GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the Green Bay Packers, the three weeks of offseason practices that wrapped up on Thursday with the conclusion of minicamp has set the team up to hit the ground running for training camp.An experienced offense should be ready to roll from the moment the season kicks off. Jonathan Gannon’s defense, meanwhile, seemed to gain momentum with every snap.Here are the seven things we learned the past three weeks.1. Less Is More at ReceiverGeneral manager Brian Gutekunst made an all-in bet on a less-is-more approach at receiver. After parting ways with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, Gutekunst didn’t draft a replacement and handed contract extensions to Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. Watson, Reed and Matthew Golden will be expected to carry the load at receiver.I think that’s a winning bet. The Packers have the right men in place on and off the field. The talent is obvious. Watson was on a 1,000-yard projection in his 10 games back from his torn ACL. Reed is No. 1 in the NFL in passer rating when targeted over his three years in the league. All Golden does is get open and catch the ball.“Our goal is to be the best in the league, man,” Reed said. “It’s simple. As a whole – blocking, receiving-wise, everything – just working together and creating the best team that we can.”Combined with the upcoming return of Tucker Kraft, the slimmed-down passing attack could put up some fat production.2. Unless Less Really Is LessThe elephant in the room is the lack of depth. Injuries happen, and they’ve happened to Watson, Reed and Golden in their young careers. Combined, they played 1,040 snaps last season. The Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson played more snaps by themselves in 2024.Where’s the depth? Savion Williams caught 10 passes as a rookie, with only one reception on a pass thrown more than a few yards downfield. Bo Melton caught four passes last season, when he spent his practices playing cornerback. Skyy Moore caught five passes last season. That’s 19 receptions from the three experienced backups.Green Bay Packers receiver Savion Williams (83) catches a pass during practice on Tuesday, June 2. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesMaybe Williams is ready to take a big step forward with an expanded role. Maybe one of the young players, such as Isaiah Neyor, will be a breakout performer. The other side of the coin is the Packers will be doomed if it’s a repeat of last season, when Watson, Reed and Golden played three games together. The Packers need to find reliable depth during training camp because it didn’t show up in the spring. 3. Jordan Morgan Is ReadyLeft tackle is a position of critical importance. Don’t take my word for it. Fourteen of the league’s blind-side protectors are playing for at least $20 million per season. Many of the starters who are not making astronomical amounts of money, such as Green Bay’s Jordan Morgan, are playing under their rookie contracts.After two years of so-so work as a multitasking backup, Morgan finally is where he belongs. The Packers let Rasheed Walker go in free agency so they could hand the baton to Morgan, the first-round pick in 2024.It’s true that no concrete assessments can be made about an offensive lineman in May and June. It’s also true that the first job of a left tackle is to prevent the opposing edge rusher from speed-rushing his way into the back of the passer. At least from that perspective, Morgan had no problems during OTAs and minicamp.He should only get better with more reps in training camp and the preseason.4. Lukas Van Ness Is Ready, TooIf you were to pick an offseason MVP, it would be Lukas Van Ness. Van Ness had a strong set of OTAs before dominating the minicamp.“Van Ness was flying around, man,” quarterback Jordan Love said after Tuesday’s practice. “I think the biggest thing with him is his get-off. He was getting off the rock today, and he’s got that speed that puts tackles in a bind. They got to make sure they’re getting off at the same time as him. If not, he’s going to beat you around that corner.“I’m excited about him. I’m excited for him and what’s going to come this season. He’s in a great spot. He puts the work in, and he’s a guy that he’s always making practice hard on us. I think for him his get off is what I’m noticing right now, his speed around the edge, so I’m excited about it.”What’s really exciting, if you’re Gannon, is that the strength of Van Ness’s game is his, well, strength. That part of his game will come to the forefront when the pads are on and it’s “real” football.5. But Is It LVN or Bust?Even if Van Ness is teed up for the best season of his career, where else is the pass rush going to come during Micah Parsons’ absence?The Packers need Barryn Sorrell to take a big Year 2 jump. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesThe rest of the edge players – projected Week 1 starter Barryn Sorrell along with the No. 2 tandem of Brenton Cox and Dani Dennis-Sutton – didn’t cause a lot of mayhem in the spring. Of the group, Cox was the most productive by a solid margin. Maybe Collin Oliver will get healthy and make his mark. Maybe Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave will provide a powerful push from the inside.The alternative is Green Bay’s suspect cornerbacks will get destroyed by too-comfortable quarterbacks.6. Edgerrin Cooper Ready to Star, 2.0We shared this nugget earlier. Early in Thursday’s practice, running back Josh Jacobs appeared to have a running lane. Instead, from the back side, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper was there in the blink of an eye. Gannon turned around and smiled.Yeah, No. 56 is pretty good.After a blockbuster rookie season in which he led all NFL rookies and all off-the-ball linebackers in tackles for losses, the prediction at this time last year was nothing short of Cooper becoming a star.It didn’t happen. Cooper had a solid season, to be sure, but the sacks and tackles for losses vanished.“I felt good. I felt good,” Cooper said on Thursday. “I feel like my second year had a little slump early in the season, but it happens. It’s about how you respond. I felt like I did a good job responding, played decent ball at the end of the season. I’m just ready to elevate.”Gannon has a weapon. Especially with Parsons set to miss the start of the season, expect Cooper to do more than elevate in Year 3.7. Cornerback Will Be Biggest Competition of CampAt cornerback, the names have changed but the reality is the same.While Gutekunst released Nate Hobbs, signed Benjamin St-Juste and drafted Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson, the starters throughout the offseason were the same as most of last season. While Cisse got some first-team reps here and there, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine got the overwhelming majority of the snaps throughout the offseason.The competition will heat up once training camp begins. Cisse should only get better with experience. St-Juste missed the offseason practices with an undisclosed injury. So did Jackson.“He looks pretty good,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Cisse on Thursday. “Certainly, he’s got a ton to learn and a lot to improve upon, as to be expected of any young player. He’s just got to continue to build on the foundation he set. I think for all these guys it’s critical when they’re away from here, it’s the work you put in is going to show up when training camp comes around.”Once St-Juste is healthy, Green Bay will have a heated four-man competition for the two starting positions. That competition will continue throughout the season, which will be nothing but good for the defense. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow