4 Days Until Training Camp: 10 Biggest Questions

Here are the 10 biggest questions that must be answered during Packers training camp, from A (ACLs) to, well, A (Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon carrying the offense).

GREEN BAY, Wis. – There are a lot of questions surrounding the Green Bay Packers as they embark on the 2022 NFL season. The pursuit of answers will begin on Wednesday with the first practice of training camp.

The biggest question can be spelled out with merely three letters.

A.

C.

L.

Three of the team’s best players, offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins and tight end Robert Tonyan, are coming off torn ACLs. To state the obvious, the Packers need them to be on the field and playing at a high level for any potential drive to the playoffs.

The Packers haven’t won the Super Bowl since 2010. Might 2020 have been the year had Bakhtiari not suffered his knee injury at practice late in the season?

The Packers wound up losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26 in the NFC Championship Game. Green Bay gave up five sacks in that game, with all of them coming against either Billy Turner (who moved from right tackle to left tackle) or Rick Wagner (who was inserted at right tackle). It’s impossible to believe the Packers would have given up that many sacks had Bakhtiari been on the field.

And they might have at least beaten the 49ers in last year’s divisional round had it been Bakhtiari at left tackle and Turner at right tackle instead of Turner at left tackle and Dennis Kelly at right tackle.

Or, they might have won that game and made a run to the Super Bowl had Bakhtiari’s initial replacement, Jenkins, not suffered a torn ACL at Minnesota in November. Jenkins had solidified his status as one of the NFL’s great offensive linemen. After allowing a total of one sack playing mostly left guard in 2019 and 2020, Jenkins allowed only two sacks in eight starts at left tackle last year.

When healthy, Bakhtiari and Jenkins are two of the best blockers in the NFL. Their availability – especially in January – is infinitely more important than the play of any of the rookie receivers.

Meanwhile, Tonyan needs to show that his 2020 – 52 catches, 11 touchdowns and zero drops – wasn’t a fluke. There were only seven incompletions thrown his way in 2020; last year, before the injury, there were 11. The Packers need Tonyan to return to his playmaking form to help offset the loss of Davante Adams.

Bakhtiari, Jenkins and Tonyan will start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. That was the expectation for Jenkins and Tonyan, but potentially worrisome news for Bakhtiari.

Here are the other questions that demand answers.

2. How Can Packers Replace Davante Adams?

Maybe a rejuvenated Sammy Watkins can resurrect his career. Maybe rookie Christian Watson will be the next big thing.

But, for at least the start of the season, the passing game will go as Allen Lazard goes. He was really good down the stretch last season. During the final five regular-season games, he caught 21-of-28 passes (75.0 percent) for 290 yards and five touchdowns. If Lazard could carry that through 17 games, he’d finish with 71 receptions for 986 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Packers would be ecstatic to get that kind of production in a more well-rounded attack.

There’s no doubt Lazard will get more opportunities, so that should help the numbers. On the other hand, he’ll be the player to watch for opposing defensive coordinators and he’s likely to face more No. 1 cornerbacks than ever.

“Excited about Allen Lazard,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said at minicamp. “He’s been our dirty-work guy for most of his career here. Now he’s getting an opportunity to be a No. 1 receiver, so I’m not worried about him at all stepping into that role.”

Will more Lazard, the return of Robert Tonyan and the addition of Watkins and three draft picks be enough? That’s why quarterbacks and coaches get paid the big bucks. To make things work, regardless of circumstances.

“Every year,” Rodgers said recently on The Pat McAfee Show, “there’s opinions that start coming out about players in helmets and shorts, and I would say let's everybody just take a nice deep long breath and trust the training camp time that we have, trust the coaching staff, trust the relationships that will continue to be formed, trust the guys in the room like Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb, and Sammy Watkins to help these young guys out.”

3. Can Rich Bisaccia Fix Special Teams?

New special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s to-do list is so long, he probably wishes training camp had opened a month ago.

He’s got to get Mason Crosby back on track, find a long snapper, find a returner, teach scheme, fix fundamentals and perhaps, most of all, instill a mentality and confidence that’s been lacking. All those things conspired to the Packers, once again, finishing in the basement of Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings.

For as poorly as the offense played in the divisional loss to the 49ers, all would have been good had Maurice Drayton’s units not imploded. The blocked punt that was scooped up for a touchdown provided a shocking ending to the season. At the same time, a massive special teams blunder had seemed inevitable.

Enter Bisaccia. His units have finished better than the Packers’ groups in the Gosselin rankings an incredible 10 consecutive seasons. Eight times during that span, Bisaccia’s units were at least 10 spots better.

“It’s certainly an opportunity to teach football and maybe teach some life lessons and maybe get guys to find a way to be the glue to the offense and defense,” Bisaccia said. “We use the phrase around here, ‘We-fense.’ It’s not really offense, it’s not really defense. It’s we-fense. It’s us. There’s no other place on the field except for the punt team where you can find a linebacker lined up next to a tight end lined up next to a safety and the running back is the personal protector making all the calls. That’s the only the place you find that on the field. I think a lot of my success or the success we’ve had on special teams in places I’ve been is really player-driven.”

4. Who Will Provide Depth, Production at Outside Linebacker?

Green Bay’s starting outside linebackers, Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, are excellent. But that’s an incredibly demanding position. Even if Gary and Smith start every game together, there’s a lot of snaps that will be up for grabs.

Last season, those other outside linebackers played 791 snaps. For perspective, that’s more than Smith (688) or Gary (681). The main three backups who are back from last season, Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai and La’Darius Hamilton, combined for 2.5 sacks and two tackles for losses. The main addition was fifth-round pick Kingsley Enagbare.

5. Who Will Provide Depth in Secondary?

It’s the same problem at cornerback and safety as it is at outside linebacker. The starters are excellent. The depth – at least before the first practice of camp – is practically nonexistent.

At cornerback, the Packers have the best trio of starters in the NFL with Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. However, they’re one injury away from the fourth cornerback moving into the starting lineup. During the offseason, that was Keisean Nixon. In three NFL seasons, he’s broken up one pass in 40 games.

At safety, the Packers have one of the best starting duos in the league with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. Every other safety on the roster combined to play zero defensive snaps in the NFL last season. The No. 3 safety during the offseason was Sean Davis. A fifth-round draft pick by the Colts last year, he played in one game as a rookie with nine snaps on special teams.

Maybe the five primary starters will play all 17 games and that depth won’t be needed. Maybe first-round pick Quay Walker will be so good that the Packers won’t have to play so much dime defense; last year’s third safety, Henry Black, played 262 snaps last year. More likely, the Packers are going to need a cornerback and safety to emerge in training camp and/or keep a constant eye on the waiver wire.

6. Is Quay Walker More Than Great Prospect?

Speaking of Quay Walker, the first-round pick is so big and athletic that he and All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell could form the league’s next great linebacker duo.

In 2019, the Packers bet on Rashan Gary’s potential and won. Now, they are betting on Walker’s potential. Like Gary, Walker’s statistical production in college wasn’t anything special. It’s rather incredible that a man of his stature didn’t force a single turnover in four seasons at Georgia and deflected only three passes as a senior.

In 2017, the Packers could have drafted T.J. Watt but instead took Kevin King. In 2022, the Packers could have drafted two-time Butkus Award winner Devin Lloyd but instead took Walker. In 52 games (15 starts), Walker had 137 tackles, five sacks, 11 tackles for losses, zero interceptions, zero forced fumbles and three passes defensed. Lloyd went five picks later to Jacksonville. Last year alone, he piled up 110 tackles, eight sacks, 22 tackles for losses, four interceptions, one forced fumble and 10 passes defensed.

7. How Long Until Rest of Rookies Can Contribute?

The Packers signed solid veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed in free agency, so they don’t really need first-round pick Devonte Wyatt to be an immediate starter. They signed veteran receiver Sammy Watkins, so they don’t need second-round pick Christian Watson or fourth-round counterpart Romeo Doubs to be forced into the lineup immediately.

But those players are where there’s upside. Reed has years of quality play under his belt but Wyatt could be a game-changer. Same for Watson and Doubs compared to Watkins, who is trying to resurrect his career. For this team to be at its best in January, a few rookies are going to have to be difference-makers.

8. Can Mason Crosby Bounce Back?

The last time Mason Crosby had a bad season, he bounced back with the greatest sustained stretch of kicking in franchise history.

Even Crosby acknowledged that doesn’t mean a thing. A lot of things went wrong last year, including a change at holder at the end of training camp, shoddy protection and a swap of snappers at midseason. While he wouldn’t admit it, you have to think Crosby lined up for every kick wondering if the snap would be on target, the hold would be exact and everybody would get blocked.

With a new coordinator (Rich Bisaccia) and a new holder (veteran punter Pat O’Donnell), there will be no excuses for Crosby to not return to vintage form.

“He’s had a hell of a career,” Bisaccia said. “The one good thing I know about Crosby is that he’s come back from a down year to play really well. I’m excited about being around him, learning from him, seeing what his strengths are and where we can go forward and keep improving.”

9. Can Rasul Douglas, Eric Stokes Lead Pick Parade?

Can Rasul Douglas replicate last year’s production? And can Eric Stokes maximize his potential production?

Douglas intercepted five passes last season, as many as he did his first four seasons combined. Due in part to improved study habits taught by defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, Douglas’ instincts are superb, leading to optimism that he won’t be a one-year wonder.

Meanwhile, Stokes, who was last year’s first-round draft pick, had one interception, but his four dropped interceptions were tied for most in the league, according to Sports Info Solutions. Assuming Jaire Alexander returns to All-Pro form, the defense could truly be a force to be reckoned with if Douglas and Stokes combine for eight or 10 interceptions.

10. Can Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon Carry the Load?

Without Davante Adams, the Packers will need running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to pick up some of the slack.

Famously, the Packers went 7-0 without Adams the past three seasons. The play of Jones has been a big reason why. With Adams on the sideline, Jones posted:

182 total yards, four touchdowns vs. Dallas in 2019

60 total yards vs. Detroit in 2019

83 total yards, one touchdown vs. Oakland in 2019

226 total yards, two touchdowns vs. Kansas City in 2019

86 total yards, one touchdown vs. New Orleans in 2020

111 total yards, one touchdown vs. Atlanta in 2020

110 total yards, one touchdown vs. Arizona in 2021

That’s an average of 122.6 yards per game and a total of 10 touchdowns in those seven games. Can the 27-year-old be that explosive over the course of the season, or at least until the receiver situation in settled?

Meanwhile, running back AJ Dillon is coming off a solid second season. Now, he needs to get more explosive, too. Last year, 50 running backs had at least 100 carries. Dillon’s 10-yad run rate of 4.8 percent was by far the worst in the league. Dillon has shown a tremendous knack for turning 2 yards into 4 or 5. He needs to turn 5-yard runs into 15 or 20.

Packers Training Camp Previews

Positional preview No. 1 – Quarterbacks

Positional preview No. 2 – Running backs

Positional preview No. 3 – Receivers

Positional preview No. 4 – Tight ends

Positional preview No. 5 – Offensive line

Positional preview No. 6 – Defensive line

Positional preview No. 7 – Outside linebackers

Positional preview No. 8 – Inside linebackers

Positional preview No. 9 – Cornerbacks

Positional preview No. 10 – Safeties

Positional preview No. 11 – Special teams

NFC North Insiders

Get ready for the 2022 NFL season with our 12-part NFC North Insiders series, with stories running every Saturday and Sunday until training camp. The series will conclude this weekend with our all-NFC North teams.

Part 1: Team MVPs for each team on both sides of the ball

Part 2: The biggest addition and loss for each team

Part 3: Most overrated player for each team

Part 4: Most underrated player for each team

Part 5: Best-case scenarios

Part 6: Worst-case scenarios

Part 7: Players most likely to surprise

Part 8: Players most likely to disappoint

Part 9: Biggest remaining question

Part 10: Most important rookies

Part 11: All-NFC North offense

Part 12: All-NFC North defense (coming Sunday)