Packer Central

Packers’ Jason Vrable Got Up-Close Look at These Receivers at Senior Bowl

Green Bay Packers passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable was the offensive coordinator for the National team at the Senior Bowl.

Bill Huber

Jayden Higgins of Iowa State (9) tracks a pass against defensive back Bilhal Kone of Western Michigan at the Senior Bowl.
Jayden Higgins of Iowa State (9) tracks a pass against defensive back Bilhal Kone of Western Michigan at the Senior Bowl. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ passing-game coordinator, Jason Vrable, is the team’s former receivers coach and still spends a lot of practice time with that position group. Capped by Saturday’s game, he was the National team’s offensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl for the past week.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst’s love of the Senior Bowl is well known. With extra intel from Vrabel about skill and work ethic, paired with the team’s need at the position, don’t be surprised if one of these receivers winds up with the Packers.

Xavier Restrepo, Miami

PFF: No. 49 overall prospect. Draftek: No. 85.

Height: 5-foot-9 3/8. Weight: 200 pounds.

Restrepo almost certainly is too short for the Packers to consider. He had two big-time seasons with 85 catches for 1,092 yards in 2023 and 69 catches for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024.

Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

PFF: No. 56. Draftek: No. 59.

Height: 6-foot-3 3/4. Weight: 217 pounds.

Higgins had a big final season with 87 catches for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns. In four college seasons – two at Eastern Kentucky and two at Iowa State – he caught 227 passes for 3,309 yards and 28 touchdowns. He dropped two passes this season (2.2 percent) and seven in his career.

According to PFF, Higgins in 2024 broke 12 tackles and averaged 3.8 yards after the catch. He caught 14-of-24 contested-catch opportunities. He showed his physicality with a trick-play touchdown on Saturday.

“That kind of body control is all over Higgins' tape at Iowa State,” The 33rd Team’s Tyler Brooke wrote. “He also showcases legitimate technique with his route running, along with solid explosiveness and long strides to be a vertical outside threat and safety blanket for his quarterback.”

Tez Johnson, Oregon

PFF: No. 88. Draftek: No. 45.

Height: 5-foot-9 1/4. Weight: 156 pounds.

After three years at Troy, Johnson had 86 receptions for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023 and 83 receptions for 898 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024. He broke 17 tackles and averaged 7.4 YAC, according to PFF.

Johnson had a tremendous week at the Senior Bowl, but the Packers don’t like short and small receivers. Johnson is both.

He was PFF’s top performer at receiver.

“His elite route-running chops were on full display and he was able to separate against press coverage, which is what his biggest question mark is at his size,” PFF’s Max Chadwick said.

Jaylin Noel, Iowa State

PFF: No. 117. Draftek: No. 98.

Height: 5-foot-9 3/4. Weight: 196 pounds.

In four seasons, Noel caught 245 passes for 2,855 yards and 18 touchdowns. He set career highs in 2024 with 80 receptions for 1,194 yards and nine touchdowns.

The shortest receiver drafted by the Packers during the Brian Gutekunst-Ted Thompson regimes was Amari Rodgers with a third-round pick in 2021. He was short at 5-foot-9 1/2 but thick and 212 pounds. Noel is not thick. That Rodgers was a bust probably means Gutekunst would be incredibly reluctant to back off the team’s historic thresholds.

Pat Bryant, Illinois

PFF: No. 143. Draftek: No. 152.

Height: 6-foot-2 1/8. Weight: 208 pounds.

Bryant caught 54 passes for 984 yards (18.2 average) and 10 touchdowns in 2024, all career highs, as he went over 2,000 career receiving yards.

Bryant forced 14 missed tackles and averaged 6.9 yards after the catch. Impressively, he dropped just one pass. He told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo that he considers a 50/50 ball to be more like 70/30. He had a 43-yard catch in the game and could set himself into the Day 2 mix.

Kobe Hudson, Central Florida

PFF: No. 146. Draftek: No. 157.

Height: 6-foot-0 3/8. Weight: 198 pounds.

Hudson was a late add to the Senior Bowl roster. After leading Auburn in receiving in 2022, he transferred to UCF. As a fifth-year senior in 2024, he caught 47 passes for 770 yards (16.4 average) and four touchdowns.

Hudson isn’t much of a YAC threat (3.8 average, five missed tackles) and had double-digit drop percentages all five seasons, according to Pro Football Focus, but caught 13-of-27 in contested-catch situations. He could be a “tremendous value” as a Day 3 pick.

Kyle Williams, Washington State

PFF: No. 152. Draftek: No. 286.

Height: 5-foot-10 1/4. Weight: 182 pounds.

Williams had a huge final season with 70 catches for 1,196 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is an electric player with 20 missed tackles and 8.4 YAC per catch, according to Pro Football Focus, and surprisingly strong in contested-catch situations with 10-of-16.

Williams was one of Daniel Jeremiah’s top 10 players of the week.

“I knew Williams had good speed,” Jeremiah wrote, “but what impressed me in practice was the polish he showed in his release. He created separation throughout the week and caught the ball well. He’s put himself in the mix to be drafted on Day 2.”

He had the fastest time speed on the practice field among the receivers and was second-fastest overall.

Da’Quon Felton, Virginia Tech

PFF: Not ranked. Draftek: No. 267.

Height: 6-foot-4 3/8. Weight: 223 pounds.

After four years at Norfolk State, Felton played two seasons for the Hokies and caught 70 passes for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns. The size is impossible to ignore. He scored a touchdown on Saturday.

Felton forced five missed tackles, averaged 4.5 YAC, had five drops (13.5 percent) and caught 8-of-15 contested catches, according to PFF.

Jaylin Lane, Virginia Tech

PFF: Not ranked. Draftek: No. 351.

Height: 5-foot-9 1/8. Weight: 191 pounds.

Lane is another receiver who is too short and too small. After catching 69 passes during his third season at Middle Tennessee State, he transferred to Virginia Tech for his final two campaigns with a total of 74 receptions for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns.

Lane does come with some added appeal with a 10.9-yard average and two touchdowns as a punt returner during his career.

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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.