Green Bay Packers: What We've Learned Through Week 4 of Preseason
The Green Bay Packers have concluded their preseason and, on Saturday, will finally have their full 53-man roster decided. It's their last major to-do item before they prepare to face the Chicago Bears in their season opener on Sunday, Sept. 13.
By Saturday, Green Bay's front office must release 22 additional players from the offseason roster.
The last week of the preseason was packed with action, from the first round of cuts on Sept. 1 to the Packers' final preseason matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. The game didn't hold much import, considering most of the team's starters didn't dress, but it did reveal a few things about what the final roster might look like.
Let's break down five things we learned this week.
Packers Still Plan to Start CB Casey Hayward
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Rookies Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter have all had impressive performances this preseason, but they'll be competing for snaps in the nickel and dime packages, not outside.
As ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports, cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt's decision regarding his starter on the outside opposite Sam Shields is firm, and it will be veteran Casey Hayward.
"He's my starter," Whitt said Tuesday after the final practice of training camp, per Demovsky. "So I'm fine with him. ... I think Casey can be a really, really good player, and I think he's going to show it. I could be wrong, but he's going to have to prove me wrong."
Whitt apparently already knows how his defensive backs will line up against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, but he won't say. Demovsky speculated that if Randall or Gunter is the sixth defensive back on the field, then "Hayward will move into the slot along with nickelback Micah Hyde. If it's Rollins, then Hayward might stay outside."
Whitt and defensive coordinator Dom Capers have the problem of too much talent and not enough places on the field to play them simultaneously, which is a great problem to have.
QB Matt Blanchard Never Had a Chance
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Journeyman quarterback and Wisconsin product Matt Blanchard may have earned high praise throughout OTAs and training camp by the Packers coaching staff, but he was never in legitimate competition for a roster spot.
Even if rookie Brett Hundley hadn't made the front office's job easier by showing marked improvement through the second half of the preseason compared to his early offseason practices, keeping Blanchard over Hundley just wouldn't have been an option for the Packers.
Green Bay traded up 19 spots in the 2015 NFL draft to select Hundley in the fifth round. He is a clear developmental project for head coach Mike McCarthy, and though his rookie deal will run out before Aaron Rodgers steps down as starter, the Packers can eventually trade him for a draft pick if he develops nicely.
So as soon as the Packers selected Hundley on May 2, 2015, it was the end for Blanchard, whom they signed on April 15.
"Why the hell don't you have a job?" McCarthy asked Blanchard when he first met him in April, as Tyler Dunne reported for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Just after watching his workout and watching film of his time at Carolina, I just think there's a lot there to work with, as far as his physical talent," McCarthy told Dunne. "The young man's a winner, and he's in a good place. He's getting better. He's getting better each and every week."
Green Bay clearly wasn't the right place for Blanchard after all, but hopefully what he put on tape in the Packers' preseason games and the publicized praise he earned from the coaching staff help the 26-year-old land on another squad as a backup in 2015.
RB Rajion Neal Has Likely Won Third Halfback Spot, but John Crockett Made Final Push
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The competition between former practice-squad player Rajion Neal and undrafted rookies John Crockett and Alonzo Harris for the third halfback spot isn't over yet officially, but unofficially, it may be.
Neal finished the preseason with 17 carries for 69 yards and 11 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, including a whopping 61 receiving yards in the Packers' third preseason matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That's more receiving yards than Packers wideout Davante Adams had per game on average through the 2014 season.
That double threat of both his feet and his hands is likely what will cause Neal to stick on the final roster. Crockett, while a powerful, productive runner in college, is more similar in style to Eddie Lacy and James Starks. Neal's receiving ability out of the backfield justifies having a third halfback for change-of-pace situations.
Crockett had a splashy play Thursday night when he took a screen pass 22 yards. In a final attempt to prove he deserves a spot on the final roster, he finished his night on Thursday with eight carries for 42 yards and a touchdown, as well as four receptions for 49 yards. That was certainly the right note to end on as the competition comes to a close.
If Crockett does get cut, he's a likely candidate for the practice squad...if he clears waivers. But the Packers might find if they do cut Crockett, there are plenty of other teams that would be in the market for his services.
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WR Jared Abbrederis Flashes on Punt Returns, but It May Be Too Late
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It wasn't bad for the first play of his NFL career: Against the Saints on Thursday night, Jared Abbrederis' first touch was a 17-yard punt return in which he broke multiple tackles.
However, it may be too little, too late for Abbrederis, whom everyone can agree didn't get a fair shake at his attempt to make an NFL roster. After tearing his ACL early in training camp his rookie season, Abbrederis missed the majority of camp this year with a concussion.
Theoretically, the Packers could keep six wide receivers on the final roster. After the locks of Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Ty Montgomery, Myles White and Jeff Janis are likely candidates to fill in spots No. 4 and No. 5.
The question is, has Abbrederis really proven he deserves a roster spot that could be used toward a more needy position? He finished his first and only NFL showing with one reception for six yards on four targets and three punt returns for 35 yards. Hardly a statement.
The real question is whether the Packers coaching staff feels it needs more time to make up its mind on Abbrederis. There's a possibility he could clear waivers if the team decides it wants to do that with Abbrederis on the scout team.
QB Brett Hundley Was Drastically Undervalued in the Draft
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It's becoming clear that the Packers got a steal when they moved up in the fifth round of the draft to select quarterback Brett Hundley in May.
Hundley struggled to begin the offseason program, but when the preseason began, he proved that he does his best work when it matters—as much as the preseason can matter.
He was never better than in Thursday night's game against the New Orleans Saints, finishing 16-of-23 with 236 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 142.4. That's a completion rate of 70 percent.
The rookie also used his feet when necessary, adding four scrambles for 12 yards.
Hundley finished the preseason 45-of-65 for 630 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. As Ryan Wood of Press-Gazette Media pointed out, first-round rookie quarterback selections Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have combined for one touchdown and three interceptions.
Not bad for a fifth-round pick and third-string quarterback.
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