Explosive Packers Rookie RJ Maryland’s Career Begins Where Dad’s Ended

It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. In the case of Russell and RJ Maryland, it’s where you finish and where you start.

Russell Maryland, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1991 NFL Draft and a three-time Super Bowl champion, ended his 10-year NFL career by starting every game of the 2000 season as a defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers.

His son, RJ Maryland, a tight end from SMU, is getting his start in the NFL with the Packers.

“He liked it up here,” RJ told Packers On SI. “Obviously, he ended his career here; he was just getting old. But he said it’s a cool place and it’s a cool culture.”

RJ had a strong, consistent four-year career, catching 113 passes for 1,495 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s more of a big receiver than a traditional tight end at 6-foot-3 5/8 with 4.51 speed in the 40.

RJ Maryland is a TE prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 7.32 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 391 out of 1456 TE from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/32OFF6bXNK pic.twitter.com/4QiwHnHLa0
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 3, 2026

Despite production and athleticism, he went undrafted.

“Well, obviously, I wish I got drafted by a team, but it’s not up to me, at the end of the day,” RJ said. “I just got to do what I do. The coaches and the GMs, it’s up to them to do all the drafting, but it’s really up to me to just go out and play. So, that’s all I do is just go out and show what I can do.

“And, you know, I’m so glad to be here. I’m happy I’m here. So far, it’s been great. Coach (John) Dunn and Connor Lewis have helped me a lot. They’ve been great. I just got to get better every day.”

Maryland had a quiet set of offseason practices, though that was probably more of a byproduct of playing alongside the young quarterbacks who were reluctant to push the ball down the field. During a 2-minute drill to wrap up the minicamp last month, though, he got open on a deep corner route and made a nice catch at the sideline.

The play was nullified by a penalty on one of the linemen, but it showed what he’s capable of doing as a potential matchup-problem player.

“Yeah, just line up and play,” he said of that catch. “I’ve been learning a lot. So, now it’s up to me to take all that information and play fast. Because, at the end of the day. If you’re not playing fast, you can’t really do much. So, just got to keep learning.”

Maryland is more than capable of playing fast. His 40 time put him in the 98th percentile among tight ends. Is he getting to the point mentally where he can play fast physically?

“Oh, yeah, I’m still learning,” he said. “Obviously, I’m still learning a little bit, but it’s a lot better than it was a few weeks ago. It’s starting to really fall in and it’s starting to slow down a little bit. Even in the 2-minute drill, I’m not stressing out. At least today, I wasn’t stressing out, really. I was just getting the play and able to play. And so that’s a great feeling to have.”

Being Russell Maryland’s Son

Being the son of a Pro Bowl defensive lineman could come with pressure. After all, if the father is a great football player, then the outside expectations would be that his son should be a great player, too.

Russell did his best to minimize those expectations by letting his son find his own way.

“You know what? For one, I never put it on his shoulders,” Russell said. “I never told him that he had to do it or else. What I always did with him was I tried to find something that he was good at, something that he absolutely loved, and I said, ‘You want to do this? You want to try this? Let’s go and work at it.’”

RJ called his dad “just a cool guy.”

“I didn’t really know he played football until I was about maybe 7 years old, so I never felt any pressure,” he said. “I just liked playing sports and going out there and doing what I do. So, he never pressured me to do anything. He just wants me to graduate college.”

Maryland Returns to Green Bay

While everyone wanted to see Maryland get drafted, his father saw the positives in where RJ landed.

“I said ‘Hey, everybody’s all about the Packers, man,’” Russell said. “We talked about it today. You got a big old stadium right smack dab in the middle of a really nice community. I told him the people are great, and you go out there and you perform, they’ll love you. And so that’s just what I expect. I expect positive things. I stay positive with him.

“Even to this day, he’s going on 22 now, and the same tenants of how I raised him is the same things that I try to do with him to this day. I told him to make a good use of this time [before training camp] and don’t waste it, don’t cut corners and really be appreciative of where he’s at – not just the NFL but in Green Bay – because there are a lot of other people that don’t get this shot, and so to really have a great appreciation. And then, hopefully, get 10 years like a dear old dad in the league. Or maybe more.”

That 10-year journey will start when training camp begins with the first practice on July 29.

Even while going undrafted, Maryland has a golden opportunity to make the roster. The Packers are a man down at the position with John FitzPatrick not re-signed following last year’s torn Achilles. They could hardly be more different as players, obviously – FitzPatrick is a big, physical blocker – but there is a spot on the roster for Maryland if he shows he can develop into more of a weapon in the passing game than Luke Musgrave and Josh Whyle have shown.

For that reason, Maryland didn’t expect to take much of a break between the end of OTAs and the first practice of training camp.

“These next six weeks, I really just got to learn,” he said. “Take a little bit of a break, you know, really mentally, just to get away from the game for about a week maybe. And then I really got to dig into that playbook and start learning a lot.

“And physically, you got to stay in shape because if you don’t stay in shape physically and mentally, you’ll lose it and you can lose it quick. So, as long as you’re just keeping your mind and body good, staying in that playbook, I think everything will work out.”

Once Maryland is comfortable with what he’s doing mentally, he’ll be able to show what he can do physically.

After the catch, he averaged 6.1 YAC during each of his final two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a catch of at least 49 yards in all four seasons. He caught the ball well with seven drops in four seasons.

“Oh, shoot, man, I’m just going to show my ability,” he said. “You know, right now, I just need to get in that playbook, keep learning. Once I get all that stuff down and I can start playing fast, I feel really good about what I can do here.”

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