The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 31-7. It was very enjoyable. We should do this every weekend.
Beyond the win, though, let’s look at the Packers’ snap counts to see what is staying the same and what is changing as the season unfolds. For the most part, we know what this squad is, but there are a couple of change-ups from Week 5.
Quarterback
- Jordan Love: 57 snaps
- Tyrod Taylor: 2
Tyrod Taylor was on the field for the kneel-downs. Don’t make too much out of this one.
Running Back
- MarShawn Lloyd: 26
- Pierre Strong Jr.: 24
- Kaleb Johnson: 9
Pretty early on, it was obvious that not only was MarShawn Lloyd going to
out-snap Kaleb Johnson, who led the Packers in rushing last week, but that Pierre Strong Jr., fresh off his practice squad promotion, also displaced Johnson. It’s going to be interesting to see how Green Bay plays the roster number game once Josh Jacobs returns to the lineup and Chris Brooks is brought back from the injured reserve. It’s going to be impossible to keep all these backs on the 53-man roster when they’re all active. At some point, cuts are going to have to happen.
Most of Johnson’s action came late in the game in garbage time. He did not play a single snap in the first half.
Receiver
- Christian Watson: 48
- Matthew Golden: 45
- Bo Melton: 28
- Skyy Moore: 11
- J. Michael Sturdivant: 7
With Skyy Moore going down with an injury, Bo Melton took over the slot role. Melton is the third receiver to play that role for the Packers, following injuries to both Moore and Jayden Reed. For what it’s worth, J. Michael Sturdivant and Savion Williams, who is now practicing with the team despite still being on Green Bay’s injured reserve list, have seen the vast majority of their snaps as outside receivers.
If Moore, who was seen wearing a walking boot post-game, is out for any substantial amount of time, assume you’re going to see Melton taking over full-time in the slot.
Tight End
- Tucker Kraft: 45
- Mark Redman: 21
- Jonnu Smith: 21
- Josh Whyle: 10
Josh Whyle continues to be the fourth tight end in the pecking order, while Mark Redman and Jonnu Smith split the TE2 job behind Tucker Kraft. We have not received any updates on tight end Luke Musgrave, who has spent all of the regular season on the PUP list with a neck injury.
Offensive Line
- Jordan Morgan (LT): 59
- Laken Tomlinson (LG): 59
- Sean Rhyan (C): 59
- Travis Glover (RG): 59
- Anthony Belton (RT): 59
After the team played six different lineups in the first three weeks of the season, the Packers have been steady with their offensive line the last two weeks. The only question now is when Kevin Zeitler, who was active on Sunday, will take over at right guard for Travis Glover. Zeitler was just signed two weeks ago and is still getting ready for his first crack at snaps.
Defensive Line
- Karl Brooks: 39
- Devonte Wyatt: 32
- Javon Hargrave: 30
- Chris McClellan: 29
- Jonathan Ford: 17
Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave apparently tore his Achilles on Sunday, which is going to end his season. Karl Brooks and Devonte Wyatt will still be the team’s top 3-4 defensive ends/nickel defensive tackles, but the Hargrave injury does hurt depth at the position. Chris McClellan plays the Brooks/Wyatt/Hargrave roles, while also spelling Jonathan Ford — the team’s starting 3-4 nose tackle. The big question is whether or not Anthony Campbell, who wasn’t active today due to an injury, will be able to backfill for McClellan moving up in the pecking order.
Edge Defender
- Lukas Van Ness: 39
- Brenton Cox Jr.: 34
- Dani Dennis-Sutton: 32
- Barryn Sorrell: 31
The edge defenders were in a heavy rotation this week, and starter Barryn Sorrell actually finished the game with the fourth-most snaps among the group. I wouldn’t be surprised if rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton starts to earn more snaps down the line, as he’s looking like one of the team’s two most talented players at the position (at least until Micah Parsons comes back).
Off-Ball Linebacker
- Zaire Franklin: 63
- Ty’Ron Hopper: 38
- Isaiah McDuffie: 32
Ty’Ron Hopper and Isaiah McDuffie both played the Will linebacker position opposite of Zaire Franklin this week, replacing the injured Edgerrin Cooper. Both Wills are significant special teams contributors, so this might be a way for the team to split a starting role so neither has to be taken off teams to keep their legs fresh.
Cornerback
- Brandon Cisse: 68
- Keisean Nixon: 60
- Carrington Valentine: 9
- Kamal Hadden: 7
I think Kamal Hadden played nickelback in garbage time of this game, but I will have to watch the film on Monday to check. Keisean Nixon was sat in garbage time to give Carrington Valentine an opportunity. Valentine played right cornerback (Nixon’s spot) instead of left cornerback, where he spent virtually all of camp while pushing Brandon Cisse for a starting job.
Safety
- Evan Williams: 68
- Xavier McKinney: 60
- Javon Bullard: 52
- Kitan Oladapo: 8
Not too much to note here (Kitan Oladapo played safety for Xavier McKinney in garbage time), other than that the Packers played 76 percent of their snaps in nickel sets on Sunday. The Bears usually like to play multiple tight end sets, but it’s possible they had to ditch that personnel group when they were down multiple scores.
