LeRoy Butler, the inventor of the Lambeau Leap, poses with a statue that the Packers unveiled on Friday.

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Green Bay — Six practices into training camp, the Green Bay Packers' 2014 first-round pick remains a back-up. But safeties coach Darren Perry indicated Friday it's a fluid situation.

Perry wants to see Ha Ha Clinton-Dix perform on game day.

"It doesn't come over night," Perry said of the defense. "It's going to take some time. He's working at it."

To date, Micah Hyde has been paired with incumbent Morgan Burnett on the first unit. Green Bay likes the fact that Hyde gained 16 games of experience — albeit at the nickel corner spot — last season. Clinton-Dix remains in the reaction phase.

While pleased with the Alabama safety's progress, Perry said Clinton-Dix is still learning.

"To get to the point where he eliminates the thinking part of it. He's just reacting," Perry said. "That comes in time. It's still early. We're less than a week into camp.... But again in terms of handling the big stage, he's been there before. It's going to be a matter of him getting comfortable enough and playing fast enough where he can go out there and be an impact player for us, which we're expecting and hoping."

So far, Perry sees promising signs.

The last two seasons, he trained safeties from Arkansas State (M.D. Jennings) and Maine (Jerron McMillian). Clinton-Dix is green but not that green. Coming from a SEC power — Nick Saban's defense — he has a foundation of fundamentals.

"Usually when you come from those big schools and those top programs you've had some pretty good coaching and the fundamentals are instilled in you at an early age," Perry said. "He's had that and has made my job a little easier in terms of coaching him up and getting him up to speed in terms of what we do here."

One way or another, the Packers could find packages for their top pick. At times in practice, the Packers have had Burnett and Clinton-Dix at safety with Hyde covering a slot receiver.

Perry notes that Clinton-Dix has done the little things, such as leveraging routes, staying deeper than the deepest and finishing plays.

The coach wouldn't get into what separates Hyde from Clinton-Dix at this point.

"When they get into the preseason games, that's going to tell us a lot," Perry said. "That's going to tell us a lot, when we see how guys handle the pressure, how well they handle our defense in a faster-pace environment. Practice is one thing. It gives you a chance but then you've got to be able to perform when it counts. So these four preseason games will be imperative."

The Packers' hope is that Clinton-Dix follows the lead of his former Crimson Tide teammate, Eddie Lacy. The training camp setting — dulled by quick whistles and controlled contact — didn't highlight what Lacy does best. Then, he played against the St. Louis Rams in his first preseason game.

Carrying three or four Rams defenders at a time, Lacy gained 40 yards on eight carries.

Smiling, Perry says Clinton-Dix has "that element to his game."

"And when you look at his physique, you can easily see that," Perry said. "With the way he practices, he's not afraid to put his pads on people.

"That's not a bad thing at all."

Demanding preparation: Outside of Jordy Nelson, the average age of the Packers wide receiver is 23.2 years.

So for Aaron Rodgers, this training camp is a bit different. Surrounded by youth, he's trying to get up to speed with many new faces.

The Packers rely on precise timing. With Rodgers and wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett, the passing game is more of a science than reliant on aggressive, physical specimens.

Rodgers made it clear Friday that size, speed and physical ability of any kind is secondary in a wide receiver gaining his trust.

The quarterback wants receivers who know where to be and when.

"It's really all about one thing," Rodgers said. "It's about mental preparation. The physical mistakes are going to happen. There's going to drops at times. There's going to be (times when) we're not on the same page every single time. If you cannot line up right, if you can't get the checks, if you can't do what you're supposed to do every time, then there's no way you can possibly be on the field when I'm out there.

"Those guys understand that. I'm very demanding in that way."

Richardson's size: At first glance, Sean Richardson could probably pass for a linebacker. He's 6-foot-2, 216 pounds and willingly plays downhill in run support.

With his two interceptions, arguably no defensive back has made more noise than Richardson so far.

Being a bulkier safety, however, has its pros and cons. This summer, Perry has stressed the importance of staying low.

"The one thing you have to always remind those taller guys is to play with more knee bend," Perry said. "Because the taller Sean gets, he loses his quickness. So he just has to be conscious of that and keep some knee bend. And when he does that, he's about as quick as anybody he has back there."

Perry can't recall playing with a safety this big, mentioning Carnell Lake and Rodney Harrison as two of the largest.

Against the run, he says size is the difference between stopping a bulkier running back in his tracks or getting dragged 3 yards in the wrong direction. And against the pass, Perry cited one play in camp in which a receiver dropped a pass on a seam route, hearing those Richardson footsteps.

"There's an intimidation factor," Perry said. "You see a guy back there, a guy that big roaming in the middle of the field, those receivers think about that a little bit.

"That's what a guy like Sean can bring to the table."

Backup plan: Ever wonder who would be the holder if something happened to Tim Masthay.

Wonder no more. It's receiver Randall Cobb.

"He's good," special teams coach Shawn Slocum said. "Randall is a good holder. He's got a good one-piece motion. Puts the ball on the spot. Mason (Crosby) feels comfortable with him. He did it in college. He's been our backup holder for a while."

It makes you wonder what would happen if the Packers used Cobb, their all-purpose offensive option, as the full-time holder. They would have the ability to run fakes and probably force the opposing team to limit its number of rushers to account for a possible fake.

Slocum intends to stick with Masthay.

Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.