GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst held court again late Friday night at the conclusion of the NFL’s second and third rounds.
“A productive day,” Gutekunst said, “we started with three and still got two.”
The GM dealt his two second round picks to Minnesota to allow him to climb up 19 spots to take North Dakota State wide receiver Christian Watson. The ultra athletic receiver played at the FCS level but with a winning program and Gutekunst believed it was well worth the price to go get him.
Gutekunst had to wait a couple of hours before wrapping up the night, staying on offense by selecting UCLA tackle Sean Rhyan with the 92nd overall pick.
Sean Rhyan
He looks the part of “Maui” from the Disney film Moana, and has the size to match. The 6-5, 321 pounder was an instant and three year starter at left tackle for the Bruins and was an all Pac-12 first team player after his junior year last season. He was at times dominant in the run game as UCLA averaged over 200 yards rushing a game last season. Rhyan held his own in protection as well, allowing just two sacks in his entire collegiate career.
Gutekunst knew going into the draft he would have to find another versatile offensive linemen after the release of veteran Billy Turner and he thinks he has one.
On a zoom call after joining the Packers, Rhyan said it doesn’t matter where the Packers line him up, he’s ready to compete and help the team win games. The athleticism is apparent on film and maybe it’s because Sean grew up playing several sports in Ladera Ranch, California. In high school he set school records in both the shot put and discus but his real love growing up was the sport of rugby.
The gene pool was impressive too. Ryhan’s grandfather was a professional boxer and his father was pro rider in Motocross. Sean said his dad wouldn’t let him compete on motorcycles because he took too many painful spills that might derailing a promising football career. One he suited up in 9th grade, Rhyan kept growing and was a 4 star recruit out of San Juan Hills High School.
With two days down and one to go, Gutekunst had covered most of his bases. Loading up with two athletic defensive players from a National Championship program at Georgia in linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt in round one Thursday night, getting his wide receiver and offensive lineman on Friday.
He’ll have six picks remaining in the final four rounds on Saturday. Look for Gutekunst to consider finding and edge rusher, another receiver and linemen along with athletes who might be able to help the special teams.
Some other day two notes. Wisconsin was well represented on the board. Guard Luke Goedke who played his prep ball at Valders High School before moving on to Central Michigan, was the 57th overall pick taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At the end of round three, the first two Badgers got phone calls. Linebacker Leo Chenel was taken at pick 103 by the Kansas City Chiefs and at 104, tackle Logan Bruss from Kimberly High School was the first selection in the entire draft of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
