Trey Smack, Fired-Up Coaches Highlight First Open Practice at Packers OTAs

The “Starting” Lineups

Here was the first snap of the day:

Offense: LT Jordan Morgan, LG Aaron Banks, C Sean Rhyan, RG Anthony Belton, RT Darian Kinnard, TE Luke Musgrave, TE Josh Whyle, WR Savion Williams, WR Bo Melton, RB Chris Brooks and QB Jordan Love.

Defense: DE Barryn Sorrell, DT Karl Brooks, DT Javon Hargrave, DE Lukas Van Ness, LB Edgerrin Cooper, LB Zaire Franklin, CB Keisean Nixon, CB Carrington Valentine, S Xavier McKinney, S Evan Willliams and slot Javon Bullard.

More OTA Lineups

That was an unusual skill-position grouping to start the day for the offense. A more fitting group consisted of TE Luke Musgrave, WR Christian Watson, WR Matthew Golden, WR Skyy Moore and RB Chris Brooks.

The first snap of a 3-4 grouping included a defensive line of Karl Brooks, Javon Hargrave and Warren Brinson. So, at a nose tackle group consisting of holdovers Nazir Stackhouse and Jonathan Ford and third-round rookie Chris McClellan, it was Brinson manning the nose.

There were all sorts of defensive fronts shown by defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. At one point, Brenton Cox was the only edge rusher. At other points, especially on third down, he had three edges on the field, with Lukas Van Ness moving inside. In that scenario, Dani Dennis-Sutton was one of the edge players, making him the first rookie to get a first-team snap.

The No. 2 offensive line consisted of LT Brant Banks, LG John Williams, C Jager Burton, RG Travis Glover and RT Karsen Barnhart. 

Williams’ growth could be a huge asset. He was a seventh-round pick last year who did not play as a rookie due to a back injury. Toward the end of practice, he got some first-team reps at left guard between Morgan and Rhyan. Then, he got some snaps at center on a line that included Belton shifting to left tackle.

The No. 3 offensive line at times included LT Dalton Cooper, LG Josh Gesky, C Jager Burton, RG Dylan Barrett and RT Karsen Barnhart. Glover also got some work at right tackle.

What about the first draft pick, cornerback Brandon Cisse? He was part of a No. 2 secondary that included Cisse and Jaylin Simpson as the cornerbacks, Johnathan Baldwin in the slot, and Kitan Oladapo and Mark Perry as the safeties.

Trey Smack Attack

Rookie kicker Trey Smack had a relatively easy day. Known for his big leg, the Packers gave him a series of relative chip shots. He kicked eight field goals ranging from 26 yards to 35 yards. He appeared to make seven, with the potential miss drifting right.

There’s some guesswork involved, though. The net meant to prevent kicks from zooming from Ashwaubenon to Suamico was only about halfway up the uprights, so kick after kick boomed over the net and was fielded by Skyy Moore. There were no officials – and no Aaron Rodgers – to help.

The other kicker on the roster, Lucas Havrisik, did not kick.

The team released Brandon McManus, the team’s kicker for most of the past two seasons, earlier this month.

“I think it was only fair to Brandon and to our football team to make the move now,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

But why not have more competition to help get Smack – the presumptive kicker – ready for what’s to come?

“I think we were just trying to put Trey in the best position possible moving forward, and he’s going to get the bulk of it,” LaFleur replied.

Packers Injury Report

Including running back Josh Jacobs, edge Micah Parsons and tight end Tucker Kraft, 16 players did not practice.