The Green Bay Packers 2022 Preseason has come to a close. The Packers finished the Preseason with a record of 1-2 after falling to the Chiefs 17-10, giving them only one Preseason win in the last six attempts. So what? Big deal, who cares? While the final score may not necessarily matter, there are many individuals in green and gold that care, a lot. For them, this could be their career on the line. Or this could be the difference between a final roster spot, and a practice squad spot. After Thursday night’s game, whose stock is on the rise?
Obviously, the first-round pick Quay Walker isn’t at risk of losing his roster spot. But when it comes to the expectations of a day one pick in Preseason, it’s just looking the part. Walker was everywhere in the short time he was on the field Thursday night. Always around the ball, he finished his short time with 5 combined tackles in a three-way tie for most on the team despite his limited action. I absolutely cannot wait to see how well Quay Walker, and All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell play together this season.
There were some individuals that seemed to think Amari Rodgers would be a roster cut this year. I think Thursday night’s game solidified that those individuals were crazy. Amari Rodgers not only had a few good catches, one springing for 15 yards, totaling 39 yards in the air all together, but he also came out of the backfield as a runner for a few touches. Rodgers showed us against the Chiefs that he really is the Swiss-army knife we heard about a year ago, and he could be poised for a breakout year.
Before the first Preseason game I wrote an article on Tyler Goodson making a strong statement so far in camp. He has not let me down. He has been dubbed “Aaron Jones Lite” by some, and he will make final roster decisions difficult on Tuesday. Thursday night he had 7 runs for 28 yards including a 24-yard touchdown run that contained a spin-move that made me think of the early days of Eddie Lacy. He didn’t settle for yards on the ground though as he also had the second-most catches on the team receiving 5 targets for 26 yards. Goodson will be on the roster bubble on Tuesday, it will be very hard to not give him a spot, it could come down to him being a casualty of needing depth elsewhere. If so, I hope he at least makes it to our Practice Squad.
Well, that was a pretty good night for the 7th round rookie receiver, wasn’t it? Before Thursday night’s matchup Toure had only record 3 catches for 42 yards. He then broke out catching six of eight targets for 83 yards. One of which was very close to being a touchdown to make his stat line look even more impressive. Samori Toure definitely showed up to Kansas City ready to make a statement, and he did not fail in his attempt ensuring his stock would be on the rise heading in to cut day. I honestly think Toure is going to make the 53-man roster, but if he doesn’t, I really hope he makes it to our Practice Squad where I have no doubt, he’ll make it to the 53 one day.
Chris Slayton has been popping up constantly in Training Camp practices and in Preseason games. He’s always finding ways to rush the QB or to make a play here and there. His stat-line may not have been impressive with 2 tackles and one QB rush, but he was still disrupting plays at every turn. The depth is strong on the Defensive Line, it could be hard to crack the 53, but if there’s a final bubble guy to add, it might be Chris Slayton.
This could be Jack Heflin’s final chance at a football career. And he made sure he put on a performance. Not only was Heflin tied for most total tackles on the team with 5, but he made two huge drive-killing plays for the Packers defense. The first came on 4th and 1 when Heflin sped through the line to blow up the KC ball-carrier, turning the ball over on downs. Now you might say it was a blown blocking assignment by the KC offense, but it was still impressive to see Heflin fly through the line and take down the ball carrier with authority. If you doubted him after that play, Jack Heflin decided later to force a fumble resulting in a big yardage loss for KC that they were unable to recover from. Spots available on the Packers Defensive line might be scarce, but I’m rooting for Heflin to keep his Packers career alive.
Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to PackersTalk as well as CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter at @gmeinholz. for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
——————
1 response to “Whose Stock is on the Rise After Packers vs Chiefs?”