Packers Family Night: Five Players to Watch Tonight

Packers Family Night kicks off Friday at around 7:30 p.m. CT. We list five players we'll be watching during the intra-squad scrimmage.


The Packers' 12th annual Family Night scrimmage is roughly an hour or so away.

Before it kicks off at 7:30 p.m., here's five guys to prepare your eyes for during the intra-squad practice:

1. Graham Harrell

The backup quarterback position was put under the microscope for most of the offseason, but those worries may be misguided. Harrell has spent three years in Green Bay, and if anyone can develop a capable quarterback, it's Mike McCarthy and Tom Clements. So far in camp, Harrell has had ups-and-downs, but clearly more ups than downs. Tonight marks his first live action as the team's No. 2. Let's see how he fares under the bright lights, with many curious eyes watching his every move.

2. Nick Perry

Much has been expected from the Packers first-rounder, but he's been relatively quiet for most of camp. There's two rather obvious reasons why. For starters, he's facing Bryan Bulaga, one of the NFL's most underrated right tackles, on just about every snap. That's not an easy task for anyone. The transition has also been a tough one, and not everyone has it as easy as Clay Matthews did back in 2009. While they both hail from USC, Perry had his hand in the dirt every play as a Trojan. But if there's any place for Perry to showcase the burst and violent hands he was praised for coming out, it's tonight in front of the Lambeau Field faithful. A good play or two from No. 53 will go along ways in calming some of the early fears.

3. Alex Green

Green is still less than 10 months removed from having reconstructive knee surgery, but he was cleared for camp and has been practicing with only a few limitations. Tonight, he'll play in live action for the first time since tearing up his knee in an October contest in Minnesota. So far, indications have been that Green looks explosive. I want to see it in this setting first. If there's any doubt in the strength of the knee, it could show tonight.

4. M.D. Jennings

Charles Woodson will occupy one safety spot in the base, but this is Jennings' position to lose in every other package. It should be interesting tonight to see how he fares in the nickel and dime when the Packers offense loads up the formation with receivers. His understanding of what's happening in front of him will be key. Any hesitation or misreadings are going to be obvious in a live setting like tonight.

5. Davon House

The cornerbacks continue to get shuffled in and out by coach Joe Whitt, but early training camp practices have indicated, at least to me, that House has the highest ceiling of any corner behind Woodson and Tramon Williams. Even if you don't agree, few will argue that performances in practice need to translate over to settings like tonight for the Packers young corners. No one is going to win a job tonight, but coaches should be watching tonight with an eye towards next Thursday's preseason opener. If House shows up tonight, he could slid himself into the driver's seat early on.

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