Green Bay Packers Tryout 3 Players and Have Another in for a Visit

It was reported on Saturday that the Green Bay Packers had three players in for a tryout and a fourth player in for what was called a visit. The tryout candidates were DL Josh Avery, RB Jon Hilliman, and DL Trevon McSwain. The visitor was RB Pete Guerriero.

Both of these positions could use another body for the summer. The interior defensive line room has seven players on the roster at the moment and could use some additional depth–even if it’s just for training camp. While there are only four healthy running backs currently with Patrick Taylor on the PUP list.

With the recent news that guard Simon Stepaniak would be retiring, the Green Bay Packers do have a roster spot open. Here is what you need to know about each player.

Josh Avery – IDL

Avery was an undrafted rookie in 2020 out of Southeast Missouri State. He was signed by Seattle but was cut fairly early on into training camp. At 6’4″ – 313 pounds, Avery has very good size.

Avery appeared in 23 games over two seasons at Southeast Missouri State, where he primarily lined up as a nose tackle in the A-gap. The 2019 season was by far his best as he would go on to record 30 tackles, including six for a loss, along with 14 pressures and a sack.

Since Avery isn’t that far removed from college, here is a look at his draft profile from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:

"“Avery has excellent size. He showed that he possesses NFL athletic traits and power at his pro day. However, the tape was fairly disappointing relative to the potential he possesses. Explosiveness off the snap and his natural upper-body power were often canceled out by a lack of instincts and technique. While he had much better physical tools than his opponents, the effort level and urgency left much to be desired. His traits should make him a priority free agent, but his inability to produce at a higher level against his level of competition is a major red flag.”"

Jon Hilliman -RB

Hilliman went undrafted in 2019 out of Rutgers. He would sign with the New York Giants and began that season on the practice squad before seeing some action in Weeks 4 through 6. During that span of games, Hilliman had 30 rushes for 91 yards with two fumbles, according to PFF ($$).

He was then placed back onto the practice squad and, at the end of the season, was signed to a futures deal for 2020. Hilliman was cut before training camp ended that season. He is listed at 5’11” – 216 pounds.

Hilliman finished his college career averaging 3.7 yards per carry on 695 attempts with 32 touchdowns. As a pass-catcher, he had 41 receptions at 7.0 yards per catch with two additional touchdowns.

Trevon McSwain – IDL

An undrafted rookie out of Duke in 2020, McSwain initially signed with the Chicago Bears but was eventually cut and was not placed on the practice squad. At 6’6″ – 285 pounds, McSwain saw a bulk of his college snaps during his final two seasons where he would record five sacks, 53 pressures, 78 tackles, and 10 for a loss. McSwain took a bulk of his college snaps from the B-gap.

Here is a look at what Zierlien had to say about him prior to the 2020 NFL Draft:

"“The tape simply isn’t good enough for McSwain to be considered a draftable prospect, but NFL teams love long-levered defenders with a frame for additional size, so he will be on some radars. He can bend and move with fluidity, but lacks twitch and desired change of direction as an athlete. The length is great, but it doesn’t populate the tape as a dominant trait often enough in the run game or as a rusher. Seemed out of position as an even front defensive tackle and might need to be viewed as a 3-4 defensive end where he can avoid some of the down-blocks and double-teams that pushed him around.”"

Pete Guerriero – RB (visit)

Guerriero went undrafted in 2020 coming out of FCS Monmouth. He was signed late in training camp by the New York Jets but was quickly cut. Guerriero then spent time on and off of their practice squad that season.

At 5’10” – 190 pounds, Guerriero was an incredibly productive running back during his college career. In 2017 he rushed for 1,061 yards on 6.0 yards per rush; in 2018, he ran for 918 yards on 6.9 yards per carry, and in 2019 he had a monster season, rushing for 1,995 yards at 6.7 yards per carry. He found the endzone 35 times during those three years.

As a pass-catcher, he hauled in 69 receptions during his career for 551 yards along with three more touchdowns.