The Packers’ final 13 pre-draft visits revealed

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 28 of the Green Bay Packers’ 30 allotted visits for the pre-draft process have been announced. This includes 13 players who had not previously been reported by other outlets. For whatever reason, Silverstein made no mention of Mississippi edge defender Sam Williams or Texas cornerback John Thompson, who had previously claimed they had been brought in by the team. If those are the two missing players from Silverstein’s list, then we now have Green Bay’s full visits list for the 2022 draft class.

Among the 13 players are seven players who are expected to be drafted this weekend and six players who are likely on undrafted free agent recruiting visits. Below are some quick snapshots of the draftable players.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada

Doubs was a player who was thought to be a borderline Day 2 selection when the draft process started, but an offseason knee injury kept him from running at either the combine or Nevada’s pro day. The Air Raid receiver, converted from the backfield in high school, was a back-to-back All-Mountain West player the last season and was expected to run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash time before his injury. Though he has a good frame at 6’2” and 201 pounds, his willingness to block may be an issue regarding his fit in this offense. There’s a chance the Packers brought him in to workout privately since he didn’t run at either of his testing events this offseason. Per the consensus draft board, Doubs is the 123rd-ranked player in this class.

John FitzPatrick, TE, Georgia

FitzPatrick is a borderline draftable player who may end up going in the late rounds due to his blocking ability. The former Bulldog started 12 games for Georgia over the last two seasons as a true inline tight end in an offense that saw 2021 freshman Brock Bowers and former five-star recruit Darnell Washington catch most of the passes for the tight end room. FitzPatrick had only 17 receptions for 200 yards and one touchdown in his college career but declared early for the draft due to the strength of his 6’7”, 262-pound frame and his run-blocking ability. He was not invited to the combine and did not work out at his pro day dude to a foot injury, which could be a reason for Green Bay asking him to take a visit. On the consensus board, he is ranked 365th overall in the draft class, but there’s a good chance he is a sixth- or seventh-round pick when it’s all said and done.

Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa

Smith is a sneaky possible selection for the Green Bay Packers at either the 22nd or 28th overall picks. Some teams have Smith rated as highly as the fourth overall tackle in this draft class, only behind the top-10 locks in this class. Smith just turned 21 years old and left college as a redshirt sophomore, earning All-AAC honors in his two seasons of college football. In the Covid-shortened 2020 season, Smith earned Freshman All-American honors as the Golden Hurricanes’ left tackle. His athleticism numbers fit in with what the Packers typically like out of their offensive linemen and the potential for him to kick inside to guard or stick outside at tackle is a plus. He is ranked 40th overall on the consensus draft board.

Darian Kinnard, OL, Kentucky

Kinnard is true right tackle prospect who plays the ground game better than he is in pass protection. The former U.S. Army All-American recruit from Ohio picked Kentucky over significant Power 5 offers and was rewarded with two-time All-SEC honors as a right tackle for the Wildcats. Last season, Kinnard was a consensus All-American. It’s interesting that Green Bay would bring in Kinnard for a visit as his agility scores are fairly far off from the type of offensive lineman they typically select. He is ranked 66th overall on the consensus draft board.

Ed Ingram, OL, LSU

Athletically, Ingram is about where Green Bay likes their linemen, in terms of the agility drills. Ingram was originally a 12-game starter for LSU as a true freshman before he was accused of sexual assault which led to a season-long suspension from the team before he was reinstated just before the Tigers’ national title-winning season. He did not start that year (2019) but regained his spot in the lineup in 2020 and made All-SEC last season. Ingram has experience at both guard positions, which is interesting as the Packers typically look at players with a tackle or center background somewhere. Ingram is ranked 106th on the consensus draft board.

Drake Jackson, EDGE, USC

Jackson is at the crossroads of being a player who is a better professional than a collegiate or a player who could have been. Jackson’s best season as a pass-rusher at USC came when he was a 270-pound true freshman (11.5 tackles for loss), but he slimmed down to around 240 pounds when the defensive staff changed over and asked him to play out of a two-point stance more often. At the combine, Jackson weighed 254 pounds. At his pro day, Jackson weighed 273 pounds. The question is, who really is the three-time All-Pac 12 player going to be at the NFL level? His path is very similar to Aaron Lynch’s career at this point, sans the transfer down. Jackson chose not run the 40-yard dash at either the combine or USC’s pro day, which could be why Green Bay brought him in. He did run a 7.09-second three-cone at his pro day, though, which is a great number for a pass-rusher in the 270-pound range. He is ranked 64th on the consensus draft board.

Kyron Johnson, EDGE/LB Kansas

The final draftable prospect on our list is Johnson, who will likely play off-ball linebacker at the NFL level but played defensive end for Kansas last season. Johnson was granted an extra year of eligibility this season due to the Covid year in 2020, so he will be 24 years old when the NFL season begins. He could have been one of the players that general manager Brian Gutekunst thought of when he said the draft is generally deeper than most in the later rounds because of players gaining that extra season of eligibility. Johnson played a little of everything for Kansas and weighed in at 6’0” and 231 pounds at Kansas’ pro day, as he wasn’t invited to the combine. There, he ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash, which could have been good enough for someone to take a swing on him as a special teamer as they try to find him a true position at the next level. He is ranked 267th overall on the consensus draft board.

Below are the players who are not considered draftable but were brought in by the Packers on a visit according to Silverstein:

• Jack Cochrane, LB, South Dakota
• Benjie Franklin, CB, Tarleton State
• Greg Junior, CB, Ouachita Baptist
• DaRon Bland, CB, Fresno State
• Jean Delance, OL, Florida
• Jahmir Johnson, OL, Texas A&M

Now that we can assume that we know who the Packer’ 30 visits are, here is how the positional breakdown works for this class:

• Offensive linemen: 8
• Receivers: 7
• Interior defensive linemen: 4
• Cornerbacks: 4
• Edge defenders: 2.5
• Off-ball linebackers: 2
• Safeties: 1.5
• Tight ends: 1

I counted Kansas’ Kyron Johnson a half edge defender and half linebacker and Georgia Tech’s Tariq Carpenter as half linebacker and half safety as they are in-between positions. The Packers did not bring in a single quarterback or running back in for a visit, which is not surprising considering the team’s depth at those positions.