Packers sign 6th-round pick Isaiah McDuffie to NFL contract ahead of rookie minicamp

Rookie minicamp begins on Friday, but the Green Bay Packers have been busy with their 2021 crop of draft picks before on-field work starts. On Thursday, the Packers reportedly signed three of their day-three draft picks, then early Friday morning, Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated reported that a fourth has signed.

That fourth player is linebacker Isaiah McDuffie out of Boston College. He joins fellow sixth-round pick Cole Van Lanen, fifth-rounder T.J. Slaton, and seventh-round running back Kylin Hill as the team’s signed picks.

McDuffie was the 220th overall selection, picked with a compensatory sixth-round pick. According to Overthecap.com, the 220th pick should slot in with a total contract value of just over $3.6 million with a signing bonus of approximately $130,000.

With minicamp starting Friday, the Packers will make some of the team’s new players available to the media for the first time since Draft weekend. Each of the team’s first three picks along with Van Lanen and head coach Matt LaFleur are expected to speak via Zoom Friday afternoon.

Expect to see some more reports of more players signing their contracts in the next 72 hours, as the current Collective Bargaining Agreement’s draft slotting system leaves little room for negotiation by either side.