Hot take season is never really over, but jump to conclusions season is in full bloom now that NFL training camps are underway. The Green Bay Packers are only one practice in, yet that hasn’t stopped storylines from already taking off. From Kenny Clark’s contract extension to the size of AJ Dillon’s legs, Saturday’s practice was a nice fix for those who needed some Packers football back in their life.

In all honesty, you couldn’t have started the day any better than with the news of Clark’s extension. Clark is the epitome of what Green Bay wants out of their defense and deserves every penny of the $70 million he is due. It is also quite comforting knowing the 24-year-old rising star is under contract through 2024.

The Clark news certainly stole most of Saturday’s headlines, but the Packers football team was on a football field together for the first time since January. We saw Aaron Rodgers playing catch with his possible successor in Jordan Love. Inside linebacker Christian Kirksey assumed his role as the replacement to Blake Martinez with Oren Burks starting alongside him. How the defense looks under new on-the-field leadership will certainly be worth monitoring. 

According to reports, Rashan Gary and Raven Greene appeared to be in top shape as both are expected to have increased roles in this year’s defense. Offensively, there is some steep competition taking place along the right side of the offensive line, and some wide receivers are already hitting the ground running. Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and former CFL newcomer Reggie Begelton were a few that made plays that caught the attention of onlookers.

Despite the eeriness of having no fans in the stands, the team was excited to be back together again, and Matt LaFleur seemed pleased with what he saw on the first day.

“I thought we had a pretty clean practice out there today,” LaFleur said.

There were no reported injuries from Saturday, and mental errors such as pre-snap penalties and other moments of sloppiness were few and far between.

Obviously, it is comforting knowing that Green Bay is getting ready to have a season, and some normalcy may be restored during these pressing times.

But before you get too excited about any players who are performing well in shorts on day one, you will probably want to wait until the pads are on. That’s when the true performers start to reveal themselves.

LaFleur has not specified when the team will start having padded practices, but he did anticipate it happening a few days into training camp. Once that plays out, it will be excusable to get eager about who is and isn’t making plays. With no preseason games scheduled in 2020, training camp practices have taken on a whole new meaning in some respect.