From Receiver to Star Linebacker to NFL Draft Visit With Packers

Jaden Dugger was an all-conference receiver at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh.

After opening his college career as a 200-pound safety at Georgetown, Dugger packed on the pounds and packed quite a punch as a linebacker at Louisiana. After an all-conference season, he will have a predraft visit with the Green Bay Packers.

Dugger earned first-team all-Sun Belt Conference honors with 125 tackles in 2025. It was the sixth-most tackles in school history and the most by a Ragin Cajuns defender since 2013. He added four sacks, 13 tackles for losses and one interception.

Dugger is big, talented and productive, which gave him an opportunity to compete at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Next, at Louisiana’s pro day, Dugger measured 6-foot-4 3/4 and 242 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.60 seconds, a time that highlighted his 9.60 Relative Athletic Score.

Jaden Dugger is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.60 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 139 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.

Correcting the school.https://t.co/Mgy62Hz3Yh pic.twitter.com/ZNMOJBg66t
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 6, 2026

“I feel like when I'm playing now is a combination of everything I did, so I feel like that made me such a better player,” Dugger said at pro day. “Having that experience and just playing it. At the time, I might have not liked it, but it prepared me for who I am today.”

He was one of the top standouts at the East-West game, especially with his range and instincts in coverage.

“It was great – me with a lot of scouts and a lot of new players that you see on TV, finally getting to meet them,” Dugger said at pro day. “Then seeing all the cool logos on the helmets and going against those guys that you don't get to play against, so it was a great experience. I feel like I learned so much and I got so much better.”

Still, it wasn’t enough to get invited to the Scouting Combine.

“No Combine and stuff, that kind of lit an extra fire under me,” he told CBS Pittsburgh. “I think I proved myself. A lot of scouts were like, ‘You’re not a Combine invite?’ But everything’s going to play out how it should be. If you deserve to be in the NFL, they’ll come find you.”

Jaden Dugger’s Path to the Draft

Missouri Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula (9) is sacked by Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns linebacker Jaden Dugger. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Dugger scored 13 touchdowns as a senior at Penn Hills – his brother, Julian, was his quarterback; he is a backup at Washington State.

Jaden Dugger waited for big-school opportunities that never came his way, so he settled on Georgetown – a school known for basketball and academics. After earning second-team all-conference in 2023, he had to make a decision.

Academics or try to position himself for an NFL career.

He got that opportunity at Louisiana and went right to work on getting bigger, faster and stronger.

“It’s not hard because you get all the resources you need,” Dugger told Trib Live in 2024. “They give you your meals and the nutritional goals and goal weight to help cut body fat. Nutrition is the most important part of the game people don’t look at.”

Dugger hit the ground running for the Cajuns, making the position change to linebacker look easy.

Louisiana Linebacker Jaden Dugger!!!🚨🚨🚨

- Very underrated linebacker
- Hidden Gem
- Great overall linebacker
- He can do it all!
- Very good athlete
- Great speed
- Great in coverage
- Great in the box
- Great tackler
- Big play maker, game changer!
- Field general… pic.twitter.com/rOtul0gv9O
— Linebackers University™ (@Linebackers_U) February 7, 2026

“He’s a natural pass rusher, which is unbelievable,” coach Michael Desormeaux said during fall camp in 2024 “He has it, he’s worked hard at it. He’s extremely physical. He sets the edge and uses his length well. He just does things really naturally that are just way ahead of the curve.

“I thought he’d be able to play ‘12 Sam’ only, and he’d be able to go out there and kind of play the edge and play the quarterback – just thinking it’s going to take him a couple years to develop that skill-set.”

Potential Fit With Packers

Green Bay is a strong at linebacker. When Jonathan Gannon lines up in his base 3-4 defense, only two linebackers will be required. The Packers have Edgerrin Cooper, Zaire Franklin, Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper, plus special-teamers Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch.

So, making the team – and making an impact – won’t be easy, regardless of whether they pick a linebacker in the third round or a player like Dugger with a late-round pick or in undrafted free agency.

However, Dugger’s size and versatility hints of some intriguing possibilities.

During his first season at Louisiana, according to PFF, he played 152 snaps on the edge, 98 as an off-the-ball linebacker and 66 in the slot. During his breakout final season, he played 798 snaps as an off-the-ball linebacker and 95 snaps elsewhere.

A player like Dugger could join Cooper and Franklin on the field to give the Packers 4-3 personnel on the field. He then could move to the line of scrimmage to play 3-4 outside linebacker.

Packers Predraft Visits

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