Packers hosted pre-draft visits for CB Sean Bunting, TE Kahale Warring, and five others

Each year, news trickles out little by little about the players who come to visit the Green Bay Packers as part of the team’s 30 official pre-draft visits. This year, we at Acme Packing Company knew the names of 22 such players as of this weekend, with a handful of additional players who visited the team as part of the local Pro Day.

On Monday morning, Packersnews.com published its annual list of confirmed visitors, and this year’s batch has seven names on it that APC did not yet know about. Here’s a quick look at each of the new names on APC’s list, which you can find in its entirety here.

Sean Bunting, CB, Central Michigan

Bunting has been a riser throughout this draft process, and now has a chance to go in the top 50 picks. He had a great workout at the Combine, with a 4.42-second forty-yard dash and a 41.5-inch vertical, then recorded a solid 6.89-second 3-cone drill at his Pro Day. In addition, he has good size at a shade over 6-foot and 195 pounds, and has great ball skills as shown by nine interceptions in three years.

Kahale Warring, TE, San Diego State

Possessing ideal size and speed, Warring measured in at 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds in Indy for the Combine, then ran a 4.67-second 40. A likely day-three pick, he could be an excellent consolation prize for the Packers as an all-around tight end if they miss out or choose not to select one of the top options earlier. Warring was not a hugely productive receiver in college, posting just 51 career receptions, but he did have eight touchdowns.

Curtis Bolton, ILB, Oklahoma

While the Big XII conference had few defensive players at the 2019 Combine, Bolton could easily be considered a snub after a stellar senior season. The 6-foot, 228-pound Bolton recorded a whopping 142 tackles in his one year as a starter, totaling 12 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. He also ran a reported 4.59-second 40 at Oklahoma’s Pro Day and clearly projects as a speedy coverage linebacker.

E.J. Speed, ILB, Tarleton State

A college edge rusher who projects as an inside backer in the NFL, Speed lives up to his name thanks to a reported 4.60 forty and 6.90-second 3-cone drill at his Pro Day. He’s a long, lanky player at around 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, and after recording six sacks in 2016 and missing most of 2017 to injury, he bounced back with another five sacks in 2018. He’s likely to go undrafted but could make for an intriguing free agent signing.

Nate Herbig, G, Stanford

The Packers have had good luck in the past with finding guards on day three or as undrafted players, and Herbig seems to fit that mold. Though not a great athlete — his agility testing at the Combine fell well short of what the Packers typically like in offensive linemen — he did earn two All-Pac 12 honors, named first-team as a sophomore in 2017 and second-team last year. Leaving Stanford after just three years, Herbig is a young prospect who may just be tapping into his potential.

Greg Gaines, DT, Washington

Tackles from the “other” UW have been high draft picks in recent years (Vita Vea and Danny Shelton come to mind) and although Gaines won the Pac-12’s award for the conference’s best defensive lineman last year, he probably will be a day-three pick. Still, Gaines did have a nice career as a pass-rushing tackle, racking up 9.5 sacks in three-plus years as a starter, including 4.5 last season. Gaines measured in at 6-foot-1 and 308 pounds at the Combine, putting him at almost the same size as Mike Daniels. Perhaps he could be a long-term replacement at the 3-technique position?

John Wirtel, LS, Kansas

The Packers drafted long snapper Hunter Bradley last year in the seventh round, grabbing the Mississippi State product who had two ACL surgeries. Wirtel has a similar injury history, and was granted a sixth year of eligibility for 2018 as a result. Wirtel measures in around 6-foot-3 and 243 pounds, and he could be an undrafted free agent signing to push Bradley in camp.