Green Bay Packers 2021 NFL Draft Prospects to Know: OT Dillon Radunz
By Paul Bretl
Without David Bakhtiari to start the season, the Green Bay Packers’ depth at the offensive tackle position is extremely thin. As it currently stands, Billy Turner and Elgton Jenkins are your Week 1 starters, and while I will say that I believe this duo will hold up; one injury and the Packers are relying on the inexperienced Yosh Nijman to fill in–they have no other options on the roster at the moment.
On top of that, we do not know Turner’s future beyond the 2021 season, and Green Bay needs to find their right tackle of the future. Even before Bakhtiari’s injury, finding a swing tackle for 2021 and a future starter should have been on the offseason to-do list, but now it’s a must–and preferably, whoever they land in the draft can potentially start right away.
Fortunately for the Green Bay Packers, this is a very deep tackle class, and one name fans should know is Dillon Radunz from North Dakota State.
Radunz was the Bison’s starting left tackle the last three seasons — although NDSU played just one game in 2020 due to COVID-19 — and he has nearly 2,000 snaps under his belt. He finished his career, allowing only four sacks and 24 total pressures. Radunz made a big jump from 2018 to 2019, seeing his sack total drop from four to zero, his pressures from 13 to 11, and he went from eight penalties to four.
Radunz’s pass-blocking grade from PFF ($$) during that 2019 season was the 15th highest among offensive tackles that year. Now, I know what you’re thinking, it’s a grade, and to some extent, I agree. But when it comes to illustrating how good — or bad — a player has been, they are a helpful metric. As a run-blocker, The Draft Network’s Drae Harris calls Radunz “excellent,” and that he “wants to maul you.”
Despite playing only one game in 2020, at this year’s Senior Bowl, Radunz was one of the standout performers, being named the “Overall Practice Player of the Week.” An impressive honor considering who was in attendance that week.
Standing nearly 6’6″ but at only 301 pounds, Radunz is on the lighter side when it comes to playing tackle in the NFL, but he tested incredibly well at his Pro-Day, scoring high marks in each of the speed, agility, and explosiveness drills. As a result, he posted a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.38 out of 10–the exact type of elite athlete that Brian Gutekunst loves.
Below is the rest of Harris’ pre-draft scouting report on Radunz:
"“Dillon Radunz aligns at left tackle for the Bison offense. Relatively speaking, he plays with good overall athleticism with regards to body control and balance. In the run game, he is excellent. He has a nasty disposition as a run blocker and wants to maul you. He can improve his proficiency at getting on moving defenders at the second level, but there’s nothing alarming in this regard. He remains upright and demonstrates instances of good lateral redirect agility. He has the frame to gain more mass and bulk, which should make him more effective.“"
In what is a deep offensive tackle class, Radunz is rated very well. PFF has him as the fifth tackle in this class and the 28th rated prospect overall. Meanwhile, The Draft Network feels similarly with Radunz as the sixth best tackle and 32nd rated prospect.
Over at the NFL Mock Draft Database, they have Radunz projected as a second round pick based on the numerous big boards and countless mock drafts that they’ve compiled from draft analysts—so as I’ve said before, do with that information what you will.
Football is still a game that’s won and lost in the trenches and right now the Green Bay Packers have some question marks surrounding their offensive line entering the 2021 season. However, a potential Day 1 contributor at the tackle position will help alleviate some of those concerns.