Packers 2012 Training Camp Depth Chart: Week 3

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Jamari Lattimore
Jamari Lattimore, #57, has been carving out a spot for himself among the inside linebackers.

As the Green Bay Packers Training Camp unfolds, I am going to do my best to track the players along the depth chart. While things will certainly change over the course of the preseason, this gives us an idea of how the coaches are valuing the players.

Please note that this is not a projection, but rather a snapshot ranking based on observations of training camp practices. Those players seen on the first team units are obviously in the running for starting jobs, while those on second team units are still working their way up the ladder. And as we should all know by know, special teams roles will continue to play a part in how each player is valued.

Notes are provided after each position to help you understand why players were ranked as they are. Most of my information comes from the beat writers who have been watching practice, using their Twitter feeds and articles as references. Players in green have risen in the rankings since the last list, while players in red have fallen.

*** NOTE: This has been one crazy week with all the sustained injuries, so please just keep that in mind as you take a look through the depth chart. I’ve tried to be as reasonable as possible, and hopefully my notes will help you understand my decisions. Thanks.

Quarterback
Rodgers, Aaron
Harrell, Graham
Coleman, B.J.

  • Harrell seems to be easing the doubts of Packers fans concerned about the backup QBs.

Running Back
Green, Alex
Starks, James
Saine, Brandon
Tyler, Marc
Bennett, Du’ane

  • Starks has turf toe and will be week to week. Green will definitely be getting his touches during that time, though he is still on a rep count. Stark’s performance on Thursday didn’t help his stock much, either.
  • As pointed out by our friend Oppy, Bennett has been showing up more than Tyler in practice; however, with the injury to Bennett, I’m going to hold off on bumping him up for now. We’ll keep an eye on how things progress.

Fullback
Kuhn, John
Cooper, Nic
Hoese, Jon

  • Cooper continues to get more reps with Hoese now nursing an injury.

Tight End
Finley, Jermichael
Crabtree, Tom
Williams, D.J.
Taylor, Ryan
Bostick, Brandon
Lair, Eric
Cosby, DeMarco
* Quarless, Andrew

  • Williams has been showing more overall improvement than Taylor so far in camp.
  • Though Bostick hasn’t necessarily moved yet, he seems to be making a strong push for the practice squad at the least.

Wide Receiver
Jennings, Greg
Nelson, Jordy
Driver, Donald
Cobb, Randall
Jones, James
Borel, Diondre
Gurley, Tori
Moss, Dale
Gilleylen, Curenski
Smithson, Shaky
Boykin, Jarrett
Brewer, Andy

  • McCarthy noted how happy he was with Borel’s progress from last season and mentioned his value on special teams and his diversity. At this point, if anyone is going to make the 53 beyond the Top 5, it will probably be Borel. We’ll have to see, though, how his injury affects this.
  • Brewer is the newest member of the squad, so it will be some time until we can figure out where to rank him.
  • Smithson and Boykin seem to be slowly losing the WR battle, while Moss and Gilleylen are making some noise and might be pushing themselves into the practice squad discussion.

Center
Saturday, Jeff
Dietrich-Smith, Evan
Sampson, Genus
Draheim, Tommie

  • Nothing has really changed here.

Guard
Sitton, Josh
Lang, T.J.
Dietrich-Smith, Evan
Dominguez, Ray
Draheim, Tommie
Van Roten, Greg
Barclay, Don
Wells, Reggie
* Brooks, Jaymes

  • Wells was signed this week. As with Brewer, we’ll need some time to adequately rank him.
  • Brooks was placed on the Reserve/PUP list this week.

Tackle
Bulaga, Bryan
Newhouse, Marshall
Taylor, Herb
Datko, Andrew
Allard, Shea
* Sherrod, Derek
* McCabe, Mike

  • Datko and Taylor were rotating at LT during Saturday’s practice with Newhouse and Sherrod still out.
  • McCabe was placed on Injured Reserve this week.

Defensive Tackle
Pickett, Ryan
Raji, B.J.
Muir, Daniel
Daniels, Mike
* Jones, Johnny

  • Muir seems to be making plays lately. We’ll see what happens now that Daniels is returning from injury, but for now Muir gets the nod.

Defensive End
Raji, B.J.
Wilson, C.J.
Worthy, Jerel
Wynn, Jarius
Merling, Phillip
Guy, Lawrence
+ Neal, Mike
+ Hargrove, Anthony

  • Merling got some reps with the No. 1 defense on Saturday. No sure if he’s elevated a whole lot, but definitely seems to be ahead of Guy, who hasn’t done much of anything lately.

Inside Linebacker
Hawk, A.J.
Smith, D.J.
Lattimore, Jamari
Francois, Robert
Manning, Terrell
Bishop, Desmond

  • Lattimore is on all four Special Teams units, giving him a distinct advantage in making the final 53.
  • I had this written down this before the preseason game: “Though his ranking hasn’t changed, Bishop’s return to practice has highlighted just why the Packers like (and need) him so much.” His season is now in jeopardy, though, with surgery necessary for his hamstring. He also suffered a knee sprain.

Outside Linebacker
Matthews, Clay
Perry, Nick
Moses, Dezman
+ Walden, Erik
Jones, Brad
So’oto, Vic
* Zombo, Frank

  • Moses was seen on the No. 1 punt cover team. It’s unsure whether the large number of injuries contributed, but it does help to provide some context for where he stands. He also had a good showing against the Chargers.

Cornerback
Williams, Tramon
Woodson, Charles
Hayward, Casey
Bush, Jarrett
Shields, Sam
House, Davon
Ross, Brandian
Otis, Merrill
Turner, Dion

  • House made some noise during the preseason game, though his injury will have him out for 2-3 weeks. This will give Hayward, Bush, and Shields more chances to prove themselves.
  • Hayward worked with the No. 1 defense on Saturday with Shields and House injured, and also ahead of Bush.

Safety
Burnett, Morgan
Woodson, Charles
Jennings, M.D.
McMillian, Jerron
Levine, Anthony
Richardson, Sean
Pellerin, Micah

  • No real changes here.

* Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) or Injured Reserve (IR)
+ Will Serve Suspensions to Start Season

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Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski

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9 thoughts on “Packers 2012 Training Camp Depth Chart: Week 3

  1. Not nit-picking, but a guy “moving up” due to injury is not a good reason, IMO. I find it very disturbing that House was moving up and is now out for who knows how long for sure….and our best ILB probably out for the year incredably bad karma. Bishop has a good replacement but not House, I’m afraid.

    1. Hayward moved up on his own merits, if that’s what you’re getting at. He played with the No. 1 defense this weekend and seemed to be ahead of Bush on the depth chart for the preseason game.

  2. You know. I would be taking a guess here, but I think McCarthy has already decided to give House the 2CB spot.

    Dislocated shoulders aren’t really that serious in a sense I would think. Plus if your giving him 2-3 weeks rest I would be a betting man that he was getting a spot else he be given a week off.

    Then again I could be reading too much into it, but House is probably a lock this season.

    1. I agree. I think House will make the 53-man roster. His only other option is IR, since I don’t see the Packers releasing him at all.

      I toyed with where I wanted to put him in the line-up, since he is clearly the favorite for the spot opposite Williams. However, knowing that he’ll be gone for multiple weeks, I decided it would be best to show that Hayward, Bush, and Shields are available to take the snaps. I don’t expect it to stay like this, but as I have said every week, this is intended to be more of a snapshot picture than anything final.

  3. Pretty much spot on.

    It might not be a bad idea to have a subset of Defensive Tackle listed: Nose Tackle.

    Daniel Muir really did flash on thursday, but even with Mike Daniels out for the time being, it seems odd and a apples-to-oranges situation to list him ahead of Daniels.. I have to think Muir will end up playing NT in base, while guys like Daniels and Worthy will more than likely get a good deal of reps as interior DT’s in 4 down alignments (dime, 4-down nickle fronts if we play any) or in 2 down alignments (Dom plays alot of 2-4 nickle in the past).

    1. Very good point. The number of different fronts used by the defense makes it a little more challenging to do a depth chart in this fashion, but I think what you suggest could help clear it up. I’ll try to make that adjustment for next week.

  4. Anybody else old enough to remember when John McKay brought the 3-4 to the NFL? When he did, in those early days, the line was called a nose tackle and two defensive TACKLES. This always made sense to me, because the LBs are really the defensive ENDS in a 3-4. I’m curious: Who is getting the most ime at NT when they play the 3-4? I think I read somewhere that Pickett had more downs at NT than Raji last year. I thought Raji might start at NT with Pickett as his back-up this year. I’m a Pickett fan, but he is getting older. Muir seems to be making noise there, too. I thought Worthy and Howard would be the starting 3-4 DTs, and that Worthy and Daniels would be the starting Nickel DTs (A pair of rookies? Scary.) for pass-rush pressure. There are still SOOOOO many questions about availability of the defensive line. 🙁

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