Green Bay Packers Rookie Progress Report

From Jordan Morgan to Kalen King, here is a look at the Green Bay Packers’ 11-man rookie class heading into Saturday’s Family Night.

Green Bay Packers first-round pick Jordan Morgan has been locked in at right guard. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFL Draft has been the lifeblood of the Green Bay Packers. Now, with Jordan Love signed to a record-setting contract extension, the draft will take on even greater importance.

“It’ll be important that we continue to draft well,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said when asked about the impact Love’s contract will have on the salary cap.

Armed with additional picks following the trades of Aaron Rodgers and Rasul Douglas, the Packers need their 2024 NFL Draft class to be especially powerful.

With nine days of training camp in the books and Packers Family Night coming up on Saturday, here is our first Packers Rookie Progress Report.

First Round: G/T Jordan Morgan

You remember the whole arm-length thing. Morgan was a three-year starting left tackle at Arizona but has arms especially short by NFL tackle standards. Can he join the extremely short list of starting tackles with arms shorter than 33 inches?

At this point, that question is irrelevant.

Morgan spent the offseason playing right and left tackle and right and left guard. During training camp, however, Morgan has been a one-position player. It’s early, obviously, and two sets of joint practices and three preseason games will weigh heavily, but Morgan has moved ahead of Sean Rhyan at right guard. He took the No. 1 reps for all three days of practice this week.

“I think every day he’s learning something new,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Thursday, “and he’s taken his lumps sometimes along the way, which is to be expected. But he certainly has everything you look for in a guy that could play in this league for a really long time. Just the athleticism, he just has to learn how to compete down in and down out vs. really good competition.”

Second Round: LB Edgerrin Cooper

The assumption was Cooper would push past veteran Eric Wilson for a starting spot in the base defense and potentially challenge Isaiah McDuffie for a spot in the two-linebacker nickel package.

Instead, Cooper has been unable to make any headway against Wilson, who is having a tremendous training camp. It’s not that Cooper has been bad. His athleticism is obvious, and he’s a lot stronger at the point of attack than you might think when you look at his frame.

Young linebackers are stressed by all the eye candy offenses use to have defenders looking the wrong way.

“It’s the same thing as college,” Cooper said after sitting out Thursday’s practice with a hip injury. “All the motions and stuff try to knock you off your alignment and try to get your eyes dirty and have you looking at the wrong thing. At this point, I’m getting used to it. Every once in a while, you might get knocked off but as long as you focus on your assignment, I feel like you’ll be fine.”

Cooper is questionable for Family Night.

Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

Second Round: S Javon Bullard

Bullard is part of the wide-open competition to be the safety opposite Xavier McKinney. Through nine practices, he has taken the No. 1 reps in four – including Thursday.

He’s been as-advertised. A star safety at Georgia in 2023 and a standout in the slot in 2022, Bullard’s not only in the mix to be a starting safety but to be the top backup in the slot. A “little stick of dynamite” at Georgia, Bullard frequently shows up around the ball. There’s been probably a half-dozen swing passes or checkdowns in which Bullard has arrived at the scene instantly to make a tackle.

His instincts and explosiveness have been evident, and he’s not going to shy away from contact. During the first day in pads, he leveled tight end Luke Musgrave.

Was that a moment he’d been looking forward to?

“Hell yeah. I haven’t hit nobody in a long time. If you’re a competitor, if you’re a football player, if you’re a physical guy, you [can’t wait] for things like that.”

His slot reps have been dicey, and he’s been beaten even by some of the deep backups during one-on-ones. However, he seems to be improving in that facet.

Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

Third Round: RB MarShawn Lloyd

After missing the start of training camp with a hip injury, Lloyd’s explosiveness has been on full display the past few days. On Thursday, he bounced a run to the left and took it about 50 yards for a touchdown. It’s possible Corey Ballentine would have made the tackle after a gain of about 5, but Lloyd had a full head of steam at that point.

Regardless of how that play would have ended in a live setting, it showed what Lloyd could bring to a backfield headlined by veterans Josh Jacobs and AJ Dillon.

“I want to have that playmaker mentality, being able to make defenders miss,” Lloyd said on Thursday. “When I’m going, I’m going. That’s something I really want to showcase a lot. Just being able to be out there and put it into fruition and just allow myself to put that on film was pretty cool.”

His ability to catch the ball – he had a nice all-hands grab on Thursday – and pass protect in the preseason will determine his early-season role.

Third Round: LB Ty’Ron Hopper

With veterans Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson and second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper ahead of him on the depth chart, Hopper won’t have to play on defense this year unless injuries slam the position. However, it’s easy to see his skill-set and nose for the ball and see a potential starter, which the Packers could need next year with McDuffie and Wilson headed to free agency.

In a span of three plays on Thursday, Hopper stopped two runs by Emanuel Wilson for minimal gains. With size and athleticism, he should be an impact player on special teams as a rookie while getting ready to potentially start in 2025.

“I love playing in the defense,” he said this week. “Just basically trying to play faster and faster every day (and) just trying to understand what everybody doing around me and things like that just to help me with my game.”

Fourth Round: S Evan Williams

Once upon a time, there was a rookie in a No. 33 jersey who seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. It’s as if the ball just found him. That was Micah Hyde.

Williams also wears No. 33. The ball just seems to find him, too. With a team-leading three interceptions during training camp, he is pushing Javon Bullard and second-year player Anthony Johnson for the starting spot opposite Xavier McKinney.

“He’s been great. He’s been great,” McKinney said. “He’s going to be really good. He’s made a lot of plays since we’ve been doing this. Even at OTAs, he made a lot of plays. He’s smart, he’s instinctual, so he’s a good guy.”

While Bullard has played a lot in the slot, Williams has been locked in at safety.

Asked about Bullard and Williams, LaFleur said: “I’m really excited about both those guys. Certainly, they have a skill-set, but the mental ability has been super-impressive. They’re versatile enough that we can interchange the safeties so you can’t get a bead on who’s going to be where. We’ve got a few guys who are challenging each other right now to roll opposite of X.”

Fifth Round: C/G Jacob Monk

Monk started close to 60 games at Duke, but life in the ACC is much different than life in the NFL.

With Elgton Jenkins getting the day off and Josh Myers out for personal reasons, Monk got some first-team reps at center on Thursday. It didn’t go well. That’s no reason to sound the alarm bells, though. The size of TJ Slaton and athleticism of Devonte Wyatt – two proven performers – are a handful for proven veterans. Monk is powerful, intelligent and oozing with intangibles. The upside is there.

Fifth Round: S Kitan Oladapo

The third of three safeties drafted this year, Oladapo suffered a broken toe at the Scouting Combine and finally made his Packers debut this week.

“A lot of mental reps,” he said. “Taking all the coaching points in the meetings. Obviously, I’m not watching myself, so any coaching point I can take and improve on, even if I already wrote it down three times, I’ll write it down again. …

“Looking at X and Bull and the other safeties, what are they doing well, what are they doing wrong and putting myself in their positions and what would I do in certain situations?”

Through three days, he has been limited to individual drills.  

“It’s frustrating to watch practice every day but, at the end of the day, I’m blessed and grateful to be here,” he said.

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Travis Glover / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sixth Round: OT Travis Glover

Glover started 57 games at Georgia State. He played both tackle spots in college but has been locked into right tackle, where he’s taken a bunch of third-team reps. He’ll be battling for a roster spot alongside the likes of Luke Tenuta, Kadeem Telfort, Caleb Jones and Andre Dillard.

Asked about Monk and Glover on Thursday, LaFleur said: “Just young players who are learning how to play this game at this level. I think they possess the qualities you look for in terms of the physique, the athleticism that we’re looking for at that position. I just think they’ve got a lot to learn. It’s going to be great to see how they progress throughout the course of the preseason, when we get into games and what they’re able to do.”

Seventh Round: QB Michael Pratt

Pratt was a touted quarterback prospect who surprisingly slipped into the seventh round. Gutekunst, who said before the draft that he’d like to start drafting quarterbacks with some regularity, pounced.

He’s off to a good start. After Sean Clifford’s mistake-filled start to camp, it seemed Pratt was ready to mount a challenge for the No. 2 spot. Clifford had a good week to earn some breathing room, but the battle will continue throughout the preseason.

“He shows really good arm talent, good arm strength,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said this week. “But any quarterback, and Sean Clifford kind of went through this last year, when you start getting into all these installs and all these plays, it’s not an easy thing to do.

“He’s very diligent, he’s got an excellent work ethic, so I’m just excited to kind of see him two weeks from now, see him by the end of camp where he is and how he’s developed. He can make all the throws on the field, and he’s got a very good work ethic, so, yeah, I’m hopeful.”

The Packers continue to carry four quarterbacks. The presence of Jacob Eason, who was signed when Love was not practicing, has taken some opportunities from Pratt.

Packers CB Kalen King / Courtesy Evan Siegle/Green Bay Packers

Seventh Round: CB Kalen King

King went from All-American in 2022 to the third-to-last pick in this year’s draft. He had an interception on Monday against Jordan Love and had tremendous coverage on third and fourth down to give the defense the win in a backups-vs.-backups 2-minute drill on Thursday.

“Little KK, he’s going to be all right,” starting nickel Keisean Nixon said. “He’s a young player. He just needs confidence. I think when he got his run against Love the other day, that boost his confidence up, got a little swagger to him. He’ll be all right. It’s what comes with this league. It’s going to humble you early, and you just have to learn how to fight through it.”

With Corey Ballentine, Robert Rochell and Carrington Valentine missing time with injuries, King has received a bunch of second-team reps at cornerback and slot.

The preseason will be huge, but it appears King is capable of outrunning his 40 time and draft fate.

“I feel like there’s been ups, there’s been downs but, at the end of the day, this is my job,” King said. “I’m glad to be in this position. There’s been ups and downs – that’s just what comes with camp – but I’m just trying to get better every day and take it step by step.”

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