I remember having high hopes for Hanson when they drafted him: smart, experienced, a natural leader/great attitude, athletic, etc. He just needed more strength. I think we're seeing the classic improvement of a guy who "just needed ___." That, and practicing against Kenny Clark every day!

In Schneidman's practice recap article at The Athletic, he lists the 1 on 1's, but says the results are from Bill Huber. According to that list, both of Hanson's wins were against Heflin.

Pulled up Hanson's scouting report as I was confused why he was getting so many reps with the 1s

OC8 Jake Hanson, Oregon

STRENGTHS

—Made 49 career starts at center for Oregon and has above-average processing skills.

—Able to comfortably make all protection calls and diagnose fronts.

—Natural fit in a zone scheme that allows him to combo-block laterally and scrape to second-level defenders or take over once movement has already been created.

—Stars in slide protections and is able to stab and redirect laterally to keep the pocket set cleanly.

—Active and efficient hands that won't deliver jarring strikes but are routinely locating appropriately and help him gain natural leverage.

—No-nonsense grinder who brings effort every play and then lines up to do it again; won't wow anyone but is consistent every down.

WEAKNESSES

—Lower half is thinner than ideal; will likely be asked to add additional mass (303 lbs).

—His length is nothing to write home about (32¾") and is below most thresholds.

—Won't want to see him routinely lined up one-on-one against thick nose tackles; has limited functional power and will struggle to anchor versus heavy-hitters.

—Has limited overall positional value and will likely only be a center at the next level; a depth player would ideally have more versatility.

—Needs more consistency to externally rotate hands, screw elbows into his frame and lock out with control inside the defender's frame as a drive-blocker in gap schemes.

OVERALL

Hanson was the leader of an Oregon offensive line that was one of the best in the nation in 2019. He is comfortable making all of the needed calls and setting protections up front. He is a clear communicator who can process the exotic fronts NFL teams will run. His hand usage is technically sound, and while he doesn't knock dudes out, he's efficient in strikes and when replacing. Putting on weight and gaining some functional power, particularly throughout his core, will be the first step in his NFL career, but he has a great foundation to his game already.

Hanson was injured most of his rookie season and had post-season hip surgery to remedy the problem. That didn't help his development. For all practical purposes he is a second year player this year.

Something else to take into consideration with 1 on 1 reps is that we don't' know if the guy is trying new things or is trying to win the rep. I believe it was Reed that said he uses those reps to work on things. His main goal isn't to win the rep. So while Hanson may win the reps, maybe the guys he is going against is simply working on things.

As long as the coaches are putting him with the 1's and 2's I have to believe he is performing well. But we have a ways to go yet too.

I'm salivating at thoughts of our pass rush as well. I've always been a big proponent of athletic power rushers, and now we have Gary, Clark, Wyatt, and Walker who are all A+ of those types, while Smith, Reed, and Slayton are B+ and Campbell and Lowry are Bs.
That's a fast, powerful rush group.

I'm not worried about Watson, as I always thought his role this year would be that of MVS as a field stretcher. He might not be used for anything else this year, but with Doubs looking like a solid replacement for Adams, and Jones and Dillon looking like huge receiving threats, and the hopeful improvement of the TE position (Tonyan returns, DeGuara and Davis improve), this offense will still rock!

Watson's first year maybe low impact, but remember Rashan Gary! Gary was low impact his first year and he is a monster now. Coming out of North Dakota State, it would be hard to believe that Watson would be NFL ready. I always thought he was a long term draft choice, not a 2022 high impact player. Hopefully we will see him blossom in the coming years, a la Gary.

I always though Watson would be running a limited route tree this year. Go routes and similar and ones designed to get the ball in his hands in space and run. He always had a huge learning curve. I think that may be a saving grace: we can get him up to speed on those faster.

Normally I would agree with you about rookies not having big impacts after missing a lot of camp and preseason time but Watson might be the exception. His speed and skillset will allow him to make an impact whether he's up to speed mentally or not. Hes going to get a healthy dose of fades, posts, screens, and jet sweeps. Not saying he'll be a 1000 yd receiver as a rook, but his speed will scare defenses enough to matter and have to account for him.

Thx PEO!

Love the Walker observation of blowing up Dillon. High hopes!

I'm not terribly surprised that the news is scant on Rhyan...he's learning an entirely new position (RG) and getting only limited snaps at a second position (RT) that's not the same that he played in college. G is a more physical position than T, and it's harder to assess how a G is doing when they aren't wearing pads: they gotta be able to bang and grind, and frequently strong guard play is hard to see. You have to look at groupings as much as anything else. Royce Newman, as an example, came out of nowhere to grab the RG position a year ago.

Even though Tom was graded as a C, he played a lot of LT and that's where he finished his college career--so he has recency in his favor. He's very smart and athletic. He's not been asked to learn a new position or new footwork, and we're only just getting to the parts of camp (padded) where his greater liabilities--size and functional strength--might start to get exploited. I agree that it's encouraging that one of the first-year OL has made a strong impression out of the gate, but let's pump the breaks and see where we go from here.

I think the change in Defensive Coordinator hurt Savage a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if this year he starts playing better again. For one he will have a full year in the new systems. Second Barry knows Savage's strengths and weaknesses even better.

With the versatililty preached by the Packers, I'm all but certain they'll make adjustments to put their best 5 OL on the field if/when Jenkins is ready. You make a great point in that it could lead to a lot of shuffling, or it could be as simple as Jenkins going to RT and Nijman going to the bench. If Jenkins doesn't practice in camp and goes on the PUP, it's very likely that other injuries will dictate the roster moves made by the time Jenkins is eligible to play.

If Jenkins is healthy, I think Hanson would be the most likely if they seek to reduce numbers if they don’t keep an extra guy such as a Van Lanen initially, but realistically there is a probability that injuries will intervene to change things. At this point one can worry about what we have available now.

I’d argue that that could be a glaring weakness or prove to be something of a strength. That’s really why preseason matters. That’s when we find out if the depth is illusory or real at each position. As of today we’ve barely started that since we’ve only had one practice in pads. By September we should have a better idea. I do think that there is a real possibility that our depth is better this year, but now we will see if that’s just optimism from shorts and metrics.

I agree...S is not the spotlight position like CB, but great S play prevents big plays and TDs. I would add Nick Collins to the list who was on a HOF track before the devastating neck injury in his prime.

The Pack has been so very fortunate to get Amos. One of the most underrated players on the team. He doesn't get many press accounts because he does his job so well. Tackles that prevent a gash play, covering your man to take the read away from QBs, and being the on field "coach" of the DBs getting everyone in the right spots.

And to add to your point, field a D with below average Safeties it is rarely a top 10 squad.

I agree, Al...Big Dog as a TE coach (and more) seems plausible. By all accounts the man is a great leader, communicator. I have read a few times that he spoke up before games and when he speaks, "people listen".

Randall is another player who would seem destined for the coaching ranks. Another smart, knowledgeable leader other players view as a mentor.

The only possibly glaring weakness on paper for the defense is secondary depth. Once you get past the starters, there's precious little experience. Everything else looks rock solid throughout, especially the DL rotation. This should be a pretty formidable defense barring any spate of prolonged injuries.

I don't know if it is glaring but depth at EDGE on defense has to be a real concern. I keep thinking they will add a vet here in camp but it hasn't happened yet. After Gary and Preston there is no one and you can't rely on just two pass rushers all season, one will get hurt. If one does go down you can double the other and the defense will be greatly effected.

If you saw Tom play in college this would be no surprise. He also has the size to be a versatile guy who can play anywhere on the line. Those big clubs he has for hands will come in very handy at the NFL level where it is hands game as much as anything else.

I there's a lot of premature evaluations here.

I called up Allen Iverson and he said "It's practice, man."

There'll be some shuffling, we'll play a scrimmage against SF, there'll be some more shuffling. I think we're a lot more set than many people I read here. Our entire starting defense, and nickel package, seems pretty set. Our two QBs are set. Our 9 offensive linemen are largely set: Nijman, Runyan, Myers, Newman, Van Lanen, Tom, Rhyan, Hanson,....room for ONE more.

Our skill position guys are set: Lazard, Cobb, Watkins, Rodgers, Doubs, Watson, Lewis, Tonyan, DeGuara, Davis, Jones, Dillon, ....probably Goodson.

I would certainly offer Lewis a chance to coach if he seemed interested in it. I don't think it's automatic he'd accept though, he's put in a lot of hours on the practice field and also knows how many hours the coaches have to put in. Wouldn't blame him at all for wanting to take a year before looking into something like that.

Pre-draft I said that Zach Tom is the most "Packers" OL in this year's draft. He put up good tape against some impressive talent in college. I'm not surprised. I'm happy.

For Mr. Rhyan, you look at his tape against top talent and you'll see him slip to the ground as he allows himself to get off balance. Long-term, I like him a lot. He has a hell of a motor. Short-term, I hope the balance thing is coachable rather than being an indication of his ceiling as an athlete.

Glaring weaknesses on this defense? No. Not until you get to the second string, and if we are talking second string I don't know that I would call it "glaring." What it really all comes down to for this unit is injuries, and how fast some of the rookies develop, and how far some of the back-ups jump up this off-season. But if you're not excited about the potential of this defense then you need therapy.

All things considered we have had far worse camps. Still very early but this is going to be a very exciting season.

"Clark, Reed, Slaton, Lowry, Wyatt - that's a hell of a solid-sounding and versatile defensive line. "

Aren't these a lot of question marks? We know what Clark and Lowry can do. Reed was let go by the Seahawks after a contract dispute b/c they couldn't find a trade partner. He didn't do that much in K.C. last season, getting only 2.5 sacks and only 2 TFLs despite playing 64% of the defensive snaps. That's not much of an impact player, and so K.C. let him go. Slaton only played 24% of the defensive snaps last year with zero TFL, I QB hit and 1 sack. He had 14 solo tackles. Not sure this screams impact player either. And then we all want Wyatt to be a great addition, but being a rookie he is an even bigger unknown. Even Kenny Clark didn't have a big impact as a rookie.

So I have high hopes for the D line, but they will only be a force if every guy plays to our thought of his highest potential. Because there's not a ton of evidence yet of any truly impactful player outside of Clark.

One thing I'm VERY excited about? Jordan Love starting to look like an NFL QB! THIS is the best thing that could come out of this year, outside of a Lombardi award in February.