Which Offensive Tackles Might Be Off Packers’ NFL Draft Board?
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have a big need at offensive tackle entering the 2022 NFL Draft. With Billy Turner, the starter at right tackle the past two seasons, released, veteran Dennis Kelly unsigned and 2020 Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins coming off a torn ACL, Green Bay’s depth chart is as deep as a kiddie pool.
Presumably, David Bakhtiari will be healthy and ready to reprise his role as stud left tackle. Yosh Nijman, who filled in well for Bakhtiari and Jenkins at left tackle last season, figures to be the No. 1 right tackle for the first day of offseason practices. Otherwise? Green Bay just doesn’t lack experienced depth. It lacks depth, period. At this point, the swing tackle would be 2021 sixth-round pick Cole Van Lanen.
So, the Packers certainly will draft an offensive tackle – and probably will do so relatively early.
In the 15 drafts in which either Ted Thompson or Brian Gutekunst have drafted for zone-style offensive systems, Green Bay has selected 11 players who wound up playing primarily offensive tackle. For the most part, they’ve been racecars. And that means the plodding monster trucks of the football world probably will not be a consideration.
The historic Scouting Combine average in the 40-yard dash is 5.26 seconds. Of the 10 drafted tackles to run a 40, all 10 were faster.
With that history, Kentucky All-American Darian Kinnard (5.31), Minnesota’s hulking Daniel Faalele (5.60), Ohio State’s Thayer Munford (5.33), Louisiana’s Max Mitchell (5.32), Arkansas’ Myron Cunningham (5.38) and Boston College’s Tyler Vrabel (5.40) might be off the board.
The historic Combine average in the 20-yard shuttle is 4.75 seconds. It’s a test the Packers put a lot of stock in, regardless of position. Of the nine drafted tackles with a shuttle time, only Jamon Meredith was slower (4.82) but he turned in a phenomenal 4.99 in his 40.
Prospects with slow shuttles include Faalele (5.06), Kinnard (4.96), Munford (4.77), TCU’s Obinna Eze (5.08), Virginia Tech’s Luke Tenuta (4.77) and Kentucky’s Dare Rosenthal (5.00).
A couple late-round options, Connecticut’s Ryan Van Demark and Wisconsin’s Logan Bruss, might have overcome sluggish 40s with excellent shuttles. Van Demark ran a 5.26 in the 40 but a 4.54 shuttle. Bruss ran a 5.32 in the 40 but a 4.55 in the shuttle. As was the case with Meredith in 2009, Rosenthal’s terrible shuttle could be offset by a 4.88 in the 40.
The magical 34-inch arm length hasn’t been a big factor for Green Bay, though the 33 1/4-inchers attached to Bryan Bulaga were the shortest of the bunch. So, it’s OK to have shorter-than-desired length but not to an extreme.
That makes Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann an interesting case.
A fringe first-rounder who checks every other box for Green Bay, Raimann has 32 7/8-inch arms. Moreover, after serving his mandatory military service in Austria, he’ll turn 25 in September. However, his 4.32 clocking in the shuttle at pro day ranks as the fastest for any offensive tackle prospect.
Arizona State’s Kellen Diesch (32 1/4), Tenuta (32 7/8) and Vrabel (32 3/8) also fell below 33 inches. Diesch is a possible third-round option. Vralel is the son of Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
