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The Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms with Arkansas State safety M.D. Jennings, who caught the Packers eye early on in the process.

While he didn’t visit Green Bay, JSOnline reported that Jennings “was heavily pursued by the Packers and signed as a priority free agent.”

Jennings stands 5-11 and weighs 187 pounds. At his pro day, Jennings ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds and had a vertical leap of 35.5 inches. He also benched-pressed 225 pounds 10 times.

College summary

Jennings was a three-year starter and a tw0-time All-Sun Belt first team selection at Arkansas State.

He started all 12 games his sophomore season and led the Red Wolves in interceptions (three) and pass-deflections (five). The next season, Jennings started 11 games before hurting his ankle and missing the final contest. He finished the ’09 season with one interception and a team-high three fumble recoveries.

2010 saw Jennings put together the finest season of his collegiate career. He tallied 83 total tackles and three interceptions while also recording a sack. His performance vs. Louisiana-Monroe sticks out on the game log, as he intercepted two passes and recorded six stops. Overall, Jennings finished with eight total interceptions and two forced fumbles in over 30 collegiate games.

Commentary

Jennings primarily played free safety at Arkansas State, but he needs to add considerable weight to play that position in the NFL. 187 pounds simply isn’t enough to withstand the pounding and he’d struggle to keep up physically with NFL tight ends.  Read more... (384 words + 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers agreed to terms with Middle Tennessee State linebacker Jamari Lattimore on Tuesday, according to his representatives and JSOnline.

Lattimore (6-2, 230 pounds) wasn’t invited to the NFL combine but ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. He also posted 20 reps at 225 pounds and had a vertical leap of 31 inches.

College summary

Lattimore was a three-year starter at defensive end for the Blue Raiders, but he saved his best season for his senior year. He tallied 11.5 sacks in 2010, tying the school record set by the Packers own Erik Walden, and was named the 2010 Sun Belt defensive player of the year. A four-sack effort at Louisiana-Lafeyette and three more vs. Louisiana-Monroe  helped his numbers. Overall, the 11.5 sacks were good enough for sixth in the nation and first in the conference.

Lattimore ended his collegiate career with 20.5 sacks, placing him second on Middle Tennessee State’s all-time list.

Commentary

While a defensive end at Midde Tennessee, Lattimore is best suited for outside linebacker at the NFL level. Like any end making the transition, he’ll need to make the adjustment from rushing the passer with his hand down to standing up. Lattimore appears to have the body type and athleticism to make the switch.  Read more... (397 words + 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers signed Delaware safety Anthony Bratton Monday night, their fourth confirmed undrafted free agent pickup of the 2011 offseason.

Bratton visited the Packers before April’s NFL draft, along with fellow Delaware safety Anthony Walters. He signed with the Chicago Bears.

At Delaware’s pro day, Bratton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 and 4.50 seconds, and bench-pressed 225 pounds 15 times. He had a vertical leap of 37 inches and a 20-yard shuffle time of 4.09 seconds. Bratton stands 6-1 and weighs 215 pounds.

College summary

Bratton saw the field in all four of his years at Delaware, as he took over one of the starting safety positions in just his sophomore year. That season (’07), Bratton delivered a team-high 73 solo tackles and was second on the team with 103 total stops.

His ’08 season was lost to a torn ACL after just one game, but Bratton came back in ’09 with a second-team All-CAA performance where he led the team with four interceptions. Bratton then turned in a first team All-CAA season last year, helping the Blue Hens possess the best pass defense and total defense in the conference and the best scoring defense in the nation. He also had two interceptions and 66 tackles his senior season.

Commentary

I was high on Anthony Walters, his safety running mate at Delaware, but both Bratton and Walters are underrated players moving forward.  Read more... (432 words + 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers signed South Carolina wide receiver Tori Gurley Monday night, following up their acquistion of Utah kick returner Shaky Smithson.

Gurley didn’t make an official visit to the Packers before the draft. At 6-4, 220 pounds, Gurley is an imposing receiver who surprised some by coming out after just his redshirt sophomore season. At the NFL combine, Gurley ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds, the 20-yard dash in 2.67 and the 10 in 1.62. He also benched 225 pounds 15 times and had a vertical leap of 33.5 inches. He chose not to run at his pro day in March.

College summary

Gurley certainly didn’t light up the stat book in his two years at South Carolina. He caught just 31 passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season, and he followed that up with 44 catches for 465 yards and four touchdowns the next season. Joe Schad of ESPN did state that Gurley was “one of the most sure-handed receivers in the nation with no drops the entire season.”

During the 2010 season, Gurley had one of the best games in South Carolina’s receiving history. He caught 13 passes (one short of the school record) for 109 yards and a touchdown. But for most of his career at South Carolina, Gurley was stuck behind likely 2012 first rounder Alshon Jeffrey and his production lagged behind.

Commentary  Read more... (493 words + 1 image, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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