Green Bay Packers: 5 Early standouts at training camp
By Joe Kipp
1. Za’Darius Smith, OLB
Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, the Packers’ biggest free agent addition in 2019, has been an absolute game wrecker during the first week of training camp. For starters, his versatility has been extremely apparent and shows why Green Bay was interested in his services in the first place. Playing both on the interior, lined up outside or dropping in to coverage, Smith has been everything the Packers expected him to be so far.
Of course, we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves since we’re only talking about practice. But it’s not like Smith isn’t going against premiere talent on the other side of the ball. In fact, Smith has taken a considerable amount of reps against All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, who’s largely considered the best pass blocking lineman in the NFL.
Apparently, Smith is giving Bakhtiari all he’s got. The stalwart left tackle got beat twice in a one-on-one drill during Tuesday’s practice, a rare occurrence for Bakhtiari.
It's always shocking to see David Bakhtiari lose a 1-on-1 rep so when Za'Darius Smith beat him twice in a row it's an eye-opener. Bakhtiari won the two head-to-head reps the last practice. This is going to be a great battle all camp. https://t.co/XLqJ3Www1H
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 30, 2019
If Smith can continue carrying over success from training camp into the preseason and eventually the regular season, the Packers could have a legitimate threat as a pass rusher.
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But Smith isn’t just exclusively a pass rusher either — the 6-4, 275-pound road block can also effectively defend the run. Expect big things for the Packers’ marquee free agent addition in 2019.