It was a night filled with anticipation for the Green Bay Packers, as their week of practices against the Cincinnati Bengals culminated with Friday’s preseason tilt. With Jordan Love taking on his first snaps as the starter, there were plenty of ups and downs across both sides of the ball for the away team.
Their 36-point outburst seemed pretty impressive across all three facets of the team, even though they were far from perfect. While chalking up this preseason performance to anything more than a rehearsal for backups, there still were a few players that stood out from the pack.
Sean Clifford
The lack of veteran experience at the quarterback position is very unsettling for Green Bay, but if Sean Clifford is able to build off of his performance from Friday, things may be a bit better off.
His two interceptions were most notably the low points of his performance, but completing over 75 percent of his 26 attempts for over 200 yards and a TD are important takeaways as well. Clifford showed some promise on Friday, going through his progressions before making his throw, showing that his decision-making skills have somewhat improved.
As long as Clifford continues on this path, then he looks to be in the driver’s seat for the QB2 role this year.
Emanuel Wilson
A feel-good story but with impressive on-field results is a great way to describe the impact that Emanuel Wilson had Friday against the Bengals. While he did only record six carries, Wilson pushed two into the end zone, including one from 80 yards out.
The Division II product from Fort Valley State (Ga.) University had his ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment on the 14th anniversary of his father’s death, something that Aaron Jones made sure to note after Wilson’s first TD.
While Wilson is fighting an uphill battle to be considered for the roster, he showcased his skills early and often for the Packers on Friday.
Carrington Valentine
With the top of the cornerback depth chart locked down, it is the depth pieces that need to be filled out for Green Bay. Carrington Valentine has become a mainstay in the headlines throughout practice, and he showed out against the Bengals too.
Four tackles, three passes defended, and one interception summarizes how well Valentine performed, and he was targeted six times, having allowed a measly 2.8 passer rating.
If Valentine can continue this level of play, then he will be yet another late-round CB prospect that the Packers unearthed. He would do wonders for our depth moving forward, and would help fill in in case any injuries pop up for the guys above him on the depth chart.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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