On Friday afternoon, the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends in attendance at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine met with the media in Indianapolis. The quarterbacks group drew the most media attention, with five possible first-round picks all vying for the headlines.
However, for those of us covering the Green Bay Packers, the wideouts and tight ends were the bigger draw, as the Packers appear to be in the market for players at both of those positions. Here are a few of the comments and video clips that I was able to obtain from several of these players on Friday.
Tight Ends
Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
Fumagalli was asked what he will miss most about playing for the Badgers. His answer spoke to a common thread that seems to be present for most members of the Wisconsin football program:
Fumagalli also answered a question about what specific plays or situations he feels he stood out in compared to other players:
I also asked Fumagalli what his favorite joke story about his missing finger is. He said that in Indianapolis and in meetings with teams he tells them the truth (it had to be amputated at birth), but that if he does feel like messing with someone he tells them that he had an accident in wood shop class.
Fumagalli confirmed that he met with Packers tight ends coach Brian Angelichio this week in Indianapolis. He later said “I respect and love the Packers and what they do with the offense,” and that “I’d love to stay home in Wisconsin.” Time will tell.
Mike Gesicki, Penn State
Gesicki first came to the attention of Penn State’s athletic department for his volleyball skills, as he was a great high school player in that sport as well as football and basketball. Here he is discussing how those other sports help him as a receiving tight end:
Given those leaping skills, I asked him what his goal was for the vertical jump (which he will perform on Saturday):
Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State
Goedert is a fascinating player, coming out of an FCS school and becoming one of the top players at his position in the draft class. Goedert also has an unusual hobby — unicycling — which is something that the Packers saw last year with guard Geoff Gray. Here’s Goedert on teams’ reaction to his hobby:
Goedert suffered a hamstring injury during the first day of Senior Bowl practice this year, which was a disappointment for him as he had to drop out of the game:
Finally, here is Goedert talking about how he became a Packers fan. He also seems to think that he should be in the conversation for the team in the first round of the draft, which is quite ambitious:
Wide Receivers
Courtland Sutton, SMU
Fans of Jordy Nelson will probably love Sutton. His build — 6’3-3/8” and 215 pounds — is very similar to Nelson’s, as Jordy measured in at 6’2-5/8” and 215 pounds. Their arm length and hand sizes were each within 1/4-inch of each other as well.
And if that wasn’t enough, Sutton grew up working on a farm in rural Texas:
As a larger receiver with excellent speed, Nelson was excellent in the early and middle parts of his career at getting separation from coverages. I asked Sutton about what he does to separate from cornerbacks:
D.J. Chark, LSU
Chark, who ran an impressive 4.34-second 40-yard dash on Saturday morning, was asked a similar question about coverages on Friday afternoon:
Chark didn’t have massive numbers in college, but he did have an excellent performance in the Senior Bowl with 160 receiving yards. Here he is discussing that game:
Chark’s Senior Bowl and 40 probably solidified him as a second-day prospect and perhaps even will generate some first-round buzz around him.
Saturday at the Combine will feature interviews with the defensive linemen and linebackers, so keep it here at Acme Packing Company for more coverage from Indianapolis.