GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers training camp, unofficially, started on Monday. The fifth practice of training camp was the first of the year held in pads.
It was a milepost moment in training camp, the importance of which was driven home in this short-but-sweet comment by coach Matt LaFleur on defensive lineman Anthony Campbell. Campbell had one tackle as a sixth-year senior at Miami in 2024 and went undrafted in 2025, but had been the equivalent of Dikembo Mutombo for the Packers to start camp.
“Yeah, he’s flashed,” LaFleur said. “Now, I want to see it with pads.”
Speaking of players who flashed or didn’t flash in pads, here are some winners and losers from Monday.
Winner: WR Will Sheppard
The Packers have a congested battle at receiver beyond the starting trio of Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed. From the second tier of Savion Williams, Bo Melton and Skyy Moore, none have distinguished themselves on offense in their careers.
That means there’s a crack of an opening from the young group of Will Sheppard, Isaiah Neyor, J. Michael Sturdivant and Kaden Prather.
From a pure athleticism perspective, Sheppard is at the bottom of the list. From a production standpoint, dating to the offseason, he’s been at the top.
He made an incredible catch during a 2-minute drill at the end of practice. It wasn’t the catch that was impressive – though it was. It was that he was knocked out of practice twice after taking big hits but got up off the deck to make the catch for a gain of 60 to set up the “winning” field goal.
“It’s what we paid to do,” Sheppard said. “Come out here, get hit, get knocked down, just get back up, next-play mentality. So, that’s kind of how I go about my day every day.”
I mentioned this yesterday, but I love training camp because of the unheralded players who make big-time plays. That’s what made today’s Packers Plays of the Day and Player of the Day so much fun to write. I hope you enjoy. ⬇️https://t.co/hfo5x2ehL5
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 3, 2026
Loser: WR Savion Williams
While Will Sheppard made the huge play for the No. 2 offense in 2-minute, Savion Williams – last year’s third-round pick and presumably a lock to make the roster – was on the field with the No. 3s for their 2-minute.
Winner: QB Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor turned 37 and celebrated the occasion with two big-time throws.
First, on third-and-2 early in practice, he went up the right sideline for a long completion to Bo Melton against Jaylin Simpson. Later, on third-and-15, it was the aforementioned bomb to Will Sheppard that really took the cake (sorry).
Green Bay Packers quarterback Tyrod Taylor (6) greets fans during the first day of training camp Wednesday. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Taylor was signed in May to replace Malik Willis as Jordan Love’s backup. He spent most of the spring throwing one short pass after another. That Taylor is feeling more confident airing it out is a good sign because, chances are, he’s going to play meaningful snaps this season. Taylor’s experience would give the Packers a chance to be competitive. His playmaking would give the Packers a chance to win.
“I’m just going out there and playing ball,” he 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 goal and I think I’m doing a good job of it and I’m going to continue to keep improving.”
Loser: QB Kyron Drones
Undrafted rookie quarterback Kyron Drones has had his moments during camp. His interception in his 2-minute drill was not among them. He practically threw it right to linebacker TJ Quinn.
Drones has a lot of physical talent. Nobody is expecting him to be a premier player today so, in the grand scheme of things, the interception probably means nothing other than he lost an opportunity to throw more passes during an important drill.
Winner: Edge Dani Dennis-Sutton
There is absolutely no doubt who the most impactful edge player was on Monday. It was Dani Dennis-Sutton, the fourth-round pick who had three tackles for losses on running plays and a pressure of Tyrod Taylor in 2-minute.
He has been stuck with the second team for most of camp. It will be interesting to see if his impactful day will give him any chances with the starters.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Honestly, we’re all competing right now. I think Barryn (Sorrell) and Luke (Lukas Van Ness) are going with the ones a lot, but we’re all competing. We’re all young. Nobody has a spot yet. That’s what training camp is for.”
Also, it should be noted in the winners column that Brenton Cox – who usually joins Dennis-Sutton with the No. 2 defense – probably should have been awarded a sack on Jordan Love’s third-down conversion in 2-minute.
Loser: Edge Lukas Van Ness
Lukas Van Ness had a superb series of offseason practices and a strong start to training camp. He didn’t do much to distinguish himself on Monday, though. It’s just one day, obviously, but it’s at least a little noteworthy because of his limited production in his career and his enormous importance on the roster.
Or, the other side of the coin is that offensive tackles Jordan Morgan and Darian Kinnard were excellent in keeping Van Ness out of the backfield.
Winner: The Safeties
Early in practice, Xavier McKinney intercepted Jordan Love. Later, Evan Williams prevented a deep completion to Christian Watson.
Kitan Oladapo moved from safety to the slot and was impactful. A pair of third-down completions to Damien Martinez were stopped short of the marker by Mark Perry. Murvin Kenion III had a tackle for loss on a third-and-1 handoff to Jaden Nixon.
Safety pretty clearly has been one of Green Bay’s best positions since McKinney was signed in 2024. From top to bottom, it might be the best unit on the team.
Loser: The Tight Ends
The tight ends are losers. As in losing bodies.
The Packers have seven on the roster. Tucker Kraft is coming off a torn ACL and Luke Musgrave is out indefinitely with a neck injury. Now, adding injury to injury, rookie RJ Maryland was held out of practice with a hamstring injury and former Texans draft pick Luke Lachey dropped out of practice with an injured left foot.
Packers tight end Luke Lachey is the son of one of the legendary Hogs. Given a second chance, he is competing for a roster spot. ⬇️https://t.co/22j607ZJu8
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 2, 2026
That means the Packers are down to Josh Whyle, Messiah Swinson and Drake Dabney. It’s going to be hard running a practice like that.
Winner: The Rookies
Green Bay’s top four draft picks look like players.
Second-round cornerback Brandon Cisse is going to be in the running for a starting job, perhaps as early as Week 1. Third-round defensive tackle Chris McClellan continued his strong start by forcing Tyrod Taylor to throw the ball into the bleachers. Fourth-round edge player Dani Dennis-Sutton was referenced above. Fifth-round lineman Jager Burton might wind up being the top interior backup.
“It’s been awesome, man,” McClellan said of the rookie impact. “Just going out there and each of us having our chances to go out there and make big plays. Dani is all over the place, Cisse has been locking stuff down.
“It’s just awesome to see us three out there playing with the (No.) 1 defense and actually dominating. That’s cool to see the guys who got drafted, we’re always going to be a little closer because that’s our draft class. It’s just cool to see that.”
Loser: K Trey Smack
During his first two days of live kicking, rookie sixth-round Trey Smack is 8-of-13 on field goals. On Monday, he made 3-of-5 during a field-goal period, including a miss of an extra-point-distance attempt, and was 2-of-3 during 2-minute drills, with the miss clanging off the left upright from 52 yards.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, if a kicker struggles to make field goals on a relatively calm practice field, how is he going to make big field goals in a raucous environment such as the Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 1?
“I hit the ball well today. I thought I hit the ball well,” Smack said. “Those mis-hits, those are just mis-hits that happen. But if you hit the ball, they usually go in, so I’m working with Dan (Whelan) and Cal (Adomitis) and a little bit of Matt (Orzech), too, just trying to get everything locked in for the season.”
Smack’s first big-ish test will be during Friday’s Family Night. If he doesn’t have a good night, how much longer can the Packers go without bringing in a challenger?
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