Deguara ‘Doesn’t Like to Lose’

Mike Denbrock, who coached Tyler Eifert and Kyle Rudolph at Notre Dame, explains why Josiah Deguara is going to be an X-factor for the Packers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Having coached the likes of Tyler Eifert and Kyle Rudolph at Notre Dame, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock knows what an NFL tight end looks like. Having worked with Josiah Deguara the past two seasons, Denbrock believes the Green Bay Packers found a real X-factor with their third-round pick.

“No doubt whatsoever. You’ve got a good one there,” Denbrock said. “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.”

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When Luke Fickell became the Bearcats’ coach in 2017, he hired Denbrock to be his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2018, Denbrock’s focus shifted from quarterbacks to tight ends.

After catching four passes as a freshman and 11 as a sophomore, his career took off under Denbrock’s supervision. 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. He was first-team all-conference as a senior. His 92 career receptions are the most by a tight end in school history – ahead of Travis Kelce and Brent Celek.

At 6-foot-2 3/8 and with 4.72 speed in the 40, Deguara didn’t win with overwhelming physical traits. What made him such a success?

“More than anything, it’s his ability to understand the passing game,” Denbrock said. “A lot of guys can learn routes. ‘On this route concept, I do this; on this route concept, I do that.’ Really having an understanding of how to create space for yourself, whether that’s vs. zone or man coverage, is something that I think certain people have a knack for a little bit more than others. He’s one of those guys. He understands where he fits in the pass concepts, he understands how to create space for himself. When you’re able to do that, what that does is send up the antennae of the quarterback that, ‘Here’s a guy that knows how to create space for himself, knows how to separate from people. I can count on this guy to get open.’ That leads to giving yourself more opportunities to catch the ball.”

As a blocker, he should contribute as a traditional tight end or at fullback.

“Just his tenacity. He’s a guy that doesn’t like to lose,” Denbrock said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s running and catching the ball in man-to-man coverage or it’s blocking somebody on the line of scrimmage as an in-line guy or blocking somebody out in space, his competitiveness shows up in those situations. He’s just not going to back down. He’s going to do whatever’s required to make sure he’s successful.”