Packer Central

Defensive Tackle With Elite Athleticism Works Out for Packers

The Green Bay Packers hosted several free agents for workouts on Tuesday. Among them are two tall and athletic receivers and a defensive tackle with elite athleticism.

Bill Huber

Former New York Jets defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall worked out for the Packers.
Former New York Jets defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall worked out for the Packers. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Among the players in town for the Green Bay Packers’ weekly Tuesday free-agent workouts were receivers Seth Williams and Racey McMath and defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall, according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson.

Williams was a sixth-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2021. Before that draft, he measured 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds with a 4.49 in the 40 and a 37-inch vertical. His Relative Athletic Score was only 6.92 because he’s got building speed rather than sudden speed.

McMath was a sixth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2021. Before the draft, he measured 6-foot-2 1/2 and 217 pounds with a 4.39 in the 40 and a 34-inch vertical leap. His RAS was 7.44.

A third receiver, T.J. Luther, who went undrafted in 2023, also was in Green Bay for the workout. At 5-foot-11 1/4, he’s got 4.50 speed and a 39-inch vertical for a 5.85 RAS.

(Update: Luther signed to the practice squad, according to a source.)

A third drafted player who was part of the workout was defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall, a sixth-round pick by the Jets in 2021. He played in four games as a rookie, recording two tackles and one quarterback hit.

Marshall spent training camp and the preseason with the Jaguars. He had one sack this preseason.

Marshall, who had one sack and 6.5 TFLs as a senior at Arkansas in 2020, has some untapped potential. In fact, to say Marshall is an elite athlete would be an understatement. At 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.88 seconds with 36 reps on the 225-pound bench press. His RAS was an elite 9.99.

“I love your get-off,” Jets GM Joe Douglas told Marshall after drafting him. Added coach Robert Saleh as part of that conversation “Our D-line is going to be a bunch of war daddies up there, and to add someone like you is friggin’ awesome.”

(Update: The Packers did not sign Marshall.)

Also part of the workout was tight end Johnny Lumpkin, who signed to Green Bay’s practice squad.

The 24-year-old Williams played in two games with one start as a rookie for Denver. His only career catch went for 34 yards. After spending the last two seasons on Jacksonville’s practice squad, he caught three passes for 15 yards this preseason with the Jaguars.

In three seasons at Auburn, he caught 132 passes for 2,124 yards (16.1 average) and 17 touchdowns.

Upon being drafted by the Broncos, he was asked about his best trait: “Just being able to catch those contested catches, those contested balls. Being able just to be physical off the line and overpower my own defender that's guarding me and being able to make the big play. I don't shy away from the big moment at all. I'm ready for all [moments].”

Said Broncos GM George Paton: “He’s like a piece of clay. He's really talented, he's big, he can run. As a receiver, he just needs to be molded.”

With the Titans, the 25-year-old McMath caught two passes for 8 yards as a rookie and two passes for 40 yards in 2022.

He spent half of 2023 on the Colts’ practice squad and training camp this summer with the Cowboys. He caught five passes for 80 yards during the preseason.

In four seasons at LSU, he caught 33 passes for 522 yards (15.8 average). Three of his four touchdowns came in 2019.

The 24-year-old Luther has not played in a regular-season game. He spent most of his rookie season on the Patriots’ practice squad. This year, he spent training camp with the Steelers but did not catch any passes.

As a senior at Gardner-Webb in 2022, he caught 55 passes for 1,035 yards (18.8 average) and seven touchdowns. 

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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.