These Offensive Tackles Might Not Be on Packers’ Draft Board

The Green Bay Packers will enter the 2024 NFL Draft with a major need at offensive tackle. Viewed through the prism of measurables, here is the noteworthy history.

Zach Tom has short arms ... and great ability. / Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers value testing numbers probably more than most teams. However, perhaps part of their success in drafting offensive linemen over the years comes from the fact they pick blockers who can, well, block.

In the 17 drafts in which Ted Thompson or Brian Gutekunst drafted for zone-style offensive systems, Green Bay has selected 13 players who wound up playing primarily offensive tackle in the NFL. Of those, 12 have predraft data – 2007 draft pick Tony Moll’s official measurements and testing results have been lost to time.

Sure, the Packers have no use for big, sluggish blockers. But you don’t have to be the biggest and fastest, either. Nowhere is that clearer than everyone’s favorite three-letter acronym.

Relative Athletic Score

No doubt the Packers have some sort of internal system comparable to Relative Athletic Score. RAS takes a player’s height, weight and other measurables and combines them into one position-based score ranging from 0.00 (the worst prospect ever) to 10.00 (the best ever).

It’s easy to salivate over the RAS of Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton and Georgia’s Amarius Mims, a pair of the first-round prospects in this class who had predraft visits with the Packers. However, the Packers haven’t been restricted to elite testing numbers.

Of the 10 drafted tackles with a RAS, three (Allen Barbre in 2007, Jason Spriggs in 2016 and Zach Tom in 2022) handily beat 9.00. That means they’re elite athletes for the position. However, the only first-round picks were Bryan Bulaga (7.32) and Derek Sherrod (6.85), who weren’t exactly workout warriors. Neither was five-time All-Pro David Bakhtiari (6.72).

However, bad athletes need not apply. Bakhtiari’s RAS was the lowest of the 10.

If you were wondering, Rasheed Walker did not go through predraft testing in 2022 due to injury.

Arm Length

It’s almost written as gospel that an offensive tackle has to have arms measuring at least 34 inches. Otherwise, forget it and enjoy life at guard. For Green Bay, four tackles had arms longer than 34 inches, three were exactly 34 inches and five were shorter. The “shorter” group includes the Packers Hall of Famer Bulaga (33 1/4) and the 2023 starters, Walker (33 5/8) and Tom (33 1/4).

Size Doesn’t (Really) Matter

Offensive linemen are among the biggest players on the field. They have to be to withstand the force delivered by the equally large defensive linemen.

The historic Scouting Combine average is a bit more than 315 pounds. Only two of the drafted tackles were heavier, with Sherrod, the 2011 first-round pick, the heaviest at 321 pounds.

The Combine average is about 6-foot-5 3/4. Only three were taller: Breno Giacomini was the tallest at 6-foot-7 1/8; Andrew Datko and Kyle Murphy were 6-foot-6 on the nose. None of those late-round picks had much of a career in Green Bay.

At 6-foot-3 3/4, Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu might be considered a guard for most teams. For the Packers, he'd likely get a fair shake as an offensive tackle because of his 34 1/2-inch arms. Marshall Newhouse started for some powerful teams at 6-foot-3 5/8.

40-Yard Dash and 20-Yard Shuttles

Sure, laugh at the thought of a 40-yard dash being important for an offensive lineman. The historic Scouting Combine average in the 40 is 5.26 seconds. Of the 10 drafted tackles to run a 40, eight were faster. The exceptions didn’t miss by much, with Sherrod at 5.28 and former seventh-round pick Datko at 5.32.

The secret measuring stick at most position is the 20-yard shuttle. The historic Combine average is 4.75 seconds. Of the 10 drafted tackles with a time, only Jamon Meredith was slower (4.82), though that was offset by almost hitting 5.00 in his 40. Tom ran his shuttle in an elite 4.47. Going back to their slow-ish 40s, Sherrod beat the shuttle average by 0.12 seconds and Datko crushed it by 0.21 seconds.

Which Tackles Might Not Be on Packers’ Tackle Board?

RAS: All the top prospects have superior combinations of measurables. A couple of Day 3 prospects, Missouri’s Javon Foster and Texas’ Christian Jones, scored 6.33 and 6.18, respectively.

Arms: Bulaga was a great player and Tom is well on his way. They had 33 1/4-inch arms – well below that 34-inch marker. Thus, most of the offensive tackle prospects are in the clear. The two big exceptions are Arizona’s Jordan Morgan and Duke’s Graham Barton, a pair of three-year starting left tackles. With 32 7/8-inch arms, Morgan might wind up at guard and Barton at center.

Height and weight: Here’s an interesting one. The Packers haven’t drafted those enormous blockers such as Guyton and Mims, who are 6-foot-7 3/4, or Mims and JC Latham, who are about 340 pounds. Is that because they are too tall and destined to lose the leverage battle. Too beefy and unathletic? Or is it because players with their combination of size and athleticism haven’t been available?

Mims has the athletic ability. Latham might not. Same goes for Louisiana’s Nathan Thomas, who at 332 pounds would be considerably heavier than the Packers have desired.

Marshall’s Ethan Driskell and Wyoming’s Frank Crum stand over 6-foot-8. They’d seem unlikely to be a consideration unless it’s the bitter end of the draft. On the offensive line, it’s great to be tall but not great to be too tall.

40 and 20: The 40 times are amazing in this draft class. Again, laugh if you want, but there’s a reason why prospects spend so much time preparing for it. Using Dane Brugler’s “Beast” as an easy, scrollable reference, you have to go to his 15th-ranked tackle, Foster, to find someone slower than the 5.25 average. Only two of his top 24 were slower, which gets you into the seventh-round/undrafted ranks.

The shuttle is a different story, which is probably why so many of the top prospects choose not to do the drill. Using the Combine average of 4.75 as a potential cut-off could eliminate Missouri’s Foster (4.93), Texas’ Jones (4.78), Oklahoma’s Walter Rouse (4.83) and Penn State’s Caedan Wallace (4.96) along with a couple small-school standouts, South Dakota State All-American Garrett Greenfield (4.85) and Georgia State’s Travis Glover (4.84).

One last word on the topic. This will be Gutekunst’s seventh draft as GM. Walker and Tom are the only tackles he’s drafted, and they were Day 3 picks. That means there’s not much of a history to draw upon. Gutekunst almost certainly will draft a tackle early in this year’s draft. Who he picks will expand our knowledge greatly. 

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