With Deguara Signed, Packers’ Full Draft Class Is Under Contract

A week before Matt LaFleur made his coaching debut, Green Bay’s third-round draft pick had hustled his way onto his future coach’s radar.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Third-round draft pick Josiah Deguara is under contract, meaning the Green Bay Packers’ nine-man draft class has been signed four days before what should be the official, full-squad start of camp.

Deguara announced his signing on Friday morning, and the team made it official in the afternoon. Under a revamped CBA , the Packers should be set to report for training camp on Tuesday.

Based on the NFL’s rookie slotting system, his four-year deal should be worth about $4.55 million and include a signing bonus of more than $867,000.

A week before Matt LaFleur made his coaching debut, Green Bay’s third-round draft pick had hustled his way onto his future coach’s radar.

Just before halftime of Cincinnati’s season-opening game against UCLA on Aug. 29, Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a goal-line interception. The Bruins might have had a game-changing pick-six if not for the hustle of Deguara. A tight end on the far side of the formation, he ran about 70 yards to make a touchdown-saving tackle.

The play caught LaFleur’s eye, and he used it in a video presentation to his team.

“When you watch Josiah, you see such a gritty, tough player,” LaFleur said after the draft. “We actually showed this to our team ironically enough last season in a team meeting when we were talking about effort and grit. There was a play versus UCLA where there was an interception, and just the effort he displayed to run down the defender and make an unbelievable play on the ball, I think it really epitomizes who he is as a football player.”

Deguara caught 38 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns as a junior and 39 passes for 504 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior.

“No doubt whatsoever. You’ve got a good one there,” Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock told Packer Central. “I think the guy who really is going to benefit a lot from what Josiah brings to the table is Aaron Rodgers. He’s the type of weapon with his savviness as a player, his intelligence as a player and his physical abilities, he can be that type of versatile football player where they can do a number of different things out of a number of different looks. He’s going to be that guy that Aaron can really rely on to bring production to the offense that’s already pretty good.”