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Thursday Cheese Curds: Rashan Gary getting ready for a crucial fourth season

Gary has steadily improved and stands to cash in big with a solid 2022.

Syndication: The Post-Crescent Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis / USA TODAY NETWORK

The “develop” portion of the Packers’ draft and develop philosophy hasn’t always come to pass, even for some of their most promising rookies.

Before he was unceremoniously shipped to Cleveland (for DeShone Kizer, no less), Damarious Randall had flashed some potential in the Packers’ secondary. But he was never able to build on that foundation, and thus found himself traded and then shuffled around what felt like most of the rest of the league.

Predecessors like Datone Jones and Nick Perry likewise looked like contributors at time, but never showed the kind of consistent production that would indicate solid development over the long haul.

Rashan Gary, however, has been the polar opposite. The 12th overall pick in 2019, he played sparingly (but well!) as a rookie, took on a bigger role in 2020, and blossomed into an excellent player in 2021.

Now poised for his fourth season, Gary is rightly being recognized as one of the best players on a very talented Packers defense. He’s a great success story for the Packers’ front office, and with a contract extension on the horizon, he stands to reap the benefits of his hard work.

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