Winners and losers from the first week of Packers training camp

The Green Bay Packers have only been at it for about a week, but there are clearly some early winners and losers from training camp in 2024 so far.

The Packers have a chance to be one of the top contenders in the NFC this season, and training camp is all about finding the best 53 players possible to make a run in the NFC North and the playoffs in January.

Which players are standing out -- for better or worse -- so far in the first handful of training camp practices? Let's look at some of the top winners and losers on either side of the ball.

Whose stock is rising and falling for Packers after first week of training camp?

Winner: Jordan Love, QB

Jordan Love is about to get paid a lot of money. The Packers put their faith in Love not only by drafting him in the first round when Aaron Rodgers still had some prime years left, but by pulling the plug on Rodgers last year and going "full send" into the Love era.

Love responded by finishing second in the entire NFL in touchdown passes and helping the Packers to a big playoff win on the road against Dallas. And it should have been at least two road playoff wins.

Love's emergence last year has led to a "hold-in" situation as he awaits his new contract from the team. He's not even practicing through the first week of camp, but he's still a huge winner for a couple of reasons. Number one -- the payday is coming. Number two, his absence out there has highlighted just how critical he is to this team. The Packers would be in an unenviable spot if anything were to happen to their franchise QB.

Loser: Sean Clifford, QB

On the flip side of Jordan Love being a big training camp winner so far is Sean Clifford. Clifford was a fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Penn State and has been horrendous this offseason. He was an interception merchant at OTAs and that has continued into the start of training camp, where he and Michael Pratt were doing their best Oprah Winfrey impressions.

You get an interception, you get an interception, you get an interception...

The Packers are not in a good spot when it comes to the backup QB situation. Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst need to be thinking about what the backup QB position needs to look like in November if they need someone to actually start games.

Winner: Rashan Gary, EDGE

The Green Bay Packers have an enviable group on the defensive front, and Rashan Gary is entering another realm as a playmaker off the edge.

Everyone knows that Gary is good, and he's paid accordingly, but he's making life really difficult for the Packers' offensive line in the early stages of training camp.

Gary has been relatively unblockable, and what's going to be really fun to see is how new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley deploys this deep group of edge rushers.

Loser: Andre Dillard, OT

There's got to be someone on the "loser" end of Rashan Gary having some big practices, right?

Believe it or not, former first-round pick Andre Dillard -- who has been a bust to this point in his NFL career -- is not faring well against one of the best pass rushers in the league. Dillard has been victimized by Rashan Gary on a number of occasions already, and even if you grade on a curve with him going up against one of the NFL's best, it's still not looking good out there for Dillard.

The Packers took a calculated risk by signing Dillard and it's a worthwhile dart to throw considering his talent and draft status. Unfortunately, he may not make it out of camp with the team at this rate.

Winner: Eric Stokes, CB

The Packers didn't exactly neglect the cornerback position in 2024, but they also didn't address it in the way many of us thought they would. Armed with 11 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was widely assumed that the Packers would use some of their prime real estate at corner, and that didn't happen.

Other NFL teams were certain it was going to happen as well, considering both the Lions and Eagles traded up one spot ahead of Green Bay in the first and second rounds to select Terrion Arnold and Cooper DeJean, respectively.

Call it passing on guys, call it missing out on guys -- one way or the other, the pressure is on former first-round pick Eric Stokes to perform well this offseason. And he seemingly has done that.

Stokes had a pair of interceptions early in camp and seeing him out there making plays is a welcomed sight for both the Packers and fans of the team. After getting the chance to see players like Carrington Valentine step up and start last season, the Packers might be able to actually feel good about their depth at corner this season as opposed to being worried about the top-end guys.

Loser: MarShawn Lloyd, RB

We end on a bit of a sour note as one potential key member of the offensive weaponry has gotten off to a sluggish start at training camp. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say he hasn't really gotten off to a start at all.

The Packers' third-round pick out of USC is dealing with a hip injury early in camp and is giving way to some seriously positive publicity for AJ Dillon, who has seemingly been on the comeback climb all offseason:

At this stage, Dillon seems to have the RB2 job behind Josh Jacobs absolutely locked in. Lloyd was expected to be involved heavily as a rookie -- and he still very well may be -- but it appears as though he's losing ground to the former second-round pick out of Boston College.

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