NFL Draft 2019: Packers pre-draft prospect visits tracker

NFL teams are deep into their preparations for the 2019 NFL Draft, and as college Pro Days wind down, the next phase of scouting is getting underway. That phase is on-site visits, where teams invite prospects to come to their facilities for interviews, medical checks, and often testing and drills.

It’s essentially a glorified job interview, wherein the player and gets to display the skills that he can bring to his potential new employer and both sides can get to know each other more thoroughly. Each team can hold visits for 30 players from around the country, with an additional unlimited allotment of visits for “local” prospects — those who either played college football or grew up close by.

The Green Bay Packers, with two first-round draft picks in their pocket, will likely be using several of their Top-30 visits on highly-rated prospects whom the team will consider early on. That was a major portion of the strategy in 2018, Brian Gutekunst’s first year as general manager, but it represented a significant change from Ted Thompson’s strategy.

Before the GM change, Thompson seemed to use most of his visits on players who were either day-three or potential undrafted free agent prospects rather than top prospects. However, Gutekunst did bring in a handful of notable early options as well. Still, eight of the 27 players who visited Green Bay last spring ended up as Packers one way or another; four of them were 2018 draft picks (Oren Burks, J’Mon Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kendall Donnerson) while another four were acquired either as undrafted free agents or added mid-season (Tim Boyle, Gerhard de Beer, Natrell Jamerson, and Connor Sheehy).

As a result, keep a close eye on this constantly-updated list leading up to the draft, as several of these names are sure to end up wearing Green and Gold at some point in 2019 or beyond.

In addition to the players noted above, the Packers also hosted a number of prospects from the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University for the team’s local prospect visits. These players’ visits do not count against the team’s 30-visit allotment: