**GREEN BAY, WI:** The Green Bay Packers are at home tonight to take on the Cardinals in Preseason Week Three. While it's only Preseason, the starters are expected to be rested due to the joint practice earlier this week. Here are five things to watch for as Tyrod Taylor and company take the field tonight at home for the first time this season.
**1. WHAT STARTERS ARE SITTING**
The starters are expected to sit tonight after the joint practice earlier in the week with the Arizona Cardinals. The starters came out hot in the first few team periods, with Jordan Love going 12/15 in the first two periods as the offense was firing on all cylinders. The highlight of the period would come on a 45-yard Touchdown throw from Love to Wide Receiver Matthew Golden. Some other highlights would include three receptions from fellow receiver Christian Watson, as well as a huge gain to Jayden Reed. Tucker Kraft would also contribute with a Touchdown in the red zone, which saw the Tight End full go in team time. On the Defensive side, they started out the same way, on fire. Cornerback Brandon Cisse would intercept Jacoby Brissett, while Linebacker, Edgerrin Cooper would stick his nose in on multiple run stuffs. I fully expect that if the starters are not playing, those will be among the names not active tonight.
**2. THE SECOND TEAM**
When you look past the starters, the second team, even the third team for depth, are just as big to watch tonight as the starters. The depth that will make up the back end of this team will be a huge thing, as it is for every team. The offense, which will be led by Tyrod Taylor again tonight, will look to build momentum behind a few camp standouts: J. Michael Sturdivant, Isaiah Neyor, and Will Sheppard, as they all look to show who can be a seventh receiver on this team. Coming off of a week in Denver that saw a lot of standout performances in a 33-13 win, some guys to watch on the defensive side include Defensive Lineman, Anthony Campbell, who had a 9-yard sack last week, Safety, Murvin Kenion III who snagged an interception off Gardner Minshew this week in practice, as well as Cornerbacks, Jaylin Simpson and Kamal Hadden, who have both been standing out in a big way in the secondary. A few other names to note include Safety Mark Perry, who had an interception in Denver last week, as well as Linebackers Kristian Welch and Ty'Ron Hopper.
**3. CAMP STANDOUTS**
A few names that I will be watching for tonight look different due to the starters being out. With the big standouts in Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, and Brandon Cisse expected to rest, a few names I have picked out start with MarShawn Lloyd. Though we don't know if Lloyd will be among those sitting, he is looking to put together his first healthy season and has still shown the explosive nature that he has always had during this preseason. When healthy, his speed can add a new dimension to the Packers' Offense, and he put up a decent showing on limited carries last week. A few other names for me personally include Receivers, J Michael Sturdivant, Isaiah Neyor, and Will Sheppard, as well as Cornerbacks, Kamal Hadden and Jaylin Simpson. All five of those players have been all over the field with the 2's and 3's, sometimes even earning reps with the 1's. I expect those four to show out in some form once again tonight, but it will be interesting to see who becomes the most consistent. When looking at the trenches, some names to watch include Anthony Campbell and Nazir Stackhouse along the Defensive Line, while Jager Burton, as well as Anthony Belton will be two to watch on the Offensive Line.
**4. POSITION BATTLES**
One of the biggest parts of these games is the position battles that go on throughout camp. We got a glimpse the last two weeks, as well as this week in practice. A few that I am looking for tonight are about the same as last week, including the Cornerback Room, the Quarterback Room, specifically who can fill in the depth on the Defensive Line tonight. As far as Cornerback, it seems that Brandon Cisse, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine are very well slotted in along with Benjamin St. Juste. The room has some standouts in Kamal Hadden, as well as rookie Domani Jackson, who just returned from injury in the week prior. This room, along with Javon Bullard playing in the slot, will look to solidify fully after tonight. I expect Kyle McCord to get a lot of time tonight, as the Packers released the only Quarterback competing for the Quarterback Three spot, Kyron Drones two weeks ago after a performance that was a limited showing snaps-wise for him. Defensive Line-wise, this is going to come down to the wire between a few different players, but it will be interesting to see who can solidify themselves as the most consistent to round out that room.
**5\. TREY SMACK**
After going out in the past two preseason games and becoming a gamer, Trey Smack had a 2/5 performance in joint practice this week against the Cardinals. While the practices are exactly for those misses, it will be interesting if we get yet another outstanding performance out of Smack, who has been nothing short of outstanding this preseason.
**EXTRA QUESTIONS**
After watching film from this last week, I had some additional things that I wanted to watch for tonight. With that being said, here's three extra things to watch for.
**EDGE ROOM**
The first includes the Edge Room and Brenton Cox Jr. Cox Jr, along with Barryn Sorrell and Lukas Van Ness, showed great promise last week once again. Dani Dennis-Sutton should make an appearance tonight after being out due to illness, and Cox Jr will look to continue his strong preseason.
**KYLE MCCORD**
The Packers made it very clear that they wanted to get McCord more reps after his 12/16, 102-yard passing performance in Pittsburgh. They would go on to release the other Quarterback, Kyron Drones, in order to make room for more reps for McCord. McCord would then follow it up with a 12/19, 118 yard performance that brings him to 24/35, 220 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, preseason. I am very interested to see how he can stack a possible third clean game tonight.
**NEWCOMERS**
Some names that were added later in the Preseason include some names in the secondary of Trey Dean and Tra Fluellen, as well as Wide Receivers in Kaden Prather and Chris Hilton Jr. With a week in the new system now under their belts, it will be interesting if they can play a little faster this week and show the talent that they were brought in for with the third team. Hilton Jr, as well as Prather, have each made a few big plays on offense, as well as Dean and Fluellen coming into their own on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Overall, Preseason game two will kickoff at 7 PM CST tonight, and the Packers will look to have a great showing this week as they return home in front of the Lambeau Field crowd for the first time.