GREEN BAY – Savion Williams has had a relatively quiet training camp.
But it would help the Green Bay Packers plenty if the 2025 third-round draft pick is good enough to win their No. 4 receiver job behind starters Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden.
To do that, he’ll have to outperform Bo Melton and Skyy Moore, and on one play during Family Night on Aug. 7 he exhibited the traits that Melton and Moore most definitely lack and that could help secure that position. The play was a fade route for a 16-yard touchdown that Williams caught by going over rangy 6-foot-2 safety Kitan Oladapo.
Williams has the combination of size (6-3⅞), strength (222 pounds) and big hands (10¼ inches) to catch 50-50 balls downfield and fade routes in the end zone. He didn’t do the vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine or his pro day workout, but it was telling that he made that 16-yard touchdown catch over Oladapo look routine.
“His measurables are off the charts in terms of his size, his speed and strength,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Williams. “And then he’s just a young player that’s still learning. He’s got a long way to go but I think he’s showcased a lot of great traits, and that’s why we drafted him, that’s why we loved him coming out.”
Melton and Moore, on the other hand, are smaller receivers who play to their size and lack catch radius. Melton measured 5-11 and 189 pounds at the combine in 2022, and Moore measured 5-9⅝ and 195 at the ‘22 combine.
With two of the Packers’ three starting receivers on the smallish side – Golden was 5-11 and 191 at the ‘25 combine, Reed 5-10¾ and 187 – they very much could use Williams’ size as a regular part of their rotation. To win the job, he’s going to need more plays like his touchdown on Family Night.
Is Anthony Belton the No. 3 tackle?
Recent signs suggest Anthony Belton could be the Packers’ top backup tackle even though he’s likely to be their starting right guard.
Starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele still hasn’t taken part in any team drills, and for most of camp Darian Kinnard has replaced him with the starters. But for the last two practices Belton has played right tackle, and Jacob Monk has replaced Belton at right guard.
Belton was a left tackle for his entire college career at North Carolina State, and his time spent at right tackle the last two practices suggests the Packers are considering playing him instead of Kinnard at right tackle if Bako-Bewele gets injured. Belton hasn’t lined up at left tackle in camp, but the Packers could play him there if starter Jordan Morgan is injured. They also could move Bako-Bewele to left tackle and play Belton at right tackle in those circumstances.
“I love Belton, I love his versatility,” LaFleur said after Family Night. “Certainly I think the tackle position comes a little bit more natural for him, just time on task. But I think he continues to show great promise at guard as well.”
Monk has been starting at left guard in place of Aaron Banks, who also hasn’t taken part in team drills. The Packers are managing Banks’ chronically sore knee in camp and have him on a schedule where he suits up for practice every other day and takes part only in individual drills. He didn’t suit up for Family Night.
With Monk at right guard the last two practices, rookie Jager Burton has been the left guard the last two practices.
Injury report
PUP: Edge Micah Parsons (knee), LS Matt Orzech (calf), TE Luke Musgrave (neck), DL Jordon Riley (Achilles), DL Javon Hargrave (knee).
NFI: RB Chris Brooks (knee).
DNP: RB Josh Jacobs (groin), CB Domani Jackson (undisclosed), CB Carrington Valentine (hamstring), DB Johnathan Baldwin (knee), Zach Bako-Bewele (knee), G Aaron Banks (knee/load management), TE Tucker Kraft (knee maintenance).
Tidbits
∎ Kicker Trey Smack went 5-for-6 on field goals on Family Night. His lone miss was a 51-yarder. His makes were from 38, 43, 45, 35 and 47 yards. The final two came at the end of the 2-minute series. He’s 13-for-19 for camp.
∎ Defensive end Barryn Sorrell beat Morgan for two stuffs on running plays early in practice.
∎ In a period where the No. 2 offense started backed up at its 2, linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper stuffed running back Damien Martinez for a safety on the first play.
∎ Golden had the biggest offensive play of the night when he caught a deep ball over the top from Love against nickel back Javon Bullard for a 52-yard touchdown.
∎ Burton had a solid night in one-on-one pass blocking. He won both of his reps, first against Karl Brooks and later against Warren Brinson.
∎ Third-round defensive tackle Chris McClellan went down late in practice on a run play inside the 5-yard line. He looked OK leaving the field but didn’t return, and LaFleur expressed minimal concern about the injury.
“I think he’ll be all right,” LaFleur said. “I don’t have any updates on that. He got rolled up on.”
Second-round cornerback Brandon Cisse dropped out of practice late because of cramping.
∎ Tight end Thomas Yasmin suited up for his first practice with the Packers. The first-year pro is from Australia, and his reporting to camp was delayed while his visa was cleared.
Quote of the day
LaFleur on his overall feelings about the team’s performance on Family Night: “Definitely sloppy. It was our biggest workload we’ve had yet to date. So I think it was really good for those guys to have to fight through fatigue. We’ll look at it. It was our first time – it was great to have (referee) Shawn Hochuli’s crew here, this is the first time in my time here that we’ve had NFL officials for this. Naturally, you’d love to have those guys every day out at practice because some of this stuff [i.e., penalties] can be avoidable. It’s a lot of good stuff for our guys to look at, to learn from, to teach off.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Savion Williams shows jump ball traits on Packers Family Night | Insider
Reporting by Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
