Packers Huddle

paco wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 18:00

go pak go wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 19:09

Packers acting like going after big WR's this year is the absolute worst thing to do.

NCF wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 19:24

S Christian Uphoff, Illinois State, 6-2, 209: Opted out of the team’s spring season but became the school’s first invitee to the Senior Bowl. He played in 37 games and started 15, totalling 94 tackles, one sack, three interceptions and 16 pass breakups. At his pro day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds, had a vertical jump of 33 inches and bench-pressed 225 pounds 17 times. Despite his slow 40 time, he was an outstanding kick returner, averaging 27 yards per attempt over his three seasons.

DT Carlo Kemp, Michigan: 6-2½, 281: Appeared in 46 games and started 29. Was a team captain in ’19 and ’20. Played in six games as a senior and had two sacks and three tackles for loss. Over four seasons he had 4½ sacks ad 10 tackles for loss. Played on the same defensive line as Packers linebacker Rashan Gary in ’17 and ’18. Considered a potential inside pass rusher but has short arms. He had an impressive 27 reps on the bench press and ran the 40-yard dash in 5.08 seconds.

OT Coy Cronk, Iowa, 6-4, 318: Has long arms (34¼ inches) and left tackle experience ’20. Started every game at left tackle for first three seasons at Indiana and then injured his ankle and missed most of the ’20 season. He transferred to Iowa as a graduate student and played right tackle, but struggled and shared playing time. Did not participate in on-field testing at his pro day.

DL Jack Heflin, Iowa, 6-3, 304: Played his first four years at Northern Illinois, starting 29 of 38 games and 72 tackles, nine sacks and 17½ tackles for loss. Transferred to Iowa to play his senior season and started all eight games, finishing with 21 tackles, one sack and 3½ tackles for loss. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 25 times and ran the 40 in 5.32 seconds. He projects as a run-down player in the NFL.

WR Bailey Gather, San Jose State, 6-1, 182: Started 27 games and ranks second all-time at the school with 18 touchdown receptions, well ahead of SJSU alum James Jones (12). He averaged 16.5 yards per catch and eight games with 100 or more yards receiving. In addition to his receiving role, he plays on special teams and has blocked two points. He was dynamic on kickoff returns, averaging 27 yards. He also has punt return ability. Ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds.

OT Jon Dietzen, Wisconsin, 6-4½, 312: Played in 42 games and started 39 with 24 starts at left guard, 14 starts at left tackle and one start at right guard. In ’20 he started four games at left guard, two games at left tackle and one game right guard. Played left tackle for the Badgers in ’18, but numerous lower leg injuries led him to give up football in ’19. However, after feeling refreshed, he came back and played the entire ’20 season. Good arm length at 33 ¾ inches, but he could wind up at guard. Registered 19 on the bench press.

OT Jacob Capra, San Diego State, 6-5, 310: Keeping with the theme of versatile offensive linemen, Capra is a tackle who might profile more as a guard. Transferred to San Diego State in 2019 after three seasons with Oregon. Started at both tackle spots as a junior in 2019 before sliding into left guard spot as a senior last season.

paco wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 18:47

paco wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 19:14

go pak go wrote: ↑

01 May 2021 19:09

Packers acting like going after big WR's this year is the absolute worst thing to do.

Gutey said it. He acknowledged that the smaller, slot type guys, they haven't had on the team in a while and they wanted to fill that need. Same with a guy like Shemar as a slot CB, and T.J. as a big run stuffer.

By Bob McGinn May 2, 2021 23
At the start of the college scouting year, reports and grades are handed out by scouts for the National Football Scouting and BLESTO combines in the spring before a player’s senior year.

In 2019, Illinois State running back James Robinson received a 5.4 grade from NFS and Jeremy Chinn, a safety from Southern Illinois, got a 5.2.

In 2020, another player from Illinois State, safety Christian Uphoff, was given a 5.5.

Robinson, a 1,000-yard rusher last season after signing as a free agent for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Chinn, the Carolina Panthers’ second-round draft choice, both made the All-Rookie team.

Like Robinson, Uphoff wasn’t drafted, and on Saturday night he agreed to a free-agent contract with the Green Bay Packers. If Uphoff’s impact can in any way approximate those of his Missouri Valley Conference brethren, the Packers would be ecstatic.

“I’m trying to be like Jeremy Chinn,” Uphoff said late Saturday from his parents’ home in Washington, Ill. “I look up to that guy a lot. He’s a great player. Obviously, we come from the same conference. That’s who I am really trying to be like.”

Neither Chinn nor Uphoff had any stars attached to his recruiting resume. Chinn wasn’t all that highly regarded until the combine in February 2020 when, at 6-foot-3 and 222 pounds, he ran a blistering 4.40 40 to go with a 41-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11-6. Carolina drafted Chinn with the final pick of the second round.

Uphoff (6-foot-2, 210) never had a combine. He also didn’t have a senior season. The Missouri Valley postponed its fall campaign until spring, but when Uphoff was invited to the Senior Bowl, he declared for the draft.

There were strong indications that Uphoff would be drafted. In the last month, an NFC scout predicted his landing spot would be the fourth or fifth round, an AFC scout guessed sixth or seventh round, and another AFC evaluator said simply on Day 3. Another NFC personnel man saw Uphoff as a free agent.

Uphoff took his cellphone to the golf course Saturday, not ready to watch his fate play out on live TV. His phone never rang until late, and that was from his agent informing him that 10 teams hoped to procure his services as a free agent.

It was a thin year at safety. Discounting the four safeties that were drafted as linebackers, just 17 pure safeties were selected.

Uphoff made a solid impression as an FCS player at the Senior Bowl. He was chosen as the top safety on the National team for the entire week, besting Virginia Tech’s Divine Deablo, Pittsburgh’s Damar Hamlin and Oklahoma’s Tre Norwood.

Those three players all were drafted, in the third, sixth and seventh rounds, respectively.

So why wasn’t Uphoff, who had that substantial grade from NFS the last time he played?

“I just didn’t have my senior-year tape,” Uphoff said. “If I would have had that, I would have been fine.”



Uphoff probably still would have heard his name called if his pro day in Normal, Ill., an event on March 17 attended by representatives of 23 NFL teams, hadn’t been so detrimental to his chances.

After the Senior Bowl, Uphoff was training at EXOS facility in Frisco, Texas, when he pulled his hamstring running a 40-yard dash during a simulated combine. That was three weeks before his pro day.

“I couldn’t even run for two weeks,” he said. “They were, like, ‘Take it easy, take it easy.’ I was, like, ‘I need to do something.’ The last week before pro day, I would jog. I would practice drills, but I couldn’t go full speed until pro day.”

The weather that day was 35 degrees, it was raining and the winds swirled at 15 to 20 mph. On a less-than-ideal surface, he clocked 4.65 on the first 40 and 4.63 on the second.

“That’s horrible,” Uphoff said. “Before I pulled my hamstring, I was running like 4.4s consistently. It was just a &%$@ show.”

His other testing results were equally unimpressive. Said an AFC scout: “After the 4.64, I’ll forget the guy.”

Pro football can be a cruel endeavor.

“It happened,” Uphoff said. “If I would have had better numbers, I’m sure I would have been drafted. You’ve got to deal with it.”

Last year, safety Daniel Thomas of Auburn received a signing bonus of $317,116 from the Jaguars after being selected in the middle of the fifth round. Uphoff’s signing bonus from Green Bay was $310,116 less than Thomas’.

“It’s going to give me more motivation to come in there and kick somebody’s ass,” Uphoff said. “I’m telling you, I’m fast. My hamstring is 100 percent now. I can’t wait to get there and show these guys.”