The Packers’ rookie class is already forcing the conversation in training camp, and a few of these first-year players are making it awfully hard to preach patience.
That’s the danger this time of year: the golden rule says not to overreact, but some guys keep stacking good days until the temptation gets real. Brandon Cisse is one of them.
Chris McClellan is another. Dani Dennis-Sutton has been quieter, but he’s been flashing too.
And for a couple of rookies, the picture is a lot murkier.
Cisse has moved quickly from intriguing to hard to ignore. He got first-team work on the opening day of camp because of Keisean Nixon’s hamstring injury, and with Carrington Valentine also dealing with a hamstring issue, he’s stayed in that mix alongside Nixon.
That’s not just a courtesy look, either. The second-round corner is getting starter reps while Benjamin St-Juste, who has also started fast, waits behind him.
He backed that up in one-on-ones this week, a setting that can chew up corners in a hurry. Cisse came out on top in all three of his reps against Savion Williams. Matt LaFleur, who doesn’t usually hand out rookie praise freely, sounded more than willing to make an exception when he spoke with Kay Adams.
"He's mature beyond his years," LaFleur told Up & Adams. "Just wired the right way.
Loves football. He's very coachable, competes his a-- off.
Just everything you look for in a football player."
McClellan has been just as steady in his own lane. The third-round defensive tackle has been a regular with the starting defense while Javon Hargrave hasn’t played and Devonte Wyatt works back into shape. He’s taken advantage of the extra snaps and has shown the pass-rush juice that made him a draft pick worth watching.
The encouraging part for the Packers is that the production hasn’t disappeared once the pads came on. Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com wrote that McClellan “has held his own during the opening hour of his NFL career, earning a few pressures of starting quarterback Jordan Love during the first padded practice of camp on Monday.” Hargrave and Wyatt should eventually reclaim their spots, but McClellan has done enough to stay in the conversation.
Dennis-Sutton hasn’t generated the same buzz, but he’s putting together a strong summer of his own. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has had the fourth-round edge rusher working inside at times, and that move has given him another way to impact practice. His best work has come with pads on, which matters.
Bill Huber of Packers On SI named Dennis-Sutton the best player of Monday’s padded session, saying the rookie “spent half of the practice in the offense's backfield.”
"He had three tackles for losses, including one in which he tossed rookie running back Jaden Nixon like he was a sack of potatoes - 'It was an accident,' he said - and a couple pressures," Huber added.
Jager Burton has also climbed quickly after a brief setback. He left the first practice of camp with a hamstring injury, missed a few days, then came back and jumped right into first-team work.
Aaron Banks and Zach Bako-Bewele not participating in team drills opened the door, but Burton still earned the chance. He’s continued to build on a strong offseason and held up well in one-on-ones while showing he can handle multiple spots across the line.
Not every rookie is in that kind of place. Domani Jackson is still trying to catch up after missing the offseason program, and he has yet to get into team drills.
For now, he’s been limited to individual work. LaFleur said Thursday that Jackson could get more practice time after Family Night, but he also made clear the rookie corner is already behind because of all the reps he missed.
Trey Smack’s situation has its own pressure attached. The rookie kicker had a shaky offseason program, and that has carried into camp.
The Packers have tried to soften the blow by making him the only kicker on the roster, removing a veteran challenger, and LaFleur has even told officials not to indicate whether a kick is good. Even with that cover, the results are still being tracked.
The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman has Smack at 8/13 in camp so far.
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