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Preseason is the time for young and/or unheralded players to make a name for themselves. To make the case to coaches to not just make the 53-man roster, but to also get some playing time. It also could work the other way. Players who don't perform up to par in the preseason could see themselves get squeezed for playing time. Or, in the worst case, move to the outside looking in of the 53-man roster.
This competition is happening all across the NFL, and the Green Bay Packers are no exception. Fortunately for them, three players, in particular, are standing up and seeing their stock shoot to the moon with their play in training camp and the preseason. Who could these players be?
3) Luke Musgrave
A knee injury derailed Luke Musgrave's final season at Oregon State, but that didn't stop the Packers from making him a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Ever since, the drumbeat for Musgrave has been loud and hasn't stopped. From the beginning of camp, Musgrave was handling all of Green Bay's snaps at tight end.
The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, who covers the Packers, pointed Musgrave as someone whose stock was rising before the Packers' preseason game.
Good morning from Cincinnati, where the Packers practice the Bengals today.
Through two weeks of camp, here are six guys whose stock is rising and four whose stock is falling, and why: https://t.co/o3fkpvvs79
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 9, 2023
Per Nate Jahnke of PFF, Jordan Love and the starting unit played 12 snaps. Luke Musgrave was in for all 12 of those snaps. He also played all of the snaps with the starters in the Packers' Family Night scrimmage a week before their preseason game against the Bengals. It's pretty obvious who the Packers' number one tight end is. Musgrave's stock has been on the rise ever since he got drafted.
2) Emanuel Wilson
The battle for the Packers' number three running spot behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon has largely consisted of Lew Nichols, another seventh-round pick by the Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft, Tyler Goodson, an undrafted running back from Iowa a year ago, and Patrick Taylor, who has hung around the edges of Green Bay's roster for a couple of seasons now. That was before Emanuel Wilson entered the chat. Wilson was an undrafted free agent out of the HBCU Fort Valley State. But with the 4.58 40-yard dash wheels he showed off while being 5-10 and 226 pounds suggests he probably should have been drafted.
His name is Emanuel Wilson from Fort Valley State University and he made the most of his six carries: 111 rushing yards & 2 TDs 🔥@1kEmanuelWilson | @packers | #NFLPreseason pic.twitter.com/NgwhMdjhuj
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2023
Wilson broke out with 111 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries in his preseason debut. It's still unclear if Wilson will crack the 53-man roster as the Packers' third running back, but he made his case last week to get that spot.
1) Carrington Valentine
There might not have been a Green Bay Packer who had a better performance in Week 1 of the preseason than Carrington Valentine. Valentine is a former wide receiver who converted to cornerback and was a 7th-round pick by the Green Bay Packers out of the University of Kentucky. 231 players were selected before Valentine, and that looks like a mistake. Even in the early stages of training camp, Valentine gave the impression of a major draft steal.
Packers rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine has turned into one of the must-watch young players of training camp. https://t.co/H7cIePpexR
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) August 1, 2023
And then the Packers' first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati happened. Valentine, the Cincinnati native, had one heck of a homecoming. Valentine had four tackles and three pass deflections. Almost every time he got the matchup against the Bengals' Andrei Iosivas, a rookie receiver out of Princeton, Valentine had his way.
Valentine even added an interception along the way. It was a bit fortuitous, but it counts all the same.
.@run_carri7 gets the pick!#GBvsCIN | #GoPackGo
📺: Packers TV Network + NFL Network pic.twitter.com/TVeCJILNTO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 12, 2023
A couple of days later, Valentine housed an interception he got against Jordan Love in practice.
Practice ends with a huge play by Carrington Valentine. Picks off Jordan Love on a out for Romeo Doubs. Got a tremendous jump on it, picked it off in stride and went 80 yards for a TD.
No practice tomorrow. The fighting Belichicks here on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/Su7buUSHsc
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 14, 2023
Carrington Valentine has played so well in camp that he could get playing time immediately as a seventh-round rookie. He might even start while Eric Stokes recovers from the torn ACL he suffered a year ago. There isn't a Packer whose stock has risen more than Valentine's in camp.
Moving forward
Not everyone sees their stock rise in the preseason. The Packers are fortunate that a few of their players have. Carrington Valentine, Emanuel Wilson, and Luke Musgrave are just a few that have. So much so that it is possible, and likely in the case of Musgrave, that they will be counted upon by the Packers once the regular season is underway.
