Jacob Westendorf, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2015, is a writer for Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: jacobwestendorf24@gmail.com History: Westendorf started writing for Packer Central in 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobWestendorf Background: Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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