The time has come. In a few short weeks, training camp will be underway. Thirty-two teams will be analyzing and putting together their best 53 players onto one roster, while players will be competing for roster spots and depth chart rankings.
Let’s take a look at three position battles for the Green Bay Packers that will involve a rookie looking to take over a veteran’s starting role:
Inside Linebacker
Krys Barnes is entering his third year with the Packers. As an undrafted rookie, he was asked to step into a leadership role and performed as well as a rookie could. Quay Walker has now entered the discussion of a running mate with De’Vondre Campbell. A lot of talk has been surrounded at the wide receiver position, but I think this position battle has to be the most interesting.. I think that the biggest factor in this decision is going to be how fast Walker can pick up on the defense and adjust to the speed of the NFL. In the end, I think Walker will acclimate just fine and win the starting job over Barnes.
Right Guard
One position that has gone unnoticed this offseason and will be worth mentioning is the starting guard position. Jon Runyan has secured one of the spots, but the second remains wide open. Royce Newman, a fourth-round pick from Ole Miss, started last as a left guard last season but struggled. The Packers went offensive line heavy again in the NFL draft and selected Zach Tom of Wake Forest and Sean Rhyan of UCLA. Tom and Rhyan are hybrid lineman, playing both center and guard. Each of them have high upsides and will compete for the other guard position. Although Newman has a full year under his belt, there is no guarantee that he has regained his starting spot. Newman was replaced by Lucas Patrick in the lineup for the divisional round game against San Francisco. I would not be surprised if either Tom or Rhyan wins the right guard spot, and I do think that this will be route that Green Bay goes.
Right Tackle
For all purposes, let’s just assume that David Bakhtiari will ready to go week one. This will leave the right tackle spot open for grabs. This is one of the position battles that does not have much hype to it. The two players who should be the top contenders are Yosh Nijman and Cole Van Lannen. I do not think there will be much of battle as Nijman should be able to win the job. One nugget that cannot be ruled out is another veteran signing before training camp or shifting a current player over to compete. This will all depend too on the rehab progress of Elgton Jenkins.
More must-reads: