Green Bay Packers

Packers trade up, select OT Jason Spriggs in 2nd round of NFL Draft

Published Apr. 29, 2016 8:34 p.m. ET

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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Packers have added heft up front in the NFL draft.

They beefed up offensive line depth by trading up in the second round Friday to take Jason Spriggs, a 305-pound tackle out of Indiana.

Green Bay moved up nine spots to the 48th overall pick in the draft by dealing three picks to Indianapolis. The Colts received the Packers' second-rounder, the 57th pick overall, along with selections in the fourth and seventh rounds.

"We thought we had an opportunity to get someone that (we) wouldn't have if we sat still," Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst said.

The Packers turned to defense in the third round by taking Utah State outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell with the 88th overall selection. Fackrell led the nation with five fumble recoveries.

Green Bay's biggest pick on Friday night was the 6-foot-7 Spriggs, who made 47 starts at left tackle for Indiana. He allowed just two sacks in 475 pass attempts in his senior year last season. But the Packers think he has the versatility and athleticism to play across the line, even with a tall frame that seems tailor-made to protect quarterback Aaron Rodgers' blind side.

Spriggs will probably have a year to sit and learn from a seasoned offensive line.

"I think that's huge. I think that's something that will make me that much better to be behind those guys and learn ... the tricks of the trade," Spriggs said.

The selection also gives Green Bay insurance at a position that could see turnover after the season, when the contracts of guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang, as well as left tackle David Bakhtiari, expire.

"I don't know if we look that far ahead all the time," Gutekunst said.

When healthy, the Packers have one of the best front fives in the league. But the team's depth was tested last season because of injuries. The results were mixed, with Rodgers sacked 13 times the last two games of the regular season.

Here is Spriggs' STATS Inc. pre-draft profile:

Spriggs is as durable as they come, having missed one start in his four-year career at Indiana while turning from a raw lineman early in his days in Bloomington to a player some feel is a potential franchise left tackle. He has ideal size for the position and a very athletic frame with long arms. Spriggs comes out of his stance quickly and moves extremely well laterally. He has good balance and is fluid in his motion, keeping his hands inside and displaying a good punch. He excels at both run and pass blocking, getting to the next level with power moves in the ground game and showing the ability to adjust on the fly in his pass-blocking assignments. Spriggs isn't typically one to overpower defenders, more often relying on his agility, but he showed during Senior Bowl practices that he's able to pancake an opponent if the opportunity arises. One concern is that Spriggs comes from a spread offense with the Hoosiers, a system that many tackles have found difficult to transition out of into the more physical NFL game. He could also stand to add some bulk to his massive frame, but must do so without compromising the athletic ability that has teams interested in him as an anchor on the offensive line. The sky is the limit if he does. Spriggs won't be drafted in the top 10 like most surefire franchise tackles are, but he has the ability to grow into one with a little fine-tuning. Look for Spriggs to come off the board in the latter third of the first round or sometime early in Round Two.