The Green Bay Packers opened the 2024 preseason with a convincing win over the Cleveland Browns. Jordan Love played in just three snaps, but the brief appearance was all he needed — on the third play of the scrimmage, the Packers quarterback passed the ball to Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard touchdown and the best play of the afternoon. Leading 7-0 early, the Packers never looked back, cruising to a 23-10 victory.
As for the preseason performance, the Packers checked a lot of boxes. They didn’t turn the ball over, allowed just one sack, which means zero yards lost, won the running battle decisively and didn’t suffer a grave injury. Matt LaFleur’s team led 17-3 at halftime and at one point had a 23-3 advantage in the second half.
Love played just three snaps, so he won’t be on this edition of Stars, Studs and Duds. He completed both of his pass attempts, and his deep ball to Wicks was perfectly thrown. His passer rating was literally perfect at 158.3.
Here are the stars, celebrities and clothes from the Packers’ first preseason game:
Stars
WR Grant DuBose: His first target was a forced throw under pressure from Sean Clifford. From there, DuBose was nearly perfect. He caught his last five targets. Among his five catches were a tumbling catch of a low throw near the sideline to convert fourth down, a catch for a first down on a nifty slant route and a toe-dragging catch down the sideline for 23 yards in a two-minute drill. DuBose also showed effort and execution in a variety of blocking assignments.
Pegs
Lieutenant Lucas Van Ness: Facing mostly backup offensive linemen, the 2023 first-round pick dominated. He cleared a sack created by Devonte Wyatt’s inside pressure on his first drive. He teamed with Eric Stokes to stop the perimeter run. He played a lovely read-option as a conflict defender, hitting the running back for a quick stop. Then his inside push created an basic sack for Colby Wooden.
S. Evan Williams: The rookie put on an impressive display. He made three confident, aggressive tackles in the open field in the first half, including one in front of the sticks on third down. He played quick downfield tiny passes to the flat. His best play came on the first drive of the second half, when his crushing single-high tackle resulted in a fumble and a turnover.
RB Emanuel Wilson: Last year’s preseason champion was impressive again, as Wilson averaged 5.2 yards per carry, forced three fumbles, scored a 5-yard touchdown and created a 23-yard juke move.
CB Robert Rochell: He disrupted two pass attempts on his defense, including one breakup on fourth down in the red zone, allowing just one catch. His most impressive play may have come as a special teams gunner, when he overcame a double-team block and made a perfect tackle to cover a punt.
DL Devonte Wyatt: He played only nine snaps, but was disruptive on nearly all of his pass-rushing snaps. His first pressure helped create a sack. Twice, Wyatt’s interior push forced a quick throw. Deployed as a downfield blitz, Wyatt looks poised for a monster year.
WR Julian Hicks: The rookie made an impressive 23-yard spin kick from Michael Pratt and also showed off his speed on a 14-yard kickoff return.
S Anthony Johnson Jr.: He won’t be joyful about missing a foul in the flat at tight end, but Johnson had a good afternoon overall. He broke up one play while forcing a pull guard. The sophomore defensive end also picked up two fouls while covering kicks, showing his potential value on special teams.
K Greg Joseph: Anders Carlson made all three of his kicks, but Joseph’s two were much less stressful. While Carlson had to drive both kicks inside the post, Joseph’s two shots — the extra point and the 35-yarder — both split the posts.
Quarterback Michael Pratt: An impressive start for the rookie quarterback. His over-the-shoulder throw to Hicks was a big-time throw, and his 5-of-7 completions could have been even better had Bo Melton kept the perfectly thrown ball in the red zone.
Lecturer Joel Wilson: He caught all three of his targets, creating 30 yards and two first downs. More importantly, Wilson looked great as a blocker, both in the lane and on the move. He’s basic to move in space and more physical than expected.
Duds
WR Bo Melton: His hands didn’t reach Cleveland. Melton had two bad drops, and some — including PFF — gave him three drops on four total targets. One drop stopped a drive on third down. Another nearly created an interception in the red zone. Melton also mishandled a jet sweep pass and was lucky to recover a fumble on the return and gain positive yards. To his credit, Melton struggled like crazy as a perimeter blocker.
RT Kadeem Telfort: He struggled to get off the ball and finish blocks, especially in the run game, and was beaten by speed around the corner during one pressure. The Packers put him on 38 snaps at right guard, but he didn’t assist himself in the swing tackle competition.
OL Royce Newman: Newman’s experience was on full display, missing several blocks in the run game and committing a foul. While there were some good moments in pass protection, Newman — now in his fourth year — still seems to lack the consistency needed to take a step forward.
