Five players to watch for Packers Week 16 vs. Jets

5. Tony Brown

Coming out of Alabama, Tony Brown had all the measurables that usually make for a first-round pick. Brown is six-feet tall and 200 pounds, and he has big school pedigree with a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.

But, Brown was not drafted and was signed to the Packers practice squad after being released by the Los Angles Chargers during the final cuts.

Brown has a chance to be that undrafted free agent gem NFL teams hope for.

Brown’s size and speed won’t be the problem, what has hindered him so far in Green Bay is undisciplined play during and after the play.

Brown picked up two personal foul penalties in his first two games of the season, and his playing time dwindle once the Packers had Bashaud Breeland and Kevin King healthy. Since King was placed on injured reserve, Brown has seen his playing time increase again.

And he has not played bad. Brown has not had any penalties for extra curricular activities and has a large role on special teams.

Brown is one of the young guys that should see their playing time increase over the next two games. Considering how well Jaire Alexander has been playing, getting more than one starting defensive back out of this class could help with a speedy turnaround.

Despite the somewhat slow start to his career, I feel Josh Jackson will be just fine. I wouldn’t rule out a move to safety for him and think he could benefit from it. Should the Packers get two starting cornerbacks and a starting safety from this rookie class, a speedy turnaround won’t just be the only good thing as the Packers can use cap savings to fill holes other places.

Only two games are left in the 2018 season. Even though this season isn’t going as many had expected or hoped for, good can still come from this year. With so many young guys on the team, and Aaron Rodgers looking like he is playing out the season, the Packers have valuable time to build the young guys on offense.

Nothing can replace the game atmosphere or speed. The Packers have the benefit of now leaning even more heavily on the young players with Rodgers on the field and not have to worry about it wrecking their season. This is valuable time that practice or preseason cannot replicate.