Training camp is often the setting for young players on the brink of something big to take the next step and become a legitimate difference-maker for their team.
Who will be the breakout players for the Green Bay Packers this summer?
For the sake of this exercise, no rookies will be included. Only players with at least one year of experience.
Here are the five best breakout candidates for Matt LaFleur’s team at training camp:
Honorable mentions
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
TE Josiah Deguara: He’s still recovering from an ACL injury, but the 2020 third-round pick is almost certain to be Matt LaFleur’s preferred H-back option. OL Jon Runyan Jr.: He played important snaps as a backup as a rookie. A starting job could be in reach during Year 2. LB Krys Barnes: A surprise starter as a rookie, the undrafted free agent from UCLA could play 800 or more snaps if he wins back the job in 2021. CB Josh Jackson: Might the change in scheme finally unlock the talent? This summer could be his last chance in Green Bay. OLB Jonathan Garvin: The 2020 seventh-round pick is still only 21 years old. Can he emerge as a capable fourth edge rusher?
RB A.J. Dillon
Green Bay Packers running back A.J. Dillon (28) participates in minicamp practice Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Green Bay, Wis.
Week 16 of his rookie season provided all the evidence necessary for a second-year breakout. Dillon, in his first extended action, ran through tacklers and created a career-high 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns during a blowout win over the Tennessee Titans at a snowy Lambeau Field. Now that Jamaal Williams is in Detroit, a golden opportunity to be the complementary weapon to Aaron Jones is wide open for Dillon. The 247-pound back could receive 150 or more touches in the role. His size and tackle-breaking ability are well known, but the Packers think he’s going to be a valuable player in the passing game, too. At least 100 carries and 25 or more catches are certainly possible with a full season, and any injury to Jones would turn Dillon into an important player. Opportunity plus talent is a terrific recipe for a breakout.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Keke (96) sacks Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) late in the second quarter during their football game Sunday, December 6, 2020, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. It was his second sack on the night.
Keke’s breakout as a disruptive player along the Packers defensive line began during his second season. He produced four sacks and 22 pressures, the fifth-most on the roster. Building on his second-year jump in Year 3 could turn Keke from a valuable role player into an important part of what the Packers do on defense every week. Can he survive on early downs against the run and be a three-down player? Even if he can’t, his ability to disrupt from an interior position can be such a game-changing asset. Keke is so quick at almost 290 pounds. Joe Barry might have the scheme – coming from Los Angeles, where he worked with a transcendent talent in Aaron Donald – to get even more from an interior attacker like Keke.
LB Kamal Martin
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Martin, a fifth-round pick in 2020, looked the part during his first training camp last summer and then flashed moments of impressive downhill attacking ability against the run as a rookie (12 defensive stops on 208 total snaps). He certainly wasn’t perfect, and teams were able to get him out of position at times in the run game, but the flashes suggest the potential is there for Martin to develop into a quality player at a position where the Packers have struggled to find answers. If Martin can become more consistent in Year 2 while continuing to add value as a rusher and in coverage, he could be a three-down player. His length and speed are assets. A breakout player at inside linebacker might be necessary for the Packers to ascend to something greater on defense.
OLB Rashan Gary
(AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)
The easiest pick of the bunch. One could argue Gary’s breakout really arrived to end last year when he was a consistently disruptive edge rusher from Week 10 on. But the Packers think he’s capable of much more, and his development arc through his first two seasons suggests the team is right. Like many predicted, Gary has needed time, but he’s starting to figure out how to use his rare physical gifts to dominate at a premium position. Preston Smith might be back, but Gary could easily be a full-time starter in 2021. Signs of real progress were evident during last year’s training camp, and he was terrific during the offseason workout program. More development this summer could turn Gary into a player that could produce 50 or more pressures and 10 or more sacks this season.
QB Jordan Love
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) is shown during a mandatory minicamp Tuesday, June 8, 2021 in Green Bay, Wis.
Regardless of Aaron Rodgers’ future, Love has a real opportunity during training camp and the preseason to wash away the taste of his redshirt rookie season and establish himself as a legitimate starter at the NFL level. If Rodgers doesn’t show, Love is going to get the lion’s share of camp reps, including during joint practices against the Jets, and the preseason will provide three different opportunities to play against live competition in a game setting. Love is talented as a thrower. He’s been in the offense for over a year. The scheme and the weapons are good. There will be growing pains with Love, but breaking out is certainly a possibility this summer.
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