This week, the pads came on during practice in Packers Training Camp. As far as Training Camp excitement goes, the first day of pads is always high up there. Hearing the pops of the first contact is just so satisfying. Real football is even closer than it was before. The last thing you want, though, is your players to be making those pops a little too aggressively.  

Early on in camp, new CB Nate Hobbs has been a bit on the aggressive side. The Packers signed Hobbs because they like the edge he can provide their defense and his need to be around the ball at all times. But they'd likely prefer he keep that to game days and not on the practice field. On Sunday, before pads went on the next day, Hobbs collided with Dontayvion Wicks while he attempted to break up a pass, leaving Wicks slow to get up. Wicks later said he was feeling fine and was just surprised by the hit, considering it's unexpected during these practices. On Monday, when the pads went on, Hobbs made a reckless tackle on Marshawn Lloyd, which led to Lloyd leaving practice. It appears that Lloyd has a groin injury that may keep him out for a week or so. Hobbs was chewed out by Matt LaFleur afterward and sat out a few plays in practice before returning. LaFleur would later say that the injury was not due to Hobbs' hit, but that he still needs to tone it down a bit. Hobbs later agreed that he'd be toning it down just a little bit. 

From the outside looking in, one might think, it's practice, the season hasn't even started yet, why go so hard and risk injury or burnout? For me, I take a trip down memory lane and remember playing right defensive end in 5th-grade flag football. Before our season started, we used to practice against the 6th-grade team that ran their drills on the other side of the field from us, just to get some competition before the real thing got going. Every single play, I wanted to beat the 6th-grade left tackle in front of me. I wanted to show out like Reggie White and get to the Quarterback on every play just to show my teammates what I could do. As a result, I gave that left tackle fits. He hated me and would complain about me going at full speed despite it being practice. But I did it to show my teammates and coaches what I was capable of on gameday. 

I get a bit of that vibe from Nate Hobbs. He wasn't looked at as a big addition to the Packers when he was signed, and everyone is kind of writing his presence off as "big deal, who cares." Well, now he has his chance to show what he's all about. Practice or not, he wants to make sure his teammates, coaches, and the fans know that number 21 is going to be a force. Whether or not he's going to be CB1 all season long will remain to be seen, but Nate Hobbs wants to bring it with every single rep, and you have to admire that. Let's just keep our teammates healthy, shall we?

Pass Catchers are on the Rise

The Packers are very crowded in the receiver room this offseason. As it currently stands, at least eight players out of the twelve currently on the roster have a pretty good shot at still being on the team come week 1. Having many options is always a good thing, but whether or not those options are of good quality is always the question. You can't just have eight questionable starters and call that a good room. So far in camp this year, they've been making a case for their place in the offense at the start of the season.

The Packers hadn't drafted a first-round wide receiver since 2002 before drafting Matthew Golden. And it appears we all didn't know what we were missing out on until Golden entered camp. His speed and ability to go and get the ball from everywhere on the field have been on full display just two weeks into camp. It seems that nearly every practice, Golden is showing off that he could be a tremendous factor in the offense entering 2025. 

Savion Williams has also shown his play-making abilities. Friday in practice, LaFleur had Williams sent in motion, and it appeared that before the defense could even figure out what was happening, Williams was down the sideline. Everyone calls him a gadget receiver. He may have the ability to be used in gadget situations, but he's also a pretty decent route-runner, creating separation from defenders in practice. 

Romeo Doubs is doing Romeo Doubs things. He's never been that flashy receiver that most people ache for, but he's very consistent in being a reliable target for the Quarterback, and that hasn't dropped off in camp so far. 

Reed and Wicks are showing up as well, making some big plays, and Mecole Hardman is also showing off a bit of his veteran prowess so far in a Packer jersey. He's displayed his ability to create separation as a pass catcher alongside his special-teams expertise.

After the wide receivers, of course, the tight ends are the other Jordan Love targets to talk about, and Luke Musgrave has been having a great start to camp. With Tucker Kraft emerging and Musgrave struggling with injuries the last season and a half, it's as if everyone forgot that Luke Musgrave is still a threat. He's shown off his hands in the red zone during team drills and has been stacking success, consistently putting together good practice after good practice. To have Musgrave healthy alongside Tucker Kraft would be huge for this offense in 2025. 

It appears Jordan Love is going to have no loss for weapons in this upcoming season.