Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd (32) has played just one game in his first two seasons.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.The Green Bay Packers begin their preseason at Pittsburgh Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST).
After two weeks of hitting each other, the Packers are excited to smack somebody else.
“It’s different making plays in a game,” Green Bay linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “I feel like when you’ve actually got to tackle the guy, there’s true penalties, there’s true issues when you’re trying to get open on a route or cover somebody.”
Green Bay’s young players and reserves will get the majority of the reps. But the starters will also begin the game and play for a stretch.
The six frontliners all have something to prove and are worth paying close attention to.
MARSHAWN LLOYD, RB
Lloyd’s story has been well documented.
The 2024 third round draft pick has played just one game — and 10 snaps — in two years due to a bevy of injuries. Lloyd hasn’t played in a regular season game since Week 2, 2024.
Lloyd has stayed healthy this camp, though, and gets a chance to show his stuff against the Steelers.
“Now it’s my time to give back,” Lloyd said. “I’m excited. I’m ready to go. I’m going to show them why they picked me in the third round.”
TYROD TAYLOR, QB
The Packers had arguably the NFL’s best No. 2 quarterback in Malik Willis the last two seasons. Willis parlayed that into a three-year, $67.5 million deal with Miami this offseason.
The 37-year-old Taylor has seen everything during his 15 years in the NFL, but he must show he’s still got the skill set to win games if Jordan Love is injured. Taylor had a slow start to camp, but has picked it up in the last week and hopes to build on that against the Steelers.
“I’m just going out there and playing ball,” Taylor said. “Obviously, training camp and OTAs, those are times where you continue to gain as much knowledge, get more comfortable.
“Day in and day out, coaches are putting us in situations that require us to not only think fast but be efficient. Those are the challenges each and every day is to go out and execute at a high level. I think that’s been the main the goal and I think I’m doing a good job of it and I’m going to continue to keep improving.”
BRANDON CISSE, CB
Green Bay’s second round draft pick in April moved into the starting lineup on Aug. 2 when Carrington Valentine went down with a hamstring injury. The moment hasn't been too big for Cisse, who’s played at a high level and appears to have a grip on one starting spot.
Cisse has looked good against Green Bay’s wideouts. Now, he wants to do against someone else’s.
“I set a really high standard, so it’s going,” Cisse said of his camp. “Obviously I’ve got really high expectations for myself… I’m just looking at the plays I can get better from, and I’m excited for those. Obviously there’s going to be moments where you see flashes and things like that, but there’s a lot of growing pains I’m also going through. I need to get better at those things. I’m just excited to clean it up and continue to get better every day.”
JACOB MONK, RG
Monk replaced Anthony Belton as the No. 1 right guard last week and gets a chance to solidify that spot.
Monk, now in his third year, played just six snaps from scrimmage his first 33 games before playing a full game at Minnesota in Week 18 last year. Monk tore a biceps in the Packers’ playoff loss at Chicago, spent his offseason recovering and has had a solid camp.
Is he ready to go from a non-factor his two seasons to a starting job?
“I just want to be consistent in everything I do,” Monk said. “I think they’ve always known I’m going to play hard, I’m going to give everything I have. But I just want to show them I can be consistent with everything too.”
JORDAN MORGAN, LT
After two seasons of bouncing around the offensive line, Green Bay’s 2024 first round draft pick is back to his favorite position.
Can he handle it?
Morgan has terrific athleticism and feet, but has a lot to prove — starting Thursday.
“His home, where he played in college, was left tackle, so he's kind of at his natural spot right now,” Green Bay offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Morgan. “So yeah, I think that's one thing as a young guy you just gotta learn the different nuances to the position, but he's done a nice job just going back over there at left tackle and now it's just focusing on that.”
LUKAS VAN NESS, EDGE
Van Ness, Green Bay’s 2023 first round draft pick, has just 8.5 sacks in his first three seasons.
Van Ness missed eight games with a foot injury last year and played through a broken right thumb in 2024. Van Ness is healthy now, and has had a largely productive summer.
With Micah Parsons (ACL) out to begin the year, Van Ness will be counted on to be the Packers’ No. 1 pass rusher and prove he was worth the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“We have a standard that we want to play,” Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “One day to do it is great. Can you do it day three and day four, so on and so forth? That was my challenge to Lukas and he's done a good job of responding to that.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com