Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst likes to draft big guys from big schools when he's working to fill out the trenches.
Think of some of his draft picks on the offensive and defensive lines, and the trend is obvious.
Elgton Jenkins came from Mississippi State. Josh Myers came from Ohio State. Devonte Wyatt played at Georgia. Rasheed Walker played at Penn State. Zach Tom came from Wake Forest.
Those are SEC, Big Ten and ACC football players mentioned above, so it might be surprising if Gutekunst dips into a conference like the Southland Conference to pick up a defensive lineman.
There is reason to believe that Kaleb Proctor from Southeastern Louisiana could be exactly what the Packers are looking for on their defensive line, though.
First of all, Proctor has a big frame, and that's important. He's a bit undersized at just 280 pounds, but he does check in at 6-foot-3. One would think some time in an NFL weight room and eating on an NFL budget could get him up to 6-foot, 300-ish in no time.
The Packers would want to do that without losing any of his athleticism, though, because his ability to be a disruptor on the interior of a defensive line is why some analysts think he could be a strong day two candidate in this draft.
"Proctor lacks ideal girth and will need to prove himself versus NFL size, but his athletic traits, passionate motor and elite intangibles are qualities NFL teams should want in their organization," Dane Brugler wrote in his draft guide, The Beast.
Last season for the Lions, Proctor notched 39 pressures, nine sacks and 22 stops.
He's a disruptive pass-rushing presence for an interior defensive lineman and playing next to and with guys like Devonte Wyatt, Lukas Van Ness, and, of course, Micah Parsons, could really bring out something in him.
Eli Berkovits of 247Sports likes Proctor in the third round when the Packers have pick No. 84. Brugler has Proctor graded out as a fifth-rounder.
Finished my full eval on Kaleb Proctor last night and idk why I haven't had him higher this whole time.I have very few realistic DT options ahead of him for the #Packers on Day 2. pic.twitter.com/GmbbdG8U1d
Either way, the big man out of Oak Grove, Louisiana, could be worth taking a flyer on if he's on the board when the Packers are on the clock somewhere in that range. He's the first defensive player in Southeastern Louisiana history to be named conference player of the year and just the fifth player in school history to get invited to the NFL combine.
He had opportunities to play at a higher level but remained loyal for four years to the school that took a chance on him as an unranked recruit.
This is an NFL player hiding deep in the Southland Conference, and the Packers may want to give him a real shot.
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