The Green Bay Packers will take part in their first of three preseason games this Thursday, and there will be plenty for fans to keep an eye on, even though the results won’t count just yet.
Head coach Matt LaFleur has already confirmed that anyone that’s healthy should be prepared to play, so with that in mind, here’s my players to watch for as the Green and Gold hit the gridiron.
Brandon Cisse
Since being drafted in the second round by the Packers in April, cornerback Brandon Cisse has done nothing but impress.
The South Carolina product has already earned high praise from both his superiors and his peers—including head coach Matt LaFleur, GM Brian Gutekunst, and star wide receiver Christian Watson—and his level of preparation seems to be a step above what Green Bay has gotten out of the room in recent years.
Although the Green Bay Packers tend to be slow to integrate newly drafted players, like we saw with Matthew Golden last season, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Cisse.
Cisse has been routinely seeing opportunities with the ones on defense, and the general consensus among Packers’ media is that he’s one of their best eleven.
The preseason will test that theory.
There’s still time between now and the regular season, but as it stands, we seem to be gearing up for one of the most impactful rookie campaigns we’ve seen from a Packer in some time.
Cornerback play was certainly one of Green Bay’s biggest flaws last year, and with Keisean Nixon only continuing to struggle as of late, the door is wide open.
The Packers may have taken far too long to invest in the position, but now that they have, the return might just be worth the wait.
John Williams and Jager Burton
The offensive line isn’t the most exciting position to watch on the football field, but the Green Bay Packers paid the price for their lack of proven depth last year.
Injuries piled up, starters played below expectations, and what was once a shoo-in strength for the team became a serious weakness.
This season, the Packers will be looking for more consistency, but things already seem uncertain.
The return of Zach Bako-Bewele will be a huge help, but based on results so far, I think we may end up relying on either Jager Burton or John Williams to become a significant piece of the puzzle, and perhaps by the end of the year, a starter.
Anthony Belton has struggled at both tackle and guard in camp, and although the team still has high hopes for him, he seems to have plateaued a bit in his development.
That, along with continued health struggles for players like Aaron Banks, will demand others to step up.
I already talked about Burton briefly during OTAs, but Williams, who was drafted in the seventh round last year and missed the 2025 season with an injury, may be the biggest surprise.
Williams has held his own in practice thus far, and the preseason will be a major opportunity for him to secure his spot as one of the first lineman off the bench in rotations.
With enough looks, he could end up being the Green Bay Packers next late-round gem at the position.
Trey Smack
7th round kicker Trey Smack’s training camp has been over-analyzed by Packers fans—including myself—already, but that will only continue to be the case throughout the preseason.
Smack’s performance has left something to be desired so far, as he’s converted on just sixteen of his twenty-three attempts as of this morning, and considering the Green Bay Packers’ recent history at kicker, the pressure is at an all-time high.
Despite the unsteady start, the former Florida Gator did have a promising showing at Family Night, where he was six of seven and showed plenty of long-range ability in warmups.
If all goes well, it could be the beginning of an upward trajectory.
The preseason will be Smack’s first chance at real game situations, and having fans in the stands and games to win might make a real difference for the rookie.
According to Matt LaFleur, Smack’s “gonna be a work in progress,” but in the eyes of the Cheesehead faithful, he won’t have long to work out the kinks.
