Green Bay Packers Reportedly Meet w/ Maryland TE Chigoziem Okonkwo

It’s that time of the year where whether it be at the college football All-Star games or at the upcoming NFL Combine, we are going to hear reports of the Green Bay Packers meeting with draft prospects.

This, of course, is all a part of them doing their due diligence and doesn’t mean they will select that player in this year’s draft or even sign them if they go undrafted. However, it does give us some names to watch for as the pre-draft process unfolds.

The most recent report has come from Justin Melo of The Draft Network, who said the Green Bay Packers, along with a few other teams, had an in-depth meeting with Maryland TE Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Okonkwo has three years of playing experience at Maryland — he was held out of the 2020 season due to a medical condition — but 2021 was by far his most productive. Last season, Okonkwo was targeted 60 times, and he caught 80 percent of those passes for 434 yards and five touchdowns.

For his career, he was targeted 104 times with a 70.2 percent catch rate at 9.6 yards per reception, along with eight total touchdowns, and a 106.4 passer rating, according to PFF ($$).

Okonkwo would also line up from the slot on about 25 percent of his career snaps, and by PFF’s grading system, he was one of college football’s best blocking tight ends last season, ranking 26th out of 118 eligible players–a much-improved aspect of his game from early on in his Maryland career.

From his reliability as a pass-catcher to lining up in the slot regularly, along with his ability as a blocker — which there is still room for improvement in — not to mention that Melo also expects him to perform very well in the 40-yard dash–there are a lot of qualities about Okonkwo’s game that are going to be appealing to Matt LaFleur.

For more on Okonkwo, Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network had this to say about him in his pre-draft report:

"“Maryland tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is a physically impressive specimen who will move the needle for NFL teams looking to add strong receiving ability to the middle of the field. The Terrapins found a number of ways to get Okonkwo involved in the passing game, utilizing him up the seam, working as a slice target in the shallows, and even drawing up a number of TE screens for him in order to keep him as a constant threat.“Okonkwo has high levels of run-after-catch upside as well and served as a punishing open-field runner who could stress you with both speed and power with the football.”"

With Robert Tonyan set to be a free agent, this Green Bay Packers offense really needs to find a dynamic pass-catching presence at the tight end position. While Josiah Deguara is active in the passing game, his role and Tonyan’s role are two different jobs. It was clear once Tonyan became injured that this offense missed his presence over the middle, down the seam, and in the red zone.

Crabbs also projects Okonkwo to be a “developmental F-tight end,” which fills a similar role to what Deguara and Dominique Dafney have been asked to do, moving around the formation–although Okonkwo could bring more upside as a pass-catcher and more athleticism to the position.

Tight end, specifically a dynamic pass-catcher as I mentioned, is a need, but it’s important to keep in mind that very rarely do we see rookie tight ends come in and make a huge impact right away. It’s a difficult transition from college to the pros as players have to be well-versed in blocking as well as route running and pass-catching.

With that said, when it comes to the boxes that Matt LaFleur likes to check at the tight end position, Okonkwo meets a lot of those requirements.