Tracking the Packers’ Predraft Visits

Which top prospects are the Green Bay Packers interested in selecting in the 2024 NFL Draft? Keep up to date with our visits tracker.
Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton
Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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The Green Bay Packers reached the divisional round of the NFC playoffs in 2023. General manager Brian Gutekunst will try to build upon that roster during the NFL Draft. 

Here's the latest on which top prospects are visiting with the team, as compiled by Jacob Westendorf and Bill Huber.

Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie

If the Packers would rather tackle another need in the first round, Yale All-American Kiran Amegadjie would be a potentially outstanding fit in the second round. After missing most of the season with a quad injury, a source said he will be ready for rookie camp.

Click here for the full story.

Missouri S Jaylon Carlies

Carlies, as we said in our safeties preview, is an “interesting bundle of traits and production.” He’s got the size of a linebacker, the length of an offensive tackle and the speed of a defensive back. He had nine interceptions and 11.5 tackles for losses the past three seasons.

Click here for the full story.

Troy S Dell Pettus

Pettus was selected a Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus in 2019 and was second-team all-Sun Belt in 2023. In five seasons, he had one interception (in 2020), 14 passes defensed and 315 tackles. He set career highs with 74 tackles and four tackles for losses in 2023, highlighted by11 tackles, two TFLs and a sack in the Sun Belt Championship Game.

Talk about durable: Pettus closed his career by making 61 consecutive starts.

At pro day, he measured 5-foot-10 3/4 and 200 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.50 seconds. This visit probably is about undrafted free agent recruiting.

LSU DT Maason Smith

LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith has first-round traits but mid-round production. The five-star recruit and Freshman All-American, who finished the 2023 season strong, could be a second-round pick.

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UTEP QB Gavin Hardison

Hardison missed most of his final season following season-ending elbow surgery but is well ahead of schedule in his comeback, a source said.

Before the injury, he was a potential midround draft choice. Now, he could be available late.

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South Florida OT Donovan Jennings

Donovan Jennings, who started 47 games at South Florida and almost hit 5.00 seconds with his 40-yard dash, is one of the most experienced and athletic linemen in the draft. He’s getting ready to play guard in the NFL.

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Western Michigan DE Marshawn Kneeland

The Packers have short- and long-term needs at defensive end, where Kingsley Enagbare is coming off a torn ACL and veteran stalwart Preston Smith is the oldest player on the roster. One of the best fits in the draft is potential first-round pick Marshawn Kneeland.

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British Columbia OT Giovanni Manu

Giovanni Manu, one of the biggest and most athletic linemen in the draft, will visit the Packers as part of an extensive predraft tour. The native of Tonga grew up playing basketball before emerging as a 350-pound NFL prospect.

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Kentucky LB Trevin Wallace

One of the most athletic linebackers in the draft, Kentucky's Trevin Wallace, visited the Packers, according to a source.

Getting Wallace probably will require one of Green Bay's four Day 2 selections. In 2023, he set career highs with 80 tackles, 8.5 tackles for losses and 5.5 sacks.

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Kansas edge Austin Booker

Booker is a potential Day 2 draft pick after posting eight sacks and 12 tackles for losses to earn first-team all-Big 12 honors. He was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, as well, after transferring from Minnesota.

At 6-foot-4 1/2 and 253 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.79 seconds at the Scouting Combine.

“I like length (and) long arms," ESPN's Mel Kiper said on the First Draft podcast. "Being able to utilize that ability to basically deflect passes away, become a factor. Not let an offensive tackle get into your body. The way he disengages against the run, he seals the edge there, he’s still getting better. He’s just scratched the surface of what he can be in the National Football League.”

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Florida State S Akeem Dent

Dent started 40 games in five seasons for the Seminoles. The five-star recruit had only one career interception but ran his 40 in 4.45 seconds at pro day.

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Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

McKinstry is double trouble as a cornerback and punt returner, earning All-American honors in both phases for the Crimson Tide. In his three seasons, he allowed a career catch rate of less than 50 percent. However, he had only two interceptions.

Not only did the visit give the Packers an extended meeting with a first-round-caliber player but it allowed the team to track his recovery from recent foot surgery.

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Alabama WR Jermaine Burton

Jermaine Burton, who led the SEC in yards per catch and didn’t drop a pass all season, would be a surprising midround selection given the team’s preponderance of young, talented receivers.

Burton’s four seasons were split between Georgia (53 receptions, 901 yards, eight touchdowns in 2020 and 2021) and Alabama (79 receptions, 1,475 yards, 15 touchdowns in 2022 and 2023). His 20.5-yard average not only paced the conference but ranked third among all draft-eligible receivers who were targeted at least 50 times.

Burton is 6-foot 1/4 and 196 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.45 seconds, posted a 38.5-inch vertical and has a Relative Athletic Score of 9.09.

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Kentucky RB Ray Davis

Davis made his tour around college football starting his career at Temple, before moving to Vanderbilt, and finishing up at Kentucky.

Davis is a talented runner and capable in the passing game. In five seasons, he rushed for 3,626 yards. That includes 1,042 yards (4.5 average) and five touchdowns for Vanderbilt in 2022 and 1,129 yards (5.7 average) and 14 touchdowns for Kentucky in 2023. Moreover, he averaged 10.8 yards after the catch in 2023, when he caught a career-high 33 of his 94 receptions.

Davis is in Green Bay, according to a picture from his Instagram page.

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Ty’Ron Hopper, LB, Missouri

Hopper was one of the anchors of Missouri’s defense, and the Packers are clearly on the hunt for linebacker help after releasing De’Vondre Campbell this offseason and transitioning to a 4-3 scheme.

The playmaking linebacker finished his final season with 55 tackles, six tackles for losses and three sacks. At 6-foot-2 and 231 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.68 seconds.

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Ja’Quan Sheppard, CB, Maryland

Cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard is taking a visit with the Packers, according to draft insider Tony Pauline.

Sheppard is 6-foot-1 3/8 and 201 pounds. He played 1,387 snaps as a boundary corner.

At Cincinnati in 2022, he had 10 passes defensed. At Maryland in 2023, he had eight. In five seasons, he had zero interceptions but he has the athletic profile to grow into a better player at the next level. He was one of the standouts of the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Omar Brown, DB, Nebraska

The versatile defensive back from Nebraska Is taking a pre-draft visit, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

With three years at Northern Iowa and two at Nebraska, Brown has eight career interceptions and 21 pass breakups. Six of those interceptions came at UNI in 2019. With the Huskers in 2023, he had one interception, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

In addition, he’s played all over the defense. He played 313 snaps in the box, 461 in the slot and just under 1,500 at cornerback

That comes in addition to 255 snaps on special teams, where his role could be clearly defined by Rich Bisaccia as a rookie. 

Oregon State S Kitan Oladapo, Arizona State S Chris Edmonds

We’ll lump these two together because they have similar physical toolboxes as potential complementary pairings with Xavier McKinney.

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. Edmonds measured 6-foot-2 3/8 and 210 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.46 seconds at pro day. The other workout numbers, however, weren’t as good, leading to a Relative Athletic Score of 5.61.

Oladapo was an all-Pac-12 choice each of his final three seasons. While Oladapo had just three career interceptions, he broke up 22 passes during those final three seasons.

Edmonds was an FCS All-American before spending his final two years at ASU. He is considered a late-round pick or undrafted free agent.

For the full story on Oladapo, click here.

For the full story on Edmonds, click here.

Georgia OT Amarius Mims

The Packers had success with Rasheed Walker at left tackle and Zach Tom at right tackle. They might not be satisfied, though. Along with Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, the Packers are hosting Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims.

Mims is one of the more interesting prospects in the draft. Due to Georgia’s depth chart and his injuries, he started only eight games in his college career. At 6-foot-7 3/4 and 340 pounds, he ran his 40 in 5.07 seconds. Plus, he’s got anaconda-sized arms at 36 1/8 inches. He used his astounding toolbox to allow zero sacks and move defenders in the run game.

However, the lack of experience and injury history – he missed six games in 2023 following ankle surgery and was injured at the Combine – will be concerns. After not working out at pro day in mid-March, he will perform for scouts at a private pro day on April 10.

For the full story, click here.

Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton

Guyton, who started his collegiate career as an H-back at TCU, is an interesting prospect. He started 14 games in two seasons – all at right tackle. He was an honorable mention on the all-Bg 12 team in 2023, when he started nine games and allowed zero sacks.

The Packers don’t need a right tackle – Zach Tom is one of the top young players at the position in the NFL – but the 6-foot-8, 322-pounder has the athletic skills to make the move. He posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.74, so he certainly fits the mold.

Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy compared Guyton to Tyron Smith, a college right tackle who became a Hall of Fame-caliber left tackle for the Cowboys.

For the full story, click here.

Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper  

The rangy linebacker was a production machine for the Aggies. He will be visiting the Packers, according to Bleacher Report. 

The Packers are in the market for a linebacker after the release of De'Vondre Campbell as they switch to a 4-3 defense. As it stands, Eric Wilson would be the third starter. Plus, Isaiah McDuffie, Wilson and Kristian Welch are set to be free agents afte the season.

At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds and with 4.51 speed in the 40, Cooper is one of the most athletic linebackers in the draft. He was a big-time playmaker for the Aggies with eight sacks and 17 tackles for losses among his 84 tackles in 2023.

For the full story, click here. 

Ohio State DT Michael Hall Jr.

The Athletic's Zac Jackson reported the Packers have a top-30 visit lined up with Hall.

Hall was a productive pass rusher for the Buckeyes, and could add more depth to a defensive line that could be looking to add more bodies as they switch to a 4-3 defense. He ranked among the draft-class leaders in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

For the full story, click here.

Jarrian Jones, CB, Florida State

Bleacher Report's Ryan Fowler reported that the Packers have a top-30 visit lined up with Jones. 

Jones would add versatility and depth to a cornerback room that returns everyone from a season ago. He has the ability to play either in the slot or on the boundary. 

Of note considering the Packers don’t have a proven nickel defender behind Keisean Nixon, Jones played 397 snaps in the slot for the Seminoles a season ago, and came away with three interceptions and three pass breakups. He allowed just a 50.0 percent completion rate, according to PFF.

For the full story, click here. 

Northern Iowa DL Khristian Boyd

Boyd was in Green Bay, according to his social media page.

Boyd is a run-defending defensive lineman who threw up 38 reps on the bench press at Northern Iowa’s pro day. He was a third-team FCS All-American in 2023, when he had 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for losses. The 6-foot-2, 329-pounder was one of the big Scouting Combine snubs.

Michigan OL Zak Zinter 

Zinter was the first of the top-30 visits for the Packers, according to Bleacher Report.

A big part of Zinter's visit should be a medical checkup due to a horrific leg injury he suffered in the final game of Michigan's regular season against Ohio State. 

For the full story, click here. 

List of Green Bay Packers Draft Picks

The Packers are scheduled to have 11 selections in this year’s draft. That includes bonus picks in the second round (last offseason’s trade of Aaron Rodgers) and third round (last year’s trade of Rasul Douglas). Plus, they have free-agent compensatory picks in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Those are marked with an asterisk.

Here is the list and the history of those picks.

Round 1, Pick 25

Round 2, Pick 41 (from Jets for Aaron Rodgers)

Round 2, Pick 58

Round 3, Pick 88

Round 3, Pick 91 (from Bills for Rasul Douglas)

Round 4, Pick 126

Round 5, Pick 169*

Round 6, Pick 202

Round 6, Pick 219*

Round 7, Pick 245

Round 7, Pick 255*

Gutekunst will try to keep a two-year hot streak going.

"We had a lot of guys and very excited about where they’re going, but they just had a lot more opportunity than maybe these guys have had and they capitalized on it and that’s a credit to them," he said at the Scouting Combine. "That’s always gonna be the foundation of how we build football teams around here is the draft and develop. I think that’s really important that we’re committed to that."

 


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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.