Green Bay Packers: What We've Learned Through 2 Weeks of Training Camp

The Green Bay Packers have had two weeks of training camp, culminating in the Packers Family Night practice Saturday, and it seems like every practice session is changing perceptions of this team. 

From bubble players stepping up and turning in solid performances to surprising early struggles, a few notable storylines have emerged from the second week of practices.

Keep in mind that players just went through what head coach Mike McCarthy termed Green Bay's "toughest stretch of practice," per Weston Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media, with three padded practices in a row. So players' performances now don't hold as much bearing on where they'll end up in five weeks' time.

Still, early positive impressions are lasting, while early blunders dig deeper holes that players need to crawl out of come time for the first roster cuts. Let's take a look at five things we've learned about this team in the second week of camp.

Cody Mandell May Not Be the Answer at Punter

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There's no question that punter Tim Masthay is fighting for his job with newcomer and former Alabama player Cody Mandell in training camp. However, it may be too early to anoint Mandell the winner of that competition.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mandell has been struggling while holding field goals for kicker Mason Crosby: 

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Even though kicker Mason Crosby missed 2 of 10 field goal attempts Monday and 2 of 8 Thursday, he has been kicking well. Of the misses, three came when punter Cody Mandell was holding. Tim Masthay is Crosby's regular holder, and the execution between Mandell and Crosby hasn't been great. On Monday, Crosby was 3 of 5 with Mandell holding, including one that DE Datone Jones blocked. 

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Of course, Masthay hasn't been perfect with his punting during camp, and that may matter more than holding in the end. But there's no discounting the veteran experience in high-pressure situations that Masthay has, not to mention his chemistry with Crosby.

"Masthay’s punting session against [Mandell] got off to a rough start, but his last punt was a doozy, a 43-yarder with over five seconds of hang time," ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported August 3. 

During the Packers Family Night practice, Masthay averaged 41.3 yards on three punts, per Demovsky, while Mandell averaged 35.3 yards on the same number of punts.

It's early yet, and this competition will continue through the next five weeks of training camp. Masthay's poor year in 2014, in which he had a career-low net punting average of 37.0 yards, can't be erased. But it's too early to declare Mandell his replacement.

Anything Could Happen at Wide Receiver

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OK, some things are set in stone at wide receiver for Green Bay: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams will almost assuredly earn the top three spots this fall. 

However, in terms of which players will make the roster after them—and how many players the Packers will keep at the position—the possibilities are numerous.

For instance, prior to the start of training camp, it seemed probable that the Packers would keep six wideouts on the final roster: Nelson, Cobb, Adams, rookie Ty Montgomery and second-year players Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis.

However, Abbrederis' chances of surviving the final cuts seem to get more tenuous by the day. A year removed from an ACL tear that wiped out his rookie season, Abbrederis is now missing practice after suffering a concussion July 30. He sat out the Family Night practice Saturday. 

Abbrederis suffered two, possibly three, concussions in his college career with the Wisconsin Badgers, per ESPN.com's Jason Wilde.

Then there's Myles White, a practice-squad holdover who, before training camp began, seemed likely to be pushed off the roster by younger talent. However, White isn't going down that easily; he's been turning in impressive performances during practice.

Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, White has burned defenders from LaDarius Gunter to Damarious Randall to Quinten Rollins, speeding past them in practice. "Combine his instant acceleration, 4.42 speed and knack for getting deep, and it's clear White has value," the newspaper noted August 4. 

As for the undrafted rookies, Brian Carriveau of 247Sports thinks Jimmie Hunt has the upper hand at earning a spot among the group including Adrian Coxson, Javess Blue, Larry Pinkard, Ricky Collins and Ed Williams. Hunt had 169 receiving yards for Missouri in the 2014 SEC Championship Game.

During the Family Night practice, Packers wideouts had a case of the drops; according to Demovsky, Hunt, Blue, Pinkard and Janis all dropped passes.

DT Khyri Thornton Is in Danger of Losing His Job

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Defensive tackle Khyri Thornton has had a rough go of it since the Packers drafted him in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft.

As a rookie in his first training camp last year, Thornton didn't stand out. Or, perhaps more accurately, he made headlines for the wrong reasons.

"To this point, Thornton hasn't played hard, hasn't gotten off blocks and hasn't bull-rushed or edge-rushed with any proficiency," Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote in a column August 23, 2014. "He doesn't seem to be an aggressive player, and without that, no defensive lineman can survive."

Then, Thornton injured his hamstring and landed on the injured reserve list, essentially taking a mulligan on his first season. But to start training camp in 2015, it appears he's doomed to repeat his subpar 2014 showing.

Per Pete Dougherty of Press-Gazette Media, Thornton struggled in early Week 2 practices:

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He hasn’t won in three one-on-one pass rushing reps in camp, hasn’t done anything that’s jumped out in team drills and had a tough time in a drill Monday working against offensive line double teams. Thornton jumped offside twice in the drill, and defensive line coach Mike Trgovac yanked him after the second. 

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Thornton's struggles prove that even a high draft pick isn't safe if he can't produce. If he doesn't pick up the pace, he'll lose his roster spot to a hungrier player—perhaps undrafted rookie Lavon Hooks.

CB Damarious Randall Has a Nose for the Ball

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There was no doubt when the Packers drafted Randall in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft that he was talented, but there were questions about how well the college safety could convert to corner in Green Bay's scheme.

In the second week of training-camp practices, Randall has an answer: So far, the transition is going smoothly. 

In a two-minute drill during practice August 3, Randall picked off Aaron Rodgers in the back of the end zone on a pass intended for Adams, per Dougherty. Rodgers, thinking Randall was out of bounds, disputed the call.

That's a lasting impression.

After that practice, McCarthy said Randall "looks comfortable" and is "very natural at a lot of things," per the Packers' Twitter account.

Randall has been taking most of his snaps outside this offseason, which might suggest that he'll spend more time backing up projected starters Sam Shields and Casey Hayward than on the field. But when the Packers ran their dime package August 3, Randall was the fourth cornerback (along with nickelback Micah Hyde), per Dougherty.

If Randall keeps making plays like that interception of Rodgers, Green Bay will find ways to get him on the field in 2015.

OLB Andy Mulumba Is Earning a Roster Spot

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Outside linebacker Andy Mulumba has faced a tough road to becoming an NFL player. 

First of all, as Silverstein pointed out, he had to face a challenge greater than any football-related issue: escaping the Democratic Republic of Congo with his family.

After doing that, smaller but crucial football-related challenges continued to present themselves. He went undrafted in 2013, missed two games that season with an ankle injury and then played only two games in 2014 after tearing his right ACL in Week 2.

Now, Mulumba faces his next challenge: making the 53-man roster in 2015. But as he works his way back from his ACL tear, he's putting together a solid case.

"If Mulumba's performance the first five practices of training camp is any indication, the third-year pro has come back a bigger, faster, more powerful player," Silverstein wrote August 4, also observing that Mulumba has established himself as a pass-rush presence during 11-on-11 drills.

McCarthy has taken note of Mulumba's improved play.

"I tell you, he looks good," McCarthy said August 4, per Silverstein. "He looks like he's come all the way back. Just really, frankly, [he needs] to keep stacking the type of performances that he's starting to put together at practice."

There's an opportunity at outside linebacker, with Nick Perry (groin) and Mike Neal (abdomen) both out with injuries. Mulumba is taking advantage of it.