Green Bay Packers Sign 6th Round Pick Jake Hanson

It was just reported that the Green Bay Packers have now signed center Jake Hanson, who they selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft.

With training camp quickly approaching, the Green Bay Packers are now closing in on signing their entire 2020 draft class. Last week they would sign Jordan Love and A.J. Dillon; on Thursday of this week, they’d agree to a deal with Kamal Martin, and as of today, sixth-round pick Jake Hanson is now officially a Packer.

https://twitter.com/packers/status/1281690963921055749

Out of the University of Oregon, Hanson is about as experienced of a college player as we will see in today’s game. Over his four year career, he would start in 49 games, all of which came at the center position.

While Hanson didn’t test particularly well at the NFL Combine, posting a 5.5 40-yard dash, he has proven that he can be an effective zone run blocker during his time at Oregon. This, of course, makes him an ideal fit for Matt LaFleur’s rushing offense.

However, it was as a pass-blocker where Hanson truly shined. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), over his final three seasons, Hanson would log 1,233 pass-blocking attempts, and during that span, he gave up only two sacks and three quarterback hits.

With Corey Linsley still under contract for the 2020 season, barring an injury, this will be a pseudo-redshirt year for Hanson. This luxury gives him the opportunity to continue developing while also gaining a very good understanding of this LaFleur offense.

And when 2021 does roll around, Hanson could very well be competing for the starting center position. Linsley is a free agent, along with David Bakhtiari, Kevin King, Kenny Clark, and Aaron Jones, and the Packers are projected to have limited cap space once again. Meaning, there is the very real possibility that Linsley won’t be back.

Hanson’s contract details have not yet been disclosed, but with his signing, the only member of the Green Bay Packers’ 2020 draft class that remains unsigned is third-round pick, Josiah Deguara. I imagine that will be happening sooner than later.