Packers Host Record-Setting Tight End on Predraft Visit

The Green Bay Packers, with a massive hole on the roster at tight end, hosted Baylor Ben Sims, who scored nine touchdowns in 2021.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Apr 15, 2023 12:17 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Baylor’s Ben Sims, an all-conference selection on the field and in the classroom, had a predraft visit with the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a source.

Sims was an honorable mention on the all-Big 12 team in 2021 and 2022, when he had matching 31-catch campaigns. His best statistical season came in 2021, when he turned those 31 receptions into 361 yards and nine touchdowns – the most scores by a tight end in program history.

He left Baylor as the school’s career leader for career touchdowns by a tight end (12). He finished second all-time among tight ends in receptions (78) and fourth in yards (785).

The Packers, with their enormous hole in the lineup at tight end, have hosted a few of the top tight ends, such as Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid and Georgia’s Darnell Washington. This particular visit, however, fits more with late-round gem or undrafted free agent recruiting.

With only two tight ends on the roster who’ve played in an NFL game, the team is expected to draft two players at that spot.

Sims has the size (6-foot-4 5/8, 250 pounds) and athleticism (4.58 in the 40, 36-inch vertical) to merit a shot. His Relative Athletic Score was 8.39 on a 0-to-10 scale.

“Most recently, it’s been George Kittle,” Sims said at Big 12 Media Days. “So, I like to watch a lot of film on the San Francisco 49ers because what they do is very similar to how we run our wide zone scheme. But Kittle, you can see when he blocks, he has an intent to him.

“He doesn’t just get in the way, he wants to dominate you and he wants to put you on your back and he wants to be the guy that’s making that wide zone play work. His energy on the field is unmatched, how he plays, the way he treats his teammates. He’s a great teammate and a great player and a great person. Som that’s what a lot of my game after.”

Sims was a seven-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. In 2022, he was first-team all-Big 12 in academics and second-team all-Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

Sims played most of his snaps as a traditional, in-line tight end.

Explained Baylor coach Dave Aranda: “You would want someone that can be attached to the core, attached to the five O-linemen, and have combo blocks with them, can pass protect versus a defensive end if need be, and can also flex out and be fleet enough afoot as a receiver to run through or run by a re-route, make a play in space, make somebody miss if need be. That’s a guy that can do all of it.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Sims last season forced a career-high five missed tackles, averaged 3.5 yards after the catch and had two drops (6.1 percent). He caught 1-of-5 deep passes and was 0-for-3 on contested-catch opportunities in 2022 compared to 5-of-8 on deep passes in 2021 and 6-of-10 on contested catches in 2020 and 2021.

“He’s a great energy guy, he’s awesome,” Baylor center Jacob Gall told The Waco Herald-Tribune. “He’s such a great friend to me and to the other guys. He’s a great player, obviously. He’s made some great catches and he’s a great blocker. Sometimes I get out there and him and I are blocking the same guy.”