Stock Up:
Emanuel Wilson
Is there a better story to emerge from camp since Wilson's incredible night on Friday?
Wilson, playing on the 14-year anniversary of his father passing away, had the night of his life.
Wilson ran for 111 yards on six touches. He had another nice run wiped away by a holding penalty that won't show up in the box score.
He scored two touchdowns, including an 80-yard run that showed off his vision and speed.
Wilson isn't just a story that can tug at the heartstrings. He's firmly in the race for the team's third running back spot. Tyler Goodson left Friday's game with an injury. Patrick Taylor has been with the team for two years, but maybe the Packers would want to roll with someone more explosive for that spot.
If Wilson has more performances like the one he had on Friday, it'll be even harder to keep him off the roster.
Sean Clifford
Coming into the night, Clifford likely had the backup quarterback job locked up by default. The Packers released Danny Etling late last week, leaving only Clifford and former USFL MVP Alex McGough behind Jordan Love.
That gives the Packers the
least experienced quarterback room in the NFL, by a significant margin.
Clifford, for his part, played well in his preseason debut. Yes, he threw two interceptions, but both of them are teachable moments. He made up for the turnovers with big plays as well.
He showed mobility. He showed a strong enough arm to make throws into tight windows. He made plays outside of the structure of the offense.
Overall, he finished 20-26 with 208 yards, one touchdown pass, and two interceptions. He added 27 yards on the ground as well.
The Packers have had nearly six months to bring in a veteran backup quarterback. They have not shown any interest as of yet. If Clifford keeps stacking performances like that, they won't feel as if they need to.
Malik Heath
Malik Heath looks to be the undrafted free agent with the clearest path to continue the Packers' streak of 18 consecutive years of an undrafted free agent making the initial 53-man roster.
If the wide receiver room were based entirely on a meritocracy, Heath would be the team's fifth wide receiver at this time..
He had a strong debut in the preseason, catching three passes for 36 yards.
More importantly, the Packers place a high value on receivers that can block, and Heath has shown an ability to do that both in practice and Friday's game.
Effort like that is the easiest way for an undrafted free agent to catch the eye of the coaching staff.
"Malik’s more your big, goonish type of guy that you guys know we love around here. He’s very physical." LaFleur said of Heath just a few days ago.
Goon is a term of endearment coming from LaFleur. It's what he used to refer to Allen Lazard as. With the Packers looking to replace Lazard, it's possible that Heath could follow a similar path
Carrington Valentine
What else is there to say about Valentine at this point? He has made a play almost every day since camp started.
Friday was a continuation of what has been happening in practice. Valentine is sticky in coverage and makes plays on the ball.
His lack of interceptions is why he fell to the seventh round according to his college defensive coordinator.
On Friday, Valentine had three pass breakups and one interception. He's continued to shine as a perimeter corner.
As of now, he'd be the team's first corner off the bench assuming Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Keisean Nixon are all healthy.
He played well in joint practices against Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, so this was not just a byproduct of playing backup receivers.
"It's only one game, you have to stack these games...but I think he's got a ton of talent, great approach to the game he's an exciting young player." LaFleur said after the game
There may not be a player that's had a better camp to date than Valentine.
Brenton Cox
Cox was the darling of the undrafted free agent class.
He knows he should not have been an undrafted free agent, but being dismissed from two programs made him juice the NFL deemed not worth the squeeze.
Instead, he signed in Green Bay. He's had a quieter camp to date but showed up in a big way on Friday night.
He had three pressures against Cincinnati which tied for the team lead.
With Rashan Gary returning from the PUP list, that puts five players above Cox in the outside linebacker room. Would they keep six?
Cox will need to continue to stack performances like the one he had on Friday night to make for a difficult conversation for Brian Gutekunst and co.
So far, so good.
Luke Musgrave
The box score isn't sexy for Musgrave, but there is one trend that continues in practices and games.
The Packers continue to give Luke Musgrave a big share of targets in the passing game.
The team has lacked size and athleticism at that position since the days of Jermichael Finley.
In just 10 pass attempts with Jordan Love, Musgrave received three of those targets. It's a small sample, but 30 percent of the target share is nothing to sneeze at.
Jordan Love echoed what has been obvious based on their actions. The Packers are high on Musgrave.
"The sky is the limit for him, He’s a really good player. Explosive player. Very fast," Love said after Friday's game.
"The more we just continue to get him the ball. I wish I would’ve been able to connect over the middle on that one, then we targeted him on a screen which the D-End made a really good play. We just gotta keep getting him the ball, keep feeding him and see what he can do after the catch, but he’s going to be a really good player."
The tight end position is thin, but Musgrave has been a starter essentially since the day he was drafted. The opportunities will be there. Eventually, the numbers should follow.
Stock Down:
Sean Rhyan
Of the backup guards, Rhyan has been having the best camp. He was undefeated in 1-on-1s going into Friday night's game.
It wasn't an awful game for Rhyan. He had some nice moments in the run game, including a punishing block that sprung Emanuel Wilson's 80-yard touchdown. He was, however, beaten like a drum on a pass that turned into a pick-six.
Rhyan's still a work in progress. A strong game could have seen him pushing for a starting role with Josh Myers continuing to struggle.
Instead, Rhyan struggled and the Packers' interior offensive line remains in flux.
Royce Newman
If Rhyan and Newman were competing for one spot, it was obvious who the better player was on Friday night.
Newman has started 22 games in his career and played well over 1,000 snaps.
That hasn't translated, as Newman is still plagued by things that affected him as a rookie.
He was flagged for two holding penalties. He combined with Rhyan to give up six pressures, and Newman played into the fourth quarter of a preseason game.
Injuries along the offensive line might have helped Newman's case for the roster, but it has not been pretty for the third-year pro.
Rudy Ford
Ford is going to make the team due to his special teams value alone. That's why he was originally signed by Green Bay a year ago.
He became a starter at safety after a big game against the Dallas Cowboys where he had two interceptions in one half.
Ford took over for Darnell Savage as the starter next to Adrian Amos before being replaced by Savage again later in the year.
He opened the offseason as the team's starting safety next to Savage and looked to have the inside track on a starting spot.
Instead, he was playing in the fourth quarter on Friday night, and looked to be behind both Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore.
His roster spot isn't in jeopardy, but if he wants to be part of the defense, he looks to have an uphill climb.
Tyler Goodson
Goodson's spot on the list really doesn't have much to do with performance. He scored a touchdown and started the game as the team's kickoff returner.
A diverse skillset is required to be the team's third running back.
The issue with Goodson is he left the game with an injury. The severity of which is yet to be determined, but combine that with Emanuel Wilson's big night, and Goodson could fall way behind if he misses too much time.
The old adage is that you can't make the club in the tub. Hopefully, for his sake, Goodson isn't on the shelf for too long.
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