Throughout Packers training camp, we’ll bring you the five things each day that caught our attention — whether it’s a play at practice, something someone said in the locker room, a nugget of news or something offbeat that took us by surprise. 

Welcome to The High Five.

GREEN BAY — Had Matt LaFleur decided to go Biblical, he would have told his players, You are your brother’s keeper.

Had he opted profane, it would have been, Stay the [expletive] away from the quarterback.

Either way, the Green Bay Packers head coach’s message was clear in advance of Monday’s first in-pads practice of training camp.

“It’s always team first, and you’ve got to protect each other,” LaFleur said before practice at Ray Nitschke Field. “Obviously, this is our first opportunity to come together in pads, and [I] just went over the rules of engagement in terms of how we ‘thud’ and what that looks like.”

Since very few if any teams tackle to the ground in training camp, in-pads practices require players to tag off or “thud,” which is less-physical collision than an actual tackle.

Except when it comes to quarterbacks, of course. LaFleur doesn’t want his defensive players even breathing on Jordan Love, Tyrod Taylor, Kyron Drones or Kyle McCord.

“They’ve got to be smart [when rushing the passer],” LaFleur said. “If they get a [lineman] on their heels and you’re going into lap of the quarterback, that’s the one thing that I’ve been probably most disappointed with is how many guys we’ve had guys in the quarterback’s lap.

“It doesn’t take a lot. I mean, you see it all the time: Guys hitting their throwing hand on a guy’s helmet, and that’s not good for anybody. So that was definitely stressed this morning.

“We had a couple instances [Sunday] in practice when we got guys that are [too close]. Like, just veer off. You can’t get close to them. There’s going to be a time and a place for that, and that’ll be in our first preseason game.

“I don’t want them to come anywhere near the quarterback.”

Here’s our look at the five things that stood out on Monday:

1️⃣ The Packers know they have an elite trio at safety. On Monday, two of them showed off why they’re so vital to what the defense will be this season.

From two-time All-Pro Xavier McKinney picking off a Love pass early in practice to Evan Williams (and rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse) teaming up to break up a Love-to-Christian Watson deep ball later, the Packers safety crew was on point on Monday.

Not that’s any surprise. Add in safety/nickelback Javon Bullard, and the Packers arguably have the best safety threesome in the league. And they want opposing quarterbacks to beware.

“When the ball’s in the air, it’s [about] just seeing it as, ‘OK, this is our ball,’” Williams said. “Like, if you’re taking a shot in the middle of our defense, that should be a dangerous thing for quarterbacks to do. We’re trying to make that middle of the field a scary place for quarterbacks.”

2️⃣ No. 2 quarterback Tyrod Taylor celebrated birthday No. 37 with some big plays with the second-string offense.

For as much as Taylor’s signing has been framed as the valuable addition of a long-in-the-tooth veteran backup who has seen it all, how he helps Love prepare is only part of his job.

He must also be ready to play if Love, who has missed starts each of the past two seasons, can’t go. And Taylor had multiple throws Monday that showed he still can sling it: A sideline deep ball to Bo Melton, and a 60-yard deep ball to Will Sheppard in the 2-minute drill.

“I’m just going out there and playing ball,” Taylor said. “Day-in and day-out, coaches are putting us in situations that require us to not only think fast but be efficient. Those are the challenges each and every day, to go out and execute at a high level. That’s been the main goal and I think I’m doing a good job of it. And I’m going to continue to keep improving.”

3️⃣ Opportunities abound on the edge with Micah Parsons expected to be on the shelf for at least the first four games. His fellow Penn Stater, Dani Dennis-Sutton, had himself a day on Monday.

With Parsons in spectator mode, the Packers are looking for an early-season running mate for 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, and the candidates are all varying degrees of young: 2025 draft picks Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, Dennis-Sutton and Brenton Cox, who’s entering his fourth season but has played in only 15 regular-season games.

Dennis-Sutton helped his standing with multiple tackles for loss and a pressure on Taylor in 11-on-11.

“Obviously I have a bunch of things to learn, but I feel like I’ve taken a big step,” the rookie fourth-round pick said. “It was an exciting day to finally put the pads back on and be out there running around and really hitting.

“That’s what training camp is for — continuing to grow. Really, it’s an open competition in our room. I’m just here to compete and see who gets out on the field.”

4️⃣ Despite Tucker Kraft’s activation from the physically unable to perform list, he’s not doing 11-on-11 work — and the tight end ranks are thinning.

As encouraging as Kraft’s participation in drill work might be, he’s still not taking part in team periods — and neither are Luke Musgrave (neck), rookie RJ Maryland (hamstring) and Luke Lachey (lower leg).

That meant that by the end of practice Monday, the Packers’ only healthy tight ends were Josh Whyle, Drake Dabney and Messiah Swinson.

Sports Illustrated reported Monday night that the team is bringing back McCallan Castles, who joined the Packers’ practice squad after Kraft’s season-ending knee injury in November but wasn’t re-signed after the season.

5️⃣ Sheppard may still be a longshot to make the roster, but his big-time play on Monday was exactly the kind of moment that gets the coaching staff’s attention.

The Packers’ streamlined top-of-the-depth chart wide receivers are obviously Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. After them, it’s Bo Melton, Savion Williams and Skyy Moore, who is primarily a return man.

Sheppard’s big play, which came just two snaps after he’d gotten the wind knocked out of him, is a good starting point for a run at a roster spot.

“Tyrod basically out of the huddle just said, ‘Ay, make sure you run,’” Sheppard said. “And that’s exactly what I did. I just ran and got it.”

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