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Tracking an NFL team’s Top-30 pre-NFL Draft visits can often seem like a fool’s errand. Many teams seem to use their visits to focus on bringing in players under consideration with their early draft picks. That necessarily results in each team only acquiring one or two players from the list of visitors.
Under Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst, however, the Green Bay Packers have had much more success in acquiring the players who visit the Packers’ facilities, however. These players end up in Green Bay either as late-round draft picks or undrafted rookies, and in some cases they even sign with the Packers a year or two later.
Although Gutekunst has expanded his view for visits beyond Thompson’s vision — which was primarily focused on late-round picks, potential undrafted players, and prospects with significant character concerns — he did still land eight players in his first draft year from his visit pool. Four of those were draft picks, including the highest-drafted visitor to Green Bay since 2013, but another four came to Green Bay after the draft in one way or another.
Here’s a look at all of the names since 2013 who were confirmed to have visited the Packers before the draft and ended up wearing Green and Gold at some point.
2018 Visits
Player | Position | How Acquired |
---|---|---|
Player | Position | How Acquired |
Oren Burks | ILB | 3rd Round (#88) |
J'Mon Moore | WR | 4th Round (#133) |
Marquez Valdes-Scantling | WR | 5th Round (#174) |
Kendall Donnerson | OLB | 7th Round (#248) |
Tim Boyle | QB | UDFA |
Gerhard de Beer | OT | Practice Squad |
Natrell Jamerson | CB | Waivers (HOU) |
Conor Sheehy | DT | UDFA |
2017 Visits
Player | Position | How Acquired |
---|---|---|
Player | Position | How Acquired |
DeAngelo Yancey | WR | 5th Round (#175) |
Kofi Amichia | OL | 6th Round (#212) |
Devante Mays | RB | 7th Round (#238) |
Joel Bouagnon | RB | Futures Contract 2018 |
Johnathan Calvin | EDGE | UDFA |
Geoff Gray | G | UDFA |
Taysom Hill | QB | UDFA |
Aaron Peck | TE | UDFA |
D.J. Klllings | CB | Practice Squad (2018) |
The 2016 season saw few of the Packers’ reported visits end up with the organization. Just two names from our list that season became Packers. One was running back Don Jackson, signed as an undrafted free agent. The other, offensive lineman Kyle Steuck, was a UDFA as well, though he came as part of the Packers’ local visit allotment rather than as a Top-30 visit.
In 2015, Ted Thompson hit on a number of players again. Three became Packers immediately and a fourth ended up signing in Green Bay several years later as Joey Mbu spent the summer and training camp with the Packers in 2018:
2015 Visits
Player | Position | How Acquired |
---|---|---|
Player | Position | How Acquired |
Aaron Ripkowski | FB | 6th Round (#206) |
Ricky Collins | WR | UDFA |
Matt Rotheram | G | UDFA |
Adrian Coxson | WR | UDFA |
Ryan Williams | QB | Futures Contract (2016) |
Joey Mbu | DT | FA (2018) |
According to Wes Hodkiewicz (then of the Green Bay Press-Gazette) in 2015, the Packers brought in just two visitors from the 2014 class, both as UDFAs: linebacker Joe Thomas and offensive lineman John Fullington. However, 2013 was another big year:
2013 Visits
Player | Position | How Acquired |
---|---|---|
Player | Position | How Acquired |
Nate Palmer | EDGE | 6th Round (#193) |
Charles Johnson | WR | 7th Round (216) |
Kevin Dorsey | WR | 7th Round (#224) |
Lane Taylor | G | UDFA |
Jumal Rolle | CB | Practice Squad |
In total, the Packers have eventually acquired 32 players whom they brought in for official visits over the past six drafts — an average of about five per year.