NFL Draft 2019: Green Bay takes gamble with Michigan’s Rashan Gary
By Phil Poling
The Green Bay Packers rolled the dice with the No. 12 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, selecting Michigan’s Rashan Gary. Will the gamble pay off?
For a franchise that’s typically conservative when drafting, Michigan’s Rashan Gary is a huge gamble for the Packers at No. 12. His production as a Wolverine never matched the five-star hype he received out of high school, but the Michigan defense finished top four every season he suited up.
Career totals of 119 tackles, 23 tackles-for-loss, and only 9.5 sacks is underwhelming for a player with Gary’s size (6-foot-4, 277 pounds), but the Packers believe they can squeeze the potential out of him.
He fits extremely well with Green Bay, though, and he won’t be asked to play every down right away. But if he is, he’ll have plenty of teammates surrounding him to create one-on-one opportunities.
They added Adrian Amos in the secondary, and Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith to shore up their pass rush. Slotting a player like Gary next to those guys will force offenses to decide who gets the double team and who gets one-on-one matchups. At Michigan, Gary often dealt with double-teams, freeing up guys like Chase Winovich and Devin Bush to roam and make plays. He’ll need to be more than just a block eater to live up to his draft position, though.
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The Packers receive a C- grade for drafting Gary at No. 12. He’s not a bad player, but he is a massive risk this early in the draft. Florida offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor was still available. Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat, another pass rusher, was still on the board, too. His potential, though, is through the roof; he hasn’t even scratched the surface of how great he can be