Adams pick extends defensive-line emphasis
GREEN BAY - There likely won’t be many days more memorable in the life of Montravius Adams than Friday.
The Auburn defensive tackle was drafted in the third round (93rd overall) by the Green Bay Packers, just hours after his first child, Montravius Jr., was born. The baby weighed 8 pounds 7.4 ounces.
Adams took the phone call from the Packers while in a hospital room, where he had been since Thursday.
“A lot of blessings, coming from me just getting my son and now the Packers calling me,” he said. “I’m just thankful for the blessings.”
It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise that the Packers took Adams, since the team has drafted at least one defensive lineman each year since Ted Thompson became the general manager in 2005. The last time they picked one in the third round was 2014, when they selected Mississippi State’s Khryi Thornton, who never played a game for the Packers.
The 6-foot-4, 309-pound Adams was a first-team all-Southeastern Conference pick by The Associated Press and a second-team coaches pick last season, when he had 44 total tackles and a career-high 4 1⁄2 sacks. He had 11 sacks in 52 career games for the Tigers.
Adams was the first Auburn player picked in the 2017 draft and the first defensive lineman to be selected from the school since Angelo Blackson and Gabe Wright were both taken in 2015.
Adams’ stock was helped by his performance at the Senior Bowl and also with a good showing at the NFL scouting combine, where he had 4.87-second performance in the 40-yard dash.
He was a five-star recruit coming out of Vienna, Ga., and was a three-year starter for Auburn, although he also was dogged by inconsistent play at times. There also is a thought that he might not be strong enough to hold up as a defensive tackle in the NFL.
Still, the Packers feel he has the versatility to move all around the defensive line, which is something they liked most about him.
“We were surprised and elated that he was available at the time we picked him,” Thompson said. “He has got good size, but he’s also tremendously quick and explosive at the line of scrimmage. He has been a good player. Very much recommended by the staff there.
“He was (drafted) toward the end of tonight, but we are still in the third round. It just seems like a long time because we have been drafting a long time.”
The Packers entered the draft with a clear need to add some depth to the defensive line, even after the free-agent signing of Ricky Jean Francois to a one-year deal in March. The selection of Adams could put Letroy Guion’s future with the team in jeopardy. Guion is suspended for the first four games after he violated the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Kenny Clark, last year’s first-round pick, is expected to have a larger role in 2017, while Dean Lowry and Christian Ringo also have a chance to contribute.