Packers Host Physical Safety on Predraft Visit

Kitan Oladapo was a three-year all-conference selection at Oregon State and earned some All-American honors as a senior.

Kitan Oladapo / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers acquired one starting safety in free agency with Xavier McKinney. The other may come through the draft.

Will it be Oregon State’s Kitan Oladapo? The Packers hosted the big safety for a predraft visit, a source said in confirming a report by The Draft Network’s Justin Melo.

Who Is Kitan Oladapo?

Oladapo was a three-year all-conference selection and a Pro Football Focus All-American as a senior. He had 69 tackles as a sophomore, 80 as a junior and 74 as a senior, when he had two interceptions. While Oladapo had just three career interceptions, he broke up 22 passes during those final three seasons.

He finished the season as PFF’s 86th-ranked player after earning top grades as a run defender, pass defender and blitzer.

Not bad for a former walk-on.

“Upping my urgency, upping my attention to detail,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Focusing on those small plays, those third downs and fourth downs that really matter. I think my maturity is always improving. My patience is always improving.  I still need to work on that. But I would say my discipline and being able to eliminate all distractions.”

Among the players he patterns his game after is another Oregon State safety.

“I would probably say Jordan Poyer being from Oregon, playing on the Bills, being an All-Pro,” he said at Pac-12 Media Day. “Definitely like his tape. Just the all-around safety, blitz, cover, be in the box, the post. I also love Reggie Tongue, Makiya Tongue's father. I was looking one day, he's all over the stat book. I'd love to chase some of his stats, for sure.”

His younger brother, Kash, plays soccer at Portland.

“It’s meant a lot,” Kash said of his brother’s journey. “It’s really a good testament to the guy he is. Really just believing in himself. Knowing that he can work hard to get to where he wants. It’s just an inspiration to see.”

How Kitan Oladapo Fits?

Oladapo measured 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds at the Scouting Combine, where he ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 8.18. His size and physical playing style would make him a good fit alongside the rangy, playmaking McKinney.

He showed his skills during a strong week at the prestigious Senior Bowl.

"I’m a big safety that can move," he told Melo at the Senior Bowl. "I can fit any scheme. I can blitz because I’m effective at getting after the quarterback. I can go out there and cover slot receivers and tight ends in man coverage. I’m extremely rangy on the back end. I can play post over the top. I can fit the run."

In 2023, according to PFF, Oladapo played 292 snaps in the box, 174 snaps of free safety and 278 in the slot. That’s a lot of action near the line of scrimmage, which would allow McKinney to play the post-safety position. In coverage, PFF charged him with one touchdown allowed and a 61.3 passer rating.

Wrote NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, who called him a potential starter: “Oladapo possesses classic strong safety traits and play attributes, which should help evaluators define him more easily. He has very good size, with the play strength and toughness to tackle near the box and enough cover skills to line up over tight ends in man.”

Round Projection for Kitan Oladapo

Underrated by a lot of media pundits, one scout viewed Oladapo as a potential third-round pick. He will be viewed higher by teams like the Packers that are looking for a safety to play close to the line of scrimmage.

The Packers have two picks toward the end of the third round and another choice in the fourth.

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