You were right I haven't thought about Anderson or his making that interception for a long time. Cox will make the team for sure, and I think he'll have an impactful season to go along with the end of last season and be able to ask for a nice or nicer contract. These other two will have to be special team aces again if they want a chance to be on the roster before any injuries happen. Always liked Heath and what he brought, but I'm glad there's so much more competition this season. I just hope it's the best players not the coaches' favorites that make the team.

The Al Davis in me prefers speed, so I favor Melton over Heath, but even a dope like me knows CATCHING the ball is job #1. So we’ll see.

I remember being pleasantly surprised with Zayne on D last season. He benefits from expectations being low. Kind of a ying to LVN’s yang. I also take a grain of salt with any player who looks good in limited opps. To whit: in high school, we had a blitz in which the safety shot the A gap. So in one early scrimmage, we had a backup safety look like a god bc when he was on the field, the opposing team attempted to run the ball in that same gap, and our guy made the tackle in the backfield. Now, granted, he didn’t MISS the tackle, but…I knew from practicing with him every day he was not starting material (even on a crappy team like ours!)

I think this time of year is fun. Kind of a month long Christmas Eve! TC is just around the corner!
GPG!

When Preston Smith was traded everyone thought LVN would be the primary beneficiary. Turned out that Cox outplayed him and everyone else to grab the lion's share of Smith's snaps. Wouldn't surprise me at all if that happens again. Cox has talent and if given a fair chance could be an impactful player for the Packers. I want LVN to succeed too, but may the best player win and help the Packer pass rush.

Heath is a highly reliable blocker and doesn't drop the football when he is thrown to. I hope he finds a place on the 53.

Cox....I would love to see this kid get more snaps on Defense. Last season he showed up when given a chance and something tells me the Packers have something in Cox. The SECOND LVN get's blocked by a TIGHT END on multiple occasions, AGAIN, Hafley needs just sit his ass down and keep playing Cox. The 13th overall draft pick being handled by a TE just doesn't cut it people!

Zayne Anderson...I made a comment about Anderson last year and a few people made fun of my take on him. When Anderson did fill in for injuries he actually graded out on PFF really well. He plays ST very well and the Packers could do much worse than Anderson as a backup safety.

Heath...Al mentioned it. Heath does catch the ball but holy crap, the kid can/does block his ass off. He plays to the whistle every play doing his job. ALL three of these guys are UDFA IIRC. Personally I could give a damn where he came from, I care if he can play ball. All three of these kids can and I for one hope they stay on the Packers for the 2025 season.

GO PACK GO!!!

As far as I am concerned, actual play trumps draft position once it’s been demonstrated. With Cox, he’s shown enough that it would almost be irresponsible not to give him the opportunity to show if he can keep it up. That sort of thing is the essence of development. If teams don’t reward it they are cutting their nose off to spite their face and, at the same time, sending the wrong message to other young players.

Melton is a slot WR. His biggest obstacle is that he’s not getting much opportunity as one. Like Reed, he’s not particularly suited to other WR roles. Heath is an X ideally who can play some big slot and some Z. Watson aside at the X, those are the weakest position on the current depth chart. Wicks could change that if his catching steps up (and dramatically) but that’s still an “if”, despite his incredible ability to get open.

So for me it’s not impossible that Heath makes it as the second X or Y option. However, that’s on the assumption that Williams isn’t ready: if he is, it’s likely him not Melton that’s the difference. Melton need to bring more than Hardman and the Packers to not want Golden to focus on the slot primarily. Obviously the wild card is injuries, but this should be a great fight for the depth WR positions. Bring on camp and let’s see who rises and hope that the coaches give all a fair shot.

I think the Packers mostly looked away from high end talent at DE/OLB in the draft because they like Cox. He went from inactive every week to about a 35% snap share every week when they dealt P. I'd have to hear how he graded out against the run, but he didn't seem to be a liability. At some point, too, with those two high end draft picks (Gary and LVN) you need to be able to put your draft capital elsewhere and hope the coaches can grow the in-house guys or scheme them into higher end guys.

After adding Sorrell--who seems like he was added to replace Enagbare--you have to wonder how the Packers are going to handle the depth at DE. After Smith was dealt, the Packers went to a heavy rotation at edge...we might see that from the start this season. The loser after this year's draft might be Arron Mosby who went from core special teamer to 25%-ish snap share when P was moved, and played pretty well. He'll end up on someone's roster, but unless he's absolutely lights-out (I'm not going to tempt fate with the "I" word), I don't think there's any room for him in GB.

Safeties get hurt, so you need depth there--especially when you're using one to cover the slot pretty frequently. I just figured Anderson to be a core ST guy, but he was playing ahead of Oladapo last year and he surprised me how well he did in his defensive snaps. He's a scrappy guy and a keeper as that 4th S and STs stalwart if he gets leapfrogged on the depth chart...but he also went to BYU so even though he's only played a couple years, he's almost old enough to run for president. ~~~

Heath is going to have a hard time making the 53, which is too bad because for the most part he's been a gamer when called upon. Two questions figure in here...
...do the Packers keep 5 or 6 WR?
...when will Watson be ready to play?
Assuming Watson starts out on the PUP, it looks like Doubs, Reed, Wicks, and Golden are four locks at WR, and that grows to 5 depending on how you view Savion Williams (he seems to lack fit with traditional position groups...he seems to be more 'athlete' than anything else). That leaves guys like Melton, Hardman, and Heath fighting for one spot. If Watson defies the odds and practices during camp, that pushes all of those other three guys out the door. I expect the Packers will bring Watson along very slowly so he's as recovered as possible, which allows them to utilize that roster spot to protect someone past cuts.

Catch a mess, dude.

I agree on all 3 players having promise this upcoming season. Brenton Cox Jr. is the truth. I firmly believe that and wouldn't be surprised to see him emerge as our top DE by season's end. The Packers need all the help they can get at DE, and having Cox Jr. competing for a starter position after a strong finish to 2024 is a good thing. There's so much focus on improved coaching efforts at the position for 2025 that we might realize more success from DE than we might have imagined. We'll see.

I noticed last year that Al's column tends to get replaced by other columns quicker than most. I hope this season they keep it up longer.

I got nuttin. These are borderline what if players. Just have to see how things play out but injuries to their competition could obviously help them out. We will see

Enjoy vacation Al!

I have always like Heath. He's easy to root for, especially after a horrific car crash in 2021:

"On December 2, 2021, Heath was involved in a car crash in Mississippi, suffered a double lung collapse, a ruptured liver, and broke his entire rib cage. Heath was airlifted to Memphis, Tennessee, and underwent emergency surgery to save his life."

That he has been playing for the Packers for two years is nothing short of amazing. His work ethic and attention to detail is among the best on the team. He just catches targets and plows the road. Don't count him out.

I will be shocked if Cox, Jr does not make the 53. Hafley will want him in his DE rotation. He may have been a 1st rounder had he not pooped in his mess kits off the field at Georgia and Florida...he's that talented. By all accounts he has been a model teammate as a Packer. Van Ness and Enagbare may both be looking up at him on the depth chart by September.