Why the Packers brought in top 2024 draft prospects for pre-draft visits

Most of the future top-100 picks that Green Bay brought in during the pre-draft process have a major question mark.

Earlier this week, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst gave a list of reasons for why future draft choices may be brought in by the team for pre-draft visits. Gutekunst stated that the majority come to Green Bay “answering a question” that the Packers have on their scouting report. For some, it’s football questions or off-the-field situations. For others, it’s the fact that they weren’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, meaning that the team doesn’t have a medical report on hand for the player.

With all that in mind, I’ve been calling sources this week to try to figure out why exactly some players were brought in on pre-draft visits by the Packers. We’re going to be focusing on players who are projected to be top-100-ish picks, but if you want the full lists of Top-30 Visits, we’ve been tracking them here at Acme Packing Company, too.

The first batch of names are players with injury question marks. This includes Georgia right tackle Amarius Mims, Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and Michigan guard Zak Zinter.

Mims had in-season surgery for a high ankle sprain in 2023, his only season as a full-time starter, and also left the SEC Championship Game with an injury. On top of that, he pulled out of combine testing once he injured his hamstring in Indianapolis.

McKinstry was discovered to have a Jones fracture in his foot at the combine. This isn’t an uncommon injury, as Illinois defensive lineman Jer’Zhan (Johnny) Newton is also dealing with the same medical questions. The fear, though, is that Jones fractures tend to lead to re-injury in the future, meaning this could be a long-term question for both of those players.

Amegadjie had a season-ending knee injury in 2023 that required surgery, which led to him not running at either the combine or his pro day at the University of Connecticut in March. He ultimately had a private pro day a few weeks later at Yale in April.

Zinter is in a pretty similar boat to Amegadjie, as he broke his leg against Ohio State in the final week of the regular season. Due to the injury, he did not participate in on-field drills at either the combine or Michigan’s pro day.

Beyond injuries, there are other questions that prospects have to answer, though. According to sources, Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, Ohio State defensive lineman Michael Hall and LSU defensive lineman Maason Smith are all talented prospects who NFL teams seem to question whether they can mentally take the jump at the next level. Green Bay likely brought these players in to understand how they tick and see if they can assist their onboarding process to help get them to hit the ground running.

Then there are players who either don’t get along well with others or have an off-field question. For example, league sources told me that Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is often being questioned about an in-season ATV accident that led to the death of his then-girlfriend. NFL teams don’t believe that he was at fault for the accident, but they also can’t afford to not double-check that box.

As Go Long’s Bob McGinn has reported in his prospects series, Kansas pass-rusher Austin Booker and Alabama receiver Jermaine Burton have both been labeled as knuckleheads to be around by NFL scouts and executives.

Below is what McGinn wrote about Booker:

“Everybody will be scared of the person,” said a third scout. “He’s been entitled since he got there. He was a transfer. Position coach didn’t like him. Athleticism is off the charts. The ‘but’ is the 40. That’s why he gets bumped down.”

And Burton:

SCOUTS’ NIGHTMARE

Jermaine Burton, WR, Alabama: A 39-game starter, he led the SEC in yards per reception (20.5) last year as a legitimate deep threat. As a talent, Burton (6-0, 202, 4.42) should be a Day 2 selection. Instead, he’s off at least two teams’ boards for various character-related issues and could face an agonizing drop in the draft.

That’s pretty much all of the top 100 prospects that the Packers have brought in on a visit this offseason. The only “clean” prospects expected to be drafted in the first two day of the draft who made the trip to Green Bay were South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette and Western Michigan edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland, according to reports.

Don’t fret that the Packers are looking at players without “clean” backgrounds, either. All pre-draft visits show is that Green Bay is attempting to gather more information. You’d be surprised, too, as more players have non-football question marks than most fans realize. For example, future first-round picks Malik Nabers (LSU receiver) and Troy Fautanu (Washington offensive lineman) are also being poked and prodded at the moment.