Valdes-Scantling, Burks are at the crossroads
GREEN BAY – The opening of Green Bay Packers training camp received an exclamation point early when Tim Boyle connected on a deep ball to Marquez Valdes-Scantling over Josh Jackson, displaying the speed and wingspan that made the 6-foot, 4-inch wide receiver an intriguing prospect out of South Florida in the 2018 NFL draft.
Oren Burks, healthy and fully recovered from a torn pectoral muscle suffered last preseason, has looked fluid alongside newcomer Christian Kirksey and second-year inside linebacker Ty Summers in team drills, moving like the man given the “star position” at Vanderbilt
as a hybrid safety/linebacker before being picked in the third round of the '18 draft.
The pair are entering their third seasons and are expected to be key cogs in their respective systems — yet each enter 2020 with much to prove.
For Valdes-Scantling, it's about rebounding off a second half of 2019 that saw a drastic reduction in play time and production following a 21-catch, 416yard, two-touchdown start to the year. But knee and ankle injuries suffered Week 6 against Detroit hampered him to where he caught just five passes for 36 yards over his final nine regular-season games. In the NFC championship game, Valdes-Scantling played one snap.
“I never really lost my confidence,” said Valdes-Scantling, who noted the ankle injury affected him all season. “Obviously getting injuries is going to play a huge part into it, but I never lost confidence in myself. I believe in my ability but obviously when you’re battling through some injuries, you’re going to have some bad days. So I was able to play the whole season, fortunately, but I wasn’t myself.”
Outside of Pro Bowler Davante Adams, the Packers continue to look for wide receivers to make consistent plays. Through three days of training camp, head coach Matt LaFleur is once again rotating in a group of wideouts with quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Boyle — and while Valdes-Scantling had a “wow” moment, he’s also had some drops in individual drills.
“He knows his opportunity is in front of him and he knows what he’s gotta do to get himself on the field more often and become the contributor that we all believe he can be,” Rodgers said. “It does have to do with confidence a little bit. It’s just, I think, continuing to work as a professional every day and he has, within him, the ability to be an incredible pro and with great practice habits. It’s just him continuing to do the little things that I think is going to separate him from anybody he’s competing with and give him an opportunity to be on the field a little bit more.”
As for Burks, the 6-3, 233-pounder hopes to finally clinch a more prominent role on the defense in year three of coordinator Mike Pettine’s system. Burks has played 26 games through serious preseason injuries the past two seasons, first with a dislocated shoulder and then the torn pectoral. But he feels he’s finally getting the defense down.
“Things are definitely slowing down for me, getting into the details of the defense, being able to play fast and read my keys and just trust my eyes and play fast,” Burks said Tuesday.
“Just gotta log reps. I feel like with more and more reps I get, the more confident I get. Just continue to stack days. There can’t be enough said. I keep saying I’m excited but there’s no words I can put forth to express to you guys how excited I am for this year. It’s just going to be the culmination of putting all the preparation in place, and just playing fast and confident.”
Playing positions where being labeled a “starter” may vary depending on the game-opening formations that are called, Valdes-Scantling and Burks aim to hit the season opener in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 looking to have at least gotten a stronger grip on more pronounced roles. For Valdes-Scantling, his top-end speed creates a threat that must be honored off the line of scrimmage.
“It seems like he’s in the right frame of mind in terms of just how hard he’s attacking it and we need that from him,” LaFleur said. “We need him to be a consistent performer for us because he does have incredible speed and he scares the defense when he’s out on the field.”
And for Burks, if he can diagnose plays efficiently, it gives Pettine even more flexibility with disguising coverages and pressures.
“I really think he’s got a better understanding of what we’re trying to get accomplished,” LaFleur said. “Now it’s up to him to put it all together, to go out and to compete each and every day and put it on the practice tape so it can transition over to game day.”