Five Most Improved Players at Packers Training Camp

The Green Bay Packers will play their second preseason game on Saturday at the Indianapolis Colts. As the game kicks off, there are just 10 days until general manager Brian Gutekunst selects his 53-man roster.

These five players are arguably the most improved through three-plus weeks of training camp. The first two might have been on the roster bubble at the start of camp; the other three could be on their way to breakout seasons.

5. DT Colby Wooden

In the 2023 draft, the Packers drafted a pair of defensive tackles, with Auburn’s Colby Wooden in the fourth round and Bowling Green’s Karl Brooks in the sixth round.

Based on that sentence, one might assume that Wooden, who was a standout at a powerhouse program, would be the better player. That wouldn’t be the case, though. Wooden started last season as a healthy scratch for the first few games of the season. He opened this training camp paired with Brooks as the No. 2 tandem but dropped to the No. 3s for a few days.

He’s cranked his game up a couple notches, though, including an impressive game against the Jets last week and an impactful joint practice on Thursday against the Colts.

“I thought he was good against the run and the pass,” coach Matt LaFleur said a day after the Jets game. “I thought he had a nice night. On one of the passes, he got his hands up in the air, tipped a ball, put some pressure on the quarterback. I thought he played with good leverage, good hand usage, was able to defeat blocks. So, I thought he had a pretty good night.”

The Packers need that to continue at a position group that’s short on proven impact after Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt.

4. CB Kalen King

At Penn State in 2022, Kalen King was a dominant playmaking cornerback. In 2023, his production dropped off a cliff, which is why a projected first-round pick almost went undrafted in 2024 until the Packers grabbed him at the tail end of the seventh round.

King spent all of his rookie season on the practice squad and didn’t get in a game. He’s been much better this summer. Playing mostly in the slot, King has been excellent throughout camp. Against the Jets, he was targeted twice and allowed zero completions, including an end-zone deflection.

“I feel like the momentum I have in camp, I tried to carry that into today and I feel like I did exactly that,” King said after the game. “There’s definitely some things I could’ve done better tonight but, overall, I feel like I did pretty solid.”

Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine are locks at cornerback, and Bo Melton probably is, too. King’s production and ability to play in the slot and on the perimeter could give him a leg up in the race for a spot on the 53.

“He’s always been a physical player, even when he was at Cass Tech in high school” in Detroit, defensive passing-game coordinator Derrick Ansley said this week. “I actually got a chance to scout him a little bit and he’s always been physical, he’s always been tough; very instinctive. I think that’s the biggest trait you see out there – he knows how to get in and out of blocks, reads zone coverages well. He just has a knack for the ball.”

3. TE Luke Musgrave

There might not be a more important development on offense this season than the potential re-emergence of Luke Musgrave.

A second-round pick in 2023, he was on pace to destroy the Packers’ rookie records by a tight end until he suffered a lacerated kidney. That opened the door for Tucker Kraft, who has not only taken over as the team’s No. 1 tight end but emerged as one of the best young tight ends in the NFL.