Get to know the Packers newcomers
If you’re just now paying attention to the Green Bay Packers, now that the preseason is over and the 53-man roster is set, you’re probably not alone. There weren’t any massive surprises on cut day last week, other than perhaps a trade for a new punter.
Here’s a brief primer on some of the Packers who might not already be household names.
Henry Black
Position: Safety. Age/college: 24/Baylor. Last year: Packers practice squad/active roster. Draft: Undrafted in 2020. Interesting fact: Nickname “Jackpot” dates back to birth. Black played in eight games last year and two more in the postseason. He told SI that he’s had the nickname “Jackpot” since even before he was born, bestowed by a mother who had a penchant for success at the casino.
Corey Bojorquez
Position: Punter. Age/college: 24/New Mexico. Last year: Buffalo Bills. Draft: Undrafted in 2018. Interesting fact: He’s an ordained minister. He can lead the league in punting average, as he did with the Bills in 2020, and officiate your wedding after getting ordained as a minister (yes, one of those online courses). Also, he drives a 1966 Mustang.
De’Vondre Campbell
Position: Linebacker. Age/college: 28/Minnesota. Last year: Arizona Cardinals. Draft: 4th round in 2016. Interesting fact: He got one scholarship offer, at a community college. The offseason addition will be thrust immediately into a starting role for the Packers. Before he was an NFL veteran, he was a Florida high school player who had only one scholarship offer, from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. He wears No. 59 in honor of his mother’s birth year.
Jake Hanson
Position: Offensive lineman. Age/college: 24/Oregon. Last year: Practice squad, then injured reserve. Draft: 6th round in 2020. Interesting fact: He was part of a victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Hanson didn’t allow a pressure or sack on quarterback Justin Herbert in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2020, when Oregon rallied to beat Wisconsin, 28-27, led by Herbert rushing for three scores. Three months later, both Herbert and Hanson were drafted into the NFL, with Herbert becoming the offensive rookie of the year.
Jack Heflin
Position: Defensive lineman. Age/college: 23/Iowa. Last year: In college. Draft: Undrafted in 2021. Interesting fact: He showed cattle growing up. He’s part of the beef up front on defense, and it turns out he knows a thing or two about beef. While growing up, he showed beef cattle for JETTTT Farms, his family’s business. He’s also from the same hometown as former Badgers and current Illinois coach Bret Bielema, Prophetstown, Illinois, and he extends Green Bay’s streak of including at least one undrafted freeagent rookie on the initial roster (it’s now 17 years). He’s also embraced a scout’s colorful description of him that seems to have stuck: “A trash can full of dirt.”
Kylin Hill
Position: Running back. Age/college: 23/Mississippi State. Last year: In college. Draft: 7th round in 2021. Interesting fact: He helped engineer change to the Mississippi state flag. Hill has been one of the darlings of the preseason, showing that he’s much better than the 256th draftslot selection would indicate. One of the reasons he dropped was a lack of recent film; he opted out of most of the 2020 season at MSU. He also spoke out against the Confederate battle emblem on Mississippi’s state flag, vowing not to play in college until the flag was changed. And sure enough, it was.
Shemar Jean-Charles
Position: Cornerback. Age/college: 23/Appalachian State. Last year: In college. Draft: 5th round in 2021. Interesting fact: He was part of five bowl game wins in college. Jean-Charles has experience waiting for his moment, playing behind more heralded players in both high school in Florida and college at Appalachian State before blossoming into a star. In his five years (including his redshirt freshman season) at App State, JeanCharles saw nothing but bowl wins to cap the year, with his team winning (in order), the Camellia Bowl, Dollar General Bowl, New Orleans Bowl (twice) and Myrtle Beach Bowl. Appalachian state has a six-year bowl winning streak overall.
Dennis Kelly
Position: Offensive lineman. Age/college: 31/Purdue. Last year: Tennessee Titans. Draft: 5th round in 2012. Interesting fact: His brother is an offensive coordinator in the NFL. The 10th-year veteran has played in 104 NFL games and has drawn some physical comparisons to Packers standout David Bakhtiari, thanks to his long hair and facial features. Just four years his senior, older brother Tim Kelly is the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, and he’s held a position on staff since 2014-15 (and thus remained despite the firing of head coach Bill O’Brien in 2020). One of the assistants working under Tim is former Packers offensive lineman and line coach James Campen.
Isaiah McDuffie
Position: Linebacker. Age/college: 22/Boston College. Last year: In college. Draft: 6th round in 2021. Interesting fact: His high school didn’t have a football team. McDuffie played at Bennett High School in Buffalo, New York, but he graduated from Olmsted, where he played baseball — but not football — because the school didn’t sponsor the sport. Isaiah’s father, Steve, also happened to be the football coach at Bennett. His sister, Gabby, is the all-time career scorer in basketball at Olmsted.
Josh Myers
Position: Offensive lineman. Age/college: 23/Ohio State. Last year: In college. Draft: 2nd round in 2021. Interesting fact: He went viral for his weightlifting prowess in high school. The projected starting center for the Packers this year was already a notable name at Miamisburg High School in Ohio before he started his career at Ohio State. His 155-pound bench presses — one-handed — made him a bit of a YouTube phenomenon. Now he’s replacing another Ohio State alumnus and Pro Bowler in Corey Linsley with the Packers.
Royce Newman
Position: Offensive lineman. Age/college: 24/Mississippi. Last year: In college. Draft: 4th round in 2021. Interesting fact: His glorious hair, obviously. Newman joins a legacy of great hair on the Packers offensive line, the place where Josh Sitton and David Bakhtiari became Pro Bowlers. It’s not just the flow that’s getting noticed, though; he looks to be on track to start as a rookie at guard.
Chauncey Rivers
Position: Linebacker. Age/college: 24/Mississippi State. Last year: Baltimore Ravens (practice squad). Draft: Undrafted in 2020. Interesting fact: He was on “Last Chance U.” Rivers started his college career at East Mississippi Community College, the program featured on popular Netflix series “Last Chance U.” Rivers was featured during the second season, where he reclaimed his career after being dismissed from Georgia.
Amari Rodgers
Position: Receiver. Age/college: 21/Clemson. Last year: In college. Draft: 3rd round in 2021. Interesting fact: His dad quarterbacked Tennessee to a national title. Between the notable last name and his presence as the receiver the Packers finally drafted, Rodgers is perhaps the highest-profile newcomer on this list. Throw in the pre-existing relationship he has with now-teammate Randall Cobb. His father, Tee Martin, quarterbacked Tennessee to a national championship in 1998 and has a long coaching history, most recently an assistant coach at his alma mater (as well as Kentucky, where he forged a connection with Cobb, and USC before that). Now, he’s Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach. The Packers play at Baltimore on Dec. 19.
T.J. Slaton
Position: Defensive lineman. Age/college: 23/Florida. Last year: In college. Draft: 5th round in 2021. Interesting fact: He flirted with the idea of playing two sports in college — at Michigan. Basketball entered the equation as Slaton weighed his options in college. Michigan reportedly was willing to bring him in to play two sports, with coaches Jim Harbaugh and John Beilein agreeing to share the 6foot-4 standout (he would have been a walk-on in hoops). He wound up playing just football at Florida.
Eric Stokes
Position: Cornerback. Age/college: 22/Georgia. Last year: In College. Draft: 1st round in 2021. Interesting fact: Speed. The No. 1 thing you’ll hear about the rookie corner is his speed; it’s the defining characteristic that made him an intriguing first-round pick. His high school position coach, Erik McMillan, was once one of the NFL’s fastest players, a Pro Bowler with the New York Jets and a defensive rookie of the year. So Stokes has had some good teachers as he looks to harness his gift and apply it to the football field.
Isaac Yiadom
Position: Cornerback. Age/college: 25/Boston College. Last year: New York Giants. Draft: 3rd round in 2018. Interesting fact: His parents hail from Ghana. The fourth-year pro was traded to the Packers in exchange for Josh Jackson, and his name is pronounced “YEAH-dom.” He’s a child of immigrants from Ghana and said he enjoys his parents’ West African cooking.