GREEN BAY \u2014 As far as we know, nobody puked their guts out into a Don Hutson Center trashcan on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once upon a time, though, early in Matt LaFleur\u2019s tenure as the Green Bay Packers head coach, there might have been a rookie or two who lost his lunch while going through the annual post-draft rookie minicamp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely changed,\u201d LaFleur confessed after Friday\u2019s first rookie practice, which was conducted at jog-through speed and only loosely resembled what a typical practice looks like. \u201cAdapt or die, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to evolve. When we first got here \u2014 I\u2019ll never forget \u2014 we were putting all the guys through agility drills, and I think we had a couple of guys throw up. So we\u2019ve definitely changed our approach in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in 2019, as the Packers transitioned from Mike McCarthy to LaFleur, the post-draft rookie get-together went from being the \u201crookie orientation camp\u201d under McCarthy to a legit, football-centric minicamp that included true 11-on-11 periods and on-field work that actually allowed for evaluation.<\/p>\n
What went on during Friday\u2019s session was anything but. Even the drills were done at half-speed, and when there were 11-on-11 snaps, the quarterbacks never actually threw the ball on passing plays. Instead, they got the snap, went through their progressions while the receivers ran their routes, and then the whistle blew to end the play.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that definitely is a little strange,\u201d said quarterback Kyle McCord, who spent last year with he Philadelphia Eagles but was eligible to take part in the practice since he didn\u2019t see any action as a rookie. \u201cNot the biggest fan, but it still obviously is good work.\u201d<\/p>\n
To LaFleur, though, the work was largely secondary. In fact, the actual practice was so light that the coaches held a separate post-practice session for tryout players so they\u2019d have a better opportunity to showcase their skill sets in hopes of landing a contract before the camp was set to end on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Instead, LaFleur said, the weekend was designed to get the team\u2019s six draft picks and 10 undrafted free-agent signees ready for Phase II of the offseason program with the veterans when the rookie join them in a little over a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the majority of the guys \u2014 the draft picks, the UDFAs \u2014 it\u2019s really more of an onboarding process, get them acclimated to how we do things, give them a little bit of a taste of what\u2019s to come,\u201d LaFleur explained. \u201cFor the majority of these guys, that\u2019s the purpose behind this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why he felt it was necessary to get away from the 11-on-11 work he\u2019d put the players through in previous rookie camps, LaFleur said several tryout players suffered injuries during those practices, while the rookies who\u2019d already been signed weren\u2019t accomplishing much anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe juice isn\u2019t worth the squeeze in regards to putting people in position where they may be in harm\u2019s way,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cThese guys don\u2019t even know how to practice [in the NFL] yet. They\u2019re learning the playbook. There\u2019s a lot going on. They\u2019re drinking water out of a firehose, basically all day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully [this camp] relieves a little bit of anxiety when they come back here and all the vets are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
For their part, the rookies all confessed to some measure of anxiety or nervousness for their first official practice \u2014 no matter how low-risk it might\u2019ve been even after five of the six draft picks and all 10 undrafted players had signed their contracts earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the big thing with the rookie minicamp is just getting the playbook in front of us and having that separate from the veterans who already know this stuff so good,\u201d fifth-round pick Jager Burton, an offensive lineman from Kentucky, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big conditioning week and a big studying week. We\u2019re all used to it and I\u2019m happy [to go through it] with the other rookies, We\u2019ve just been studying at the hotel and trying to get it down together. It\u2019s just been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
So was Friday\u2019s practice \u2014 limitations and all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been exciting, a new experience. I\u2019m super excited to be here,\u201d said second-round pick Brandon Cisse, a cornerback from South Carolina who was the only unsigned rookie \u2014 but still participated in the workout. \u201cI couldn\u2019t ask for anywhere better to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
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