Green Bay Packers: A Very Important Summer Ahead for OT Yosh Nijman

Green Bay Packers’ offensive tackle Yosh Nijman is almost like an urban legend among the fans. We’ve heard a lot about him, we know that he is loaded with potential, but we have yet to really see him in action or even know where he’s at in his development. To put it simply, he’s a bit of a mystery.

Nijman has spent the last two seasons with the Green Bay Packers after signing with the team as an undrafted rookie in 2019 out of Virginia Tech. He spent that season on the practice squad and then 2020 on the 53-man roster but in a reserve role.

Even with all of the injuries that the offensive line sustained and the games of musical chairs that followed, Nijman saw just 15 total snaps last season, and 14 of them came on run plays, according to PFF ($$). Instead, Green Bay relied on Elgton Jenkins, Rick Wagner, and Billy Turner to fill their needs at tackle.

One big reason that so many are fixated on Nijman, even though his experience is limited, is the upside that he possesses is tremendous. Standing 6’7” and weighing 314 pounds, Nijman has both the size and athleticism that NFL teams covet at the tackle position.

Using the Relative Athletic Scoring table (RAS) as our benchmark — which allows us the compare the overall athleticism of players within the same position group based on their combine and Pro-Day testing numbers — Nijman posted an elite score of 9.8 out of 10, including a 4.83 40-yard dash time.

Although a somewhat experienced player coming out of Virginia Tech, where he had over 2,500 career snaps and allowed eight sacks with 60 pressures during that four-year span, he still came to Green Bay as a very raw prospect. Joe Marino of The Draft Network noted in his pre-draft scouting report of Nijman that he has the “physical traits” but needs “substantial technical improvements.”

And even though Nijman was on the 53-man roster in 2020, offensive line coach Adam Stenavich would say that he has a long way to go before he sees the field, but again, Stenavich would mention his “big upside.”  Frankly, Nijman may have been on the final roster because perhaps the Green Bay Packers didn’t think he would last on the practice squad, and some other team would try to scoop him up.

When we look ahead to the 2021 season, Nijman still doesn’t have to be ready to a full-time starter — with David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, and Billy Turner, Green Bay should be covered — but he has to show that he can be a backup and someone that the Packers can call on if they’re in a pinch.

Competing with Nijman will be Ben Braden, who Stenavich said could be competing for starting time at guard and tackle, rookie Royce Newman, who has taken plenty of first-team reps at right tackle during mini-camp and OTAs, and rookie Cole Van Lanen. Of that group, Nijman is the only true tackle, but depending on where he’s at in his development — again, we have no idea — he may be the one who still needs the most work.

Earlier this offseason, Aaron Rodgers said that his future was a “beautiful mystery,” and honestly, that’s not a bad way to sum up what the Green Bay Packers have in Yosh Nijman–or at least that’s the case from our perspective. He’s loaded with upside, but hopefully, we see progress made during training camp and the preseason. With how deep this Packers’ offensive line unit is overall, there may not be a roster spot for Nijman this year, so he can continue to develop; he will need to be ready to contribute if needed.