Camp Hype Index: Who is this year's Sam Shields, Lucas Patrick, and Josh Jones?

As the Packers have learned over the years, some camp hype will prove more durable than others.

Like clockwork, training camp turns into a hype machine for the numerous young players who shine in August. This dynamic plays out annually in every NFL city, and the Green Bay Packers have no shortage of examples over the years. Most lose steam soon after Week 1 arrives as the most established players take their place at the top of the depth chart. A small percentage manage to contribute during the regular season, though most of those do so in limited roles. In rare cases, the camp hype blooms into something greater and sustainable.

Put more directly, for every player who sustains or builds upon his camp hype, August has also delivered a Joe Callahan, Jayrone Elliott, Tory Gurley, M.D. Jennings, and Vic So'oto to counterbalance. Inevitably, many of this year's young camp standouts will see their fortunes fade by the time fall arrives too.

That doesn't mean every promising development from training camp will prove to be fool's gold, however. In the Packers' best years, they identified useful pieces among the young players in camp, some recent draft picks while others acquired as undrafted or street free agents. For Green Bay to achieve its goals in 2024, the team will likely need another camp standout or two to become a key contributor during the season.

With that in mind, let's look at some of the young players currently generating hype in camp and estimate their chances of maintaining their camp hype into the regular season. To simplify the exercise, we will place the player in one of three tiers, each named in honor of a former Packers camp standout, that corresponds to their outlook.

Keep in mind that these categories reflect the expectations relative to the player placed into them. Accordingly, a player could never become a starter and still conceivably fall into the highest tier because he maintained and built upon his camp hype. Alternatively, someone who starts but performs in a massively disappointing fashion could fall in the lowest tier.

Josh Jones tier: the most disappointing

Perhaps nobody better exemplifies the folly of camp hype than Josh Jones, at least in Green Bay. A second-round pick in 2017, Jones almost immediately generated excitement as a potential Swiss army knife in the Packers defense. The coaches described him as a safety-linebacker hybrid who could cover receivers and tight ends out of the slot while having the requisite size and strength to defend the run. Jones' robust athletic traits helped him flash throughout camp, adding fuel to the flames.

The illusion shattered by November. Jones struggled to navigate his way through DC Dom Capers' dense system while making splash plays to negate his mistakes. The experiment lasted just two years before the Packers pulled the plug. Jones bounced around the NFL for four more seasons and never found a long-term home.

Lucas Patrick tier: solid and steady

Most people won't think often of Lucas Patrick, but he represents one of the fortunate few who turned a strong performance during training camp and the preseason into a long NFL career. The Packers signed Patrick as an undrafted rookie out of Duke in 2016. Though he managed to earn a job on the practice squad, his true rise came the following year when he earned a spot on the 53-man roster by proving himself at all three interior positions along the offensive line. Patrick played 29% of the team's offensive snaps that year, eventually becoming a full-time starter during the Matt LaFleur era.

Sam Shields tier: the rarest of the rare

A 2010 undrafted free agent, Sam Shields almost immediately separated himself as the best cornerback on the roster not named Charles Woodson or Tramon Williams during camp. Not only did the rookie end up earning a roster spot, he became a de facto starter, playing in the nickel defense when Woodson shifted to the slot.

And Shields didn't just hold down the role, he shined. In the NFC Championship Game that season, he picked off Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie, the latter on the final non-kneel-down of the contest. Quick simply, the Packers don't reach the Super Bowl without Shields, much less take home the Lombardi Trophy.

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Now, with the categories defined, let's dive into this year's players.