Green Bay Packers: 3 Free Agent Tackles to Target

D.J. Humphries

D.J. Humphries is a former first-round pick back in 2015 by the Arizona Cardinals where he has spent the first five seasons of his NFL career. After being inactive all 16 games as a rookie, Humphries would play in 13 during his second season but unfortunately after that he was bit by the injury bug and over the next two seasons he would play in just 14 combined games.

However, the good news for Humphries and NFL teams potentially looking to sign him, he was able to start all 16 games in 2019. As a pass-blocker, Humphries allowed only two sacks and one quarterback hit in 677 pass-blocking attempts. In fact, his pass-blocking efficiency rating of 97.5 was the 14th best in the NFL among tackles.

Although it’s worth pointing out that likely some of his success can be attributed to his extremely mobile quarterback, Kyler Murray. We also saw Humphries called for 13 penalties as well. Which once again, can happen more frequently when an offensive lineman is asked to work in open space or has a mobile quarterback to work around.

While Humphries found success as a pass-blocker in 2019, after being graded as a solid run-blocker by Pro Football Focus during his first three seasons, by that same metric we saw a steep decline from him in 2019. Hopefully it was just a blip on the radar and not a trend starting to form.

As far as what it would cost to land Humphries, Spotrac is projecting that he will earn a five-year deal worth $14.1 million per year on the free agent market. Once again, a fairly high per year salary that the Green Bay Packers would have to make room for.

Bonus Option: Jared Veldheer

After coming out of retirement, Jared Veldheer appeared in two games last season for the Green Bay Packers and performed quite well. In his 58 pass-blocking snaps, Veldheer would allow no sacks, no quarterback hits, no pressures, and wasn’t called for a single penalty.

So as we look ahead to 2020, what the Packers could do is bring back Veldheer as the stop-gap at right tackle and spend a high draft pick on his eventual successor. He’s also going to cost far less than the other options we’ve covered.

However, while Veldheer was successful in a small sample size, I think as a full 16 game season progresses, he would be exposed a bit. And considering that tackle is a premier position in this league and vital to the success of every NFL team, in my opinion, going this route to save some money is a dangerous game to be playing. Especially with a 37-year-old quarterback, even if he is Aaron Rodgers.