The Green Bay Packers looked excellent in their preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend. They went into Paycor Stadium and picked up a convincing 36-19 victory.
There were a lot of positives to take away from the game, as numerous players stepped up and played at a high level. There were some truly impressive PFF grades that were earned, with five players sticking out amongst their teammates.
The highest grade of the evening went to running back Emanuel Wilson. Wilson was expected to mix in with whoever was handling the lead-back role between Patrick Taylor, Tyler Goodson and Lew Nichols. Instead, it was Wilson who seized the opportunity.
The undrafted free agent out of Fort Valley State College received a grade of 93.5, outperforming his peers at the position and certainly garnering attention from the coaching staff. He finished the game with six carriers for 111 yards and two scores, which includes an 80-yard touchdown run. With three runs over 10 yards on the evening, Wilson put himself in the conversation to be the No. 3 running back on the 53-man roster.
The only other Packers player to record a grade of 90+ was cornerback William Hooper. Hooper recorded an impressive 90.3 overall grade. He was targeted eight times but allowed only three receptions for 18 yards and was credited with two pass breakups.
He wasn’t the only standout performer in the secondary, as rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine continued his excellent offseason. He recorded a run stop while breaking up two of his six targets. He allowed only two receptions for 16 yards, adding an interception for a grade of 89.8.
Right behind him for an overall grade was defensive tackle TJ Slaton. Slaton wasn’t on the field much, recording only eight snaps, but he made his presence felt. He had two pressures with a quarterback hit and two run stops, resulting in a grade of 89.5.
The defensive line, which had been a question mark for the Packers coming into training camp, has been a pleasant surprise. Slaton is a big reason why. In the trenches on the other side of the ball is where the No. 5 grade came from.
Left guard Elgton Jenkins had a tough joint practice against the Bengals as he was removed after his second physical altercation. He used that pent-up aggression to his advantage in the preseason game, playing 14 snaps and allowing no pressures.
That resulted in a grade of 85.6 for the star left tackle. Jenkins also recorded the second-highest run-blocking grade, behind only right tackle Luke Tenuata, who had a grade of 76.5 on the evening.
