Round 1: Damarious Randall (Grade: B-, Overall: B-) – While Randall didn’t make his professional debut with as big as a splash as Rollins did last week, there was plenty to like about the Packers 1^st round pick.  The biggest thing that struck out to me about Randall’s performance is just how fluid he is in his transitions and his footwork.  While Rollins might be the better cornerback from a pure measurables standpoint, Randall definitely has him beat in terms of technical refinement, much in the same way Davante Adams and Jeff Janis looked during their rookie seasons.  I think the Packers are a lot more comfortable with Randall at this point, who started with the 1^st team offense as opposed to Rollins who worked with the #2 defense.  Overall, Randall showed good awareness on the interception and good open field tackling but needs to learn the finer points of playing cornerback like how to beat rub routes and passing off receivers.

Round 2: Quinten Rollins (Grade: C, Overall: B) – Rollins made a big statement last week and I suppose it’s natural that there was a bit of a letdown the following week.  I’m starting to think that a lot of Rollin’s splash plays from last week were more about poorly thrown balls by Jimmy Garapolo instead of good plays from Rollins.  Against Pittsburgh, two things were apparent: 1) I think I only saw him once actually get his hands on a receiver at the line of scrimmage so he can get beat by slants and quick passes, which happened a lot in the second half and 2) his recovery speed is questionable, which is compounded by the fact that he hasn’t been playing bump and run means that if a receiver gets past him, there’s not much Rollins can do at this point. 

Round 3: Ty Montgomery (Grade: C, Overall: C+) – First off, since Montgomery was drafted in large part (purportedly) for his return skills, what can you say about his performance so far?  Personally I think he’s being way to conservative for preseason games but on the other hand he’s leagues better than Janis.  Of course a 3^rd round draft pick is supposed to do more than just field the ball cleanly, and I can’t say that I feel the return game is any better than last year.  As a receiver he tends to round off his routes, which is a big deal for a slot receiver looking to gain separation.  On the other hand he’s shown soft hands with several difficult catches so far.

Round 4: Jake Ryan (Grade: B, Overall: B-) – Jake Ryan had another solid but unspectacular showing with positives in run and pass defense as well as rushing the passer, where he recorded two sacks.  I still think he’s a little lost in coverage, there were a couple occasions where he looks unsure exactly where he’s supposed to be.  Given his history as a DE/OLB before switching to ILB, I wonder if Ryan will become the blitzer in Dom Capers’ Cross-A gap blitz that he loves to employ (see Desmond Bishop/AJ Hawk).  I’m not convinced that’s he’s ready to start week 1 but I can see him as a valuable rotational player midway through the season. 

Round 5: Brett Hundley: (Grade: C-, Overall: B-) – While there’s plenty that went wrong with Hundley’s 2^nd preseason game (mostly due to the fact that the Steelers actually rushed him), the one fact I keep coming back to is that he looks like a West Coast quarterback.  I vividly remember watching Vince Young in the preseason go to his first read, drop his head and then find a running lane.  Hundley on the other hand has remained a passer even under pressure.   I think there’s a lot to like about his ability to play from under center, drop back in rhythm with his receivers and climb the pocket under pressure.  He needs to figure out when to just throw the ball away and when his line breaks down but those are things that only reps in the NFL will improve. 

Round 6: Aaron Ripkowski (Grade: D, Overall: D) – I think we’re seeing the “Carl Bradford” experience redux.   Last year, the 4^th round pick saw surprisingly little snaps in the preseason and eventually it became apparent that Bradford wasn’t able to adapt to the NFL.  Over the 1^st 2 preseason games Bradford saw 19 snaps.  Ripkowski has one upped him by playing a grand total of 12 snaps on offense in the last two games.  Again Ripkowski was again not asked to pass block and overall I get the sense that the coaching staff simply don’t trust him.  The flip side is that while Ripkowski has largely been invisible on offense has shown up on special teams, making 2 tackles against the Steelers.  Is the advantage of Ripkowski on special teams outweight Kuhn, who also plays special teams, can run block just as well and most importantly pass block?  I’m sticking with Kuhn.

Round 6: Christian Ringo (Grade: B, Overall: B) – Ringo hand another strong showing, pushing back the Pittsburgh offensive line multiple times and both harassing the passer as well as stuffing the run.  Ringo still only has one move, the straight bull rush but he is able to get good penetration with that move alone.  I’m not sure how well he’s do against a double team but overall he’s definitely one of the better players drafted in the back half this year. 

Round 6: Kennard Backman (Grade: C, Overall: C) – Backman has largely been average; he’s made the easy catches and been 50-50 with the harder ones.  He’s not a very good run blocker (what else is new with the Packers?) and surprisingly wasn’t asked to pass block the entire game.  At this point, Backman definitely fits the Jermichael Finley role as an oversized wide receiver rather than a H-back/TE hybrid like Quarless and Rodgers.  He hasn’t turned any heads really but as a 6^th round pick I think he’s done what’s expected.  

UDRFA: Ladarius Gunter (Grade: A-, Overall: B+) – Mr. August does it again with another fantastic showing against another team stocked with speedsters.  Gunter played well with the 2^nd team defense and was in position to knock away a couple of passes and was generally the only rookie cornerback that consistently showed the ability to play lined up close to the receiver and in off coverage.  At this point I don’t think there’s any question that Gunter will make the team, it’s more a question of how well Gunter will fare in the regular season should he play. 

UDRFA: Alonzo Harris (Grade: C+, Overall: C+) – Harris wasn’t able to show as much this time as the first preseason game, only getting one rushing attempt, which went for 3 yards.  On the plus side, he was inserted as the 3^rd running back, ahead of Rajion Neal, which shows how well the coaches thought of him against the Patriots.  On the downside, Harris missed two catchable passes when he tried to turn before securing the pass.  At this point I’m guessing it's a two horse race for the 3^rd running back spot behind Lacy and Starks.  While Harris is probably the best pure runner of the backups, Neal offers a lot of versatility, as both a wide receiver and a potential special teams player.