Highlights From Practice 11 of Packers Training Camp

Yosh Nijman and Jaire Alexander were impressive during one-on-ones, but who was the player of the day? Plus, the play of the day, depth chart notes and more highlights from Packers training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The first competitive drill on Monday at Green Bay Packers training camp were the one-on-ones.

In the middle of the field, it was the one-on-one pass-rushing drill. Taking the first two snaps of the day was Yosh Nijman. Lining up at left tackle, he scored two decisive victories against Preston Smith.

An undrafted free agent in 2019, Nijman has worked hard to turn his potential into performance. He delivered eight solid starts last season and figures to be in the Week 1 starting lineup, either in place of David Bakhtiari at left tackle or at the open spot at right tackle.

“Me and Yosh, Day 1 since A1,” Gary, who lost to Nijman twice on Family Night, said on Monday. “He’s been getting better and better, year by year. Getting stronger, understanding different leverages, different looks that I’m giving him. I told him today, ‘You’re getting a lot better with your hands. Just keep doing that, keep giving me the best look you can because I’m going to give you the best look.’ Yosh has been looking good this camp.”

On the north end of the field, it was the one-on-ones between receivers and defensive backs. All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander shut down receiver Romeo Doubs on the first, breaking up a comeback route and letting the rookie know all about it. Doubs beat Alexander on a go route on the next one but dropped the ball; Alexander claimed offensive pass interference.

“To me, that’s Ja. You know what I’m saying? That’s Ja,” safety Adrian Amos said. “Yeah, sometimes, he’ll turn it up a little bit, be more vocal in one-on-ones. But, yeah, that’s Ja. As long as I’ve known him, younger Ja was like that 24/7 as far as talking and stuff like that. But that’s just Ja. He’s feeling good, feeling good today. He’s a baller, a competitor.”

On the south end of the field, it was the one-on-ones between running backs and linebackers. During the blitz phase, All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell appeared to beat Aaron Jones but Jones recovered for the win. Running backs coach Ben Sirmans was pumped.

Player of the Day

Someone has to be the No. 3 outside linebacker, that player ready, willing and able to give Rashan Gary or Preston Smith a breather.

Maybe that player will be La’Darius Hamilton.

Last week, Hamilton forced a turnover on a two-minute drill to give the defense the victory. On Monday, he was dominant. Yes, he was going against backups, but you can only beat who’s in front of you.

On the first, he probably would have had a sack prior to a Jordan Love pass that wound up being intercepted by Krys Barnes. On the next play, he wrecked an end-around to receiver Ishmael Hyman. Later, he made three consecutive plays: a sack of Danny Etling against rookie offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, a stuff of running B.J. Baylor and another tackle for loss. After each, the roar from the defenders on the sideline got louder.

“Man, I’m loving it,” Gary said of the battle behind him. “If you’re out there watching practice, you see day-by-day. Anything Preston says or anything I say, they’re taking heed. They’re going out there, they’re making splash plays. It’s all about the standard and that’s the main thing me and Preston’s focus is (on). The past couple days, those guys have been sharp and competing their butts off because they know somebody’s going to get cut. They know it’s a competition and they’re working. It’s good to see them get better every day individually.”

Play of the Day

The last sequence of the day was a pair of two-minute drills. The No. 1 defense stopped Aaron Rodgers and Co. and the No. 2 defense beat the Jordan Love-led backups.

Starting at the 35 with 1:04 on the clock and needing a touchdown, Love completed passes of 16 and 13 yards to Amari Rodgers. The latter converted a fourth-and-1, and Love rushed the offense to the line and clocked the ball with 9 seconds remaining. On the next play, Love connected with Ishmael Hyman, who got out of bounds at the 16 with 5 seconds remaining. On the do-or-die final play, Keisean Nixon stepped in front of Amari Rodgers for a goal-line interception.

“Jordan threw the ball and I just went and got it. Nothing too much to it. Just playing football. It felt good to get back out there,” said Nixon, who made his camp debut on Sunday after missing the first nine practices due to injury.

Along with a nice play as the punt gunner, Nixon is quickly building his case to make the roster after spending the offseason as the fourth corner.

“It’s the standard,” he said. “You’ve got to live up to the standard. That’s all that it is. You’ve got to play good, especially to play on this team. That’s what I’ve got to do.”

Packers Depth Chart Notes

- Cornerback Rico Gafford (pictured) got a bit of first-team action. It might wind up being a three-man battle between Gafford, Keisean Nixon and Shemar Jean-Charles to be the fourth corner.

- As was the case on Family Night, the Packers’ No. 1 line for every period on Monday had Yosh Nijman at left tackle, Jon Runyan at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jake Hanson at right guard and Royce Newman at right tackle. After a handful of plays, Newman went back to his typical spot at right guard and rookie Zach Tom stepped in at right tackle.

- With Darnell Savage not expected to practice this week (or play at San Francisco on Friday night), Vernon Scott joined Adrian Amos at safety.

- Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai were the No. 2 tandem at outside linebacker.

- The No. 2 offensive line had Caleb Jones at left tackle, Cole Van Lanen at left guard, Michal Menet at center, Sean Rhyan at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle. Of that quintet, Van Lanen has the only NFL snap under his belt – a kneeldown to end the Minnesota game.

Packers Monday Injury Report

Returned to practice: WR Randall Cobb (rest; did only individual drills).

New Injuries: LB Ty Summers (illness); TE Marcedes Lewis (rest).

Old injuries: S Innis Gaines (hamstring), C Cole Schneider (ankle), WR Osirus Mitchell (quad).

Physically unable to perform list: K Mason Crosby (knee), WR Christian Watson (knee), RB Kylin Hill (knee), LT David Bakhtiari (knee), OL Elgton Jenkins (knee), TE Robert Tonyan (knee).

Long snapper Steven Wirtel, the incumbent who has struggled with his punt snaps throughout camp, ended practice with a wrap around his lower leg.

During their on-the-field rehab workouts, Jenkins and Bakhtiari were firing out of their stances, and Hill was going really hard weaving his way through some cones. Jenkins, for what it's worth, was pass-setting like a right tackle. Talking to reporters afterward, Jenkins said he isn’t giving up on being back for Week 1.

“I feel like it still can happen,” he said. “It just depends on when I get out there, being able to play football and see how the knee does from a ramp-up period process.”

Packers Training Camp Schedule

There are only three open practices remaining in training camp: Wednesday and next week's joint practices against the New Orleans Saints. Here is the next week:

Tuesday, Aug. 9 (closed to public)

Wednesday, Aug. 10 (10:30 a.m.)

Friday, Aug. 12: Preseason Game 1: at San Francisco 49ers, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 16 (joint practices against New Orleans Saints)

Wednesday, Aug. 17 (joint practices against New Orleans Saints)

Packers Training Camp Highlights

- Jordan Love will be the starting quarterback for Friday’s preseason opener vs. the 49ers. “I think I have things that I want to improve on, just from a quarterback perspective – things I’ve talked about, that base, just having that rhythm,” Love said. “I think when you get into a game you just kind of want to be able to keep that same rhythm you have. It’s a little bit different in practice. It’s a little bit slower than it is in a game, so just trying to take what I’ve been trying to do in practice and take it into the game. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

- During a third-down drill, the defense won the first six plays, including potential sacks by Rashan Gary, Jonathan Garvin and Jarran Reed in succession. On the final play, AJ Dillon scored from the 2.

- Reed has routinely been one of the best players on the field, regardless of position. Along with the sack, he had a couple tackles of AJ Dillon near the line of scrimmage. On the second of those, with tight end Josiah Deguara leading Dillon through the hole, there appeared to be a big gap. Instead, Reed shut it down.

- Left guard Jon Runyan beat Reed twice during one-on-ones. Lining up at right tackle, Royce Newman scored two wins vs. Gary.

- Speaking of Runyan, during the starters vs. starters two-minute drill, he had an excellent block to help Dillon gain 8 on a screen.

- During that two-minute drill, Rodgers rushed the offense to the line to clock the ball. Instead, he threw the ball to the perimeter to rookie Romeo Doubs, who wasn’t prepared for the pass. On the next play, Rodgers’ rocket zipped through the hands of linebacker De’Vondre Campell. The drive ended with an overthrown Hail Mary and a hook-and-lateral that did not fool the defense one bit.

- Second-year receiver Amari Rodgers had a chance to make a big play but couldn’t make a leaping grab along the sideline against Rasul Douglas. Amari Rodgers has made some routine plays but not enough of the eye-poppers.

- Receiver Ishmael Hyman, who figures to return punts for at least part of Friday’s preseason game, muffed two in a row. He has been solid otherwise.