Green Bay plays the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening, and that's a great opportunity for some young players to carve out bigger roles.
The Green Bay Packers open their preseason schedule against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and while rookie evaluations dominate the conversation, several young players who are no longer first-year pros deserve attention. The Packers have intriguing developmental pieces who could use the preseason opener to stake a claim for meaningful roles in the regular season.
Jordan Love will play
, but either way, his workload wouldn't extend beyond one or two series. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor
will see some action too, but the real evaluation begins with Kyle McCord
, the third quarterback on the depth chart.
McCord is ahead of undrafted rookie Kyron Drones in the competition for the QB3 spot, which will likely be a practice squad role. He'll see extended playing time against Pittsburgh, and the key question is how he handles operating the offense in a game setting.
The young quarterback was a sixth-round pick last year by the Philadelphia Eagles
and spent his entire rookie season in Philadelphia before getting a second chance with Green Bay. If he can translate what he's shown throughout training camp into live game reps, there's a good chance he locks down the QB3 job for the Packers this season.
The Packers' running back depth chart has some real opportunity built into it. Green Bay let Emanuel Wilson
walk in free agency, and Josh Jacobs
has been dealing with some injury issues throughout training camp. MarShawn Lloyd
is the primary runner while Jacobs is out, but Damien Martinez is a good fit
for the offense and should get meaningful preseason reps.
Martinez, a seventh-round pick last year by the Seattle Seahawks
, is a powerful runner who is a little bigger than Lloyd. He had some good plays on Family Night
and profiles as more of a three-down back if the opportunities come his way.
Lloyd and Pierre Strong
are ahead of him on the depth chart, so the Packers have a long way to go in sorting out those running back pieces. But the talent is there, and the flashes with the second- and third-team units throughout training camp have been encouraging. If Martinez can show that production against Pittsburgh's backups, he could earn more playing time with the primary units in practice.
On the defensive side of the ball, edge defender Collin Oliver
is the player worth tracking against the Steelers. Oliver was a fifth-round pick by the Packers last year, a hybrid edge defender and off-ball linebacker who barely played as a rookie because of a hamstring injury.
The flashes, however, have been notable. Oliver played in that meaningless Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings
and generated six pressures despite a limited number of snaps. He has carried that momentum into training camp. Oliver is probably more of a designated pass rusher, a lighter player than the Packers would generally prefer at the edge defender position. But that's an important role in Jonathan Gannon's scheme, particularly from the 9-technique spot. If Oliver can prove he's a reliable situational pass rusher, that would carry real value for Green Bay, specifically while Micah Parsons
continues to recover from his ACL injury.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: 3 non-rookie players to watch in the Packers' preseason opener against the Steelers
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