Packers Draft Reactions: Green Bay adds depth with sixth-round picks

In the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers held three selections and bolstered the depth and special teams with each of them.

With the 206th selection, the Packers grabbed Oklahoma fullback Aaron Ripkowski, who had visited Green Bay earlier in the draft process. Though John Kuhn is signed for the 2015 season, this selection gives the Packers another fullback to compete with Kuhn. The Packers clearly like his blocking ability, but his hands were mentioned by GM Ted Thompson as something that impressed him at Oklahoma's Pro Day as well.

SB Nation's Oklahoma blog, Crimson and Cream Machine, gives two main impressions of Ripkowski from his time in Norman:

1. I would hate to hit him

2. I would hate to be hit by him.

I like it. With the Packers often using the inverted wishbone formation last year with John Kuhn and either Andrew Quarless or Richard Rodgers lining up as double fullbacks, the team could plug Ripkowski in next to Kuhn as a lead blocker for the 2015 season before handing him the reins in 2016 as the team's long-term fullback.

Next up at 210 was Louisiana-Lafayette defensive lineman Christian Ringo, who played defensive tackle in the Ragin' Cajuns' 4-3 defense. Ringo projects as an end in the Packers' 3-man front, and at 6'1, 293, he has a similar body type to Mike Daniels and would likely project to be Daniels' backup at the 3-technique position. Ringo was a strong pass-rusher at Lafayette, and therefore is a candidate to contribute in sub packages as an interior rusher as well (again, the Daniels comparison comes into play here). His big-play ability is evident in his stats (11.5 sacks, 20.5 TFL in 2014) show a player who has a knack for getting to the quarterback.

The final pick, Kennard Backman, is a lean, fast tight end prospect who is likely to contribute on special teams early on in his NFL career. With Quarless and Rodgers ahead of him on the depth chart, he will not necessarily see the field much on offense, but has experience lining both in-line as well as in the slot as a receiver. Look for him to contribute mainly on special teams in 2015 if he makes the roster.

Overall, the players drafted in the sixth round seem to be role players and guys who most likely will not make a major impact in their first seasons. That should be no surprise - after all, they're sixth-round picks for a reason. Still, with the Packers undergoing a major overhaul of the special teams from the coaching staff all the way down to the key players on the coverage and return units, at least one or two of these players should have plenty of chances to make the roster with their training camp performances in the third phase of the game. For a rookie 6th-round pick, that's probably the best-case scenario anyway as a short-term goal.

In the long-term, I'm guessing that Ripkowski is the most likely of these players to stick in Green Bay for an extended period, mainly because of the position he plays and the lone player ahead of him on the depth chart. He looks the part of the old-school, multi-talented fullback who can block, catch, and run. It would not be a shock to see him donning Green and Gold for the next several years as a lead blocker for Eddie Lacy and company.