GUTEKUNST AND GRADES: PACKERS FIFTH-ROUND PICK KITAN OLADAPO

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers used their fifth-round pick on Oregon State safety Kitan Oladapo, a productive three-year all-conference performer. It was the team’s third safety of the weekend.

Oladapo was one of our favorites. He was a Pro Football Focus All-American as a senior. He had 69 tackles as a sophomore, 80 as a junior and 74 as a senior, when he had two interceptions. Two of his three career interceptions were delivered in 2023, and he had 26 passes defensed over his final three seasons.

Oladapo had a predraft visit.

Here is a closer look.

Relative Athletic Score: 8.18. Oladapo measured 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds. His testing numbers were all slightly above average, including a 4.58 in the 40.

Jon-Eric Sullvan on Oladapo, Three Safeties: “The thing we keep talking about is competition. We think competition is good for everyone. Those guys we added are versatile pieces. We feel like (Javon) Bullard can play nickel or safety. We feel like (Evan) Williams has that flexibility, and Oladapo is probably more of a true safety but he can play the, whatever you want to coin it, big nickel, Will backer. So, those guys are all movable pieces.

“The thing that we liked about all of them is they have a very, very aggressive play style. They’ll get off the spot and come get it. That’s something that was attractive to us. So yeah, we’re glad to add them to the room. They’re the right kind of guys to put in the locker room. This game’s very important to them, it means something. Just glad to add them to the equation.”

Year 1 Outlook: The Packers have done the fourth-fifth double-up a couple times over the years. Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones at running back. J’Mon Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling at receiver. They’re also no stranger to the volume approach: Three offensive linemen in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024 and three receivers in 2023, for instance.

That was the approach at safety with Bullard, Williams and Oladapo. The Packers obviously are counting on Bullard to be an instant starter. Between Williams and Oladapo, getting one quality player capable of delivering depth and special-teams acumen would be a success.

NFL.com Scouting Report: “Oladapo possesses classic strong safety traits and play attributes, which should help evaluators define him more easily. He has very good size, with the play strength and toughness to tackle near the box and enough cover skills to line up over tight ends in man. While he can play some split safety, he can be a little inconsistent in big space, so playing forward is his best bet.” He was given a fourth-round grade by Lance Zierlein. He was No. 134 on Athlon’s Big Board.

Our Grade: B. The Packers are starting from scratch almost at safety. Gone are Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens. In are Xavier McKinney and the three rookies. Bullard isn’t a pure box safety; Oladapo and Williams can handle that duty. That provides some flexibility should Bullard need to play in the slot.

Pro Football Network Grade: C-plus. “There’s a little bit of clutter in the group that might’ve been avoided with a selection at cornerback or elsewhere. But Kitan Oladapo is a solid fit as a strong safety with special-teams utility. He’s not explosive or rangy, but he has good size, patience in zone, and physicality as a tackler.” More expansive reports are available at the link.

2024-04-28T20:01:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd