GUTEKUNST AND GRADES: PACKERS THIRD-ROUND PICK TY’RON HOPPER

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers used their third-round pick on Missouri linebacker Ty’ron Hopper, an athletic defender who had a predraft visit with the team.

Hopper spent his first three seasons at Florida, including a season of 10.5 tackles for losses in 2021. In his debut season at Mizzou, he had career highs of 78 tackles, 14 tackles for losses and five passes defensed. In 2023, he played in 10 games and had three sacks, six TFLs and 55 tackles to earn second-team all-SEC.

In the draft class, 123 linebackers played at least 450 defensive snaps. He ranked 119th with a missed-tackle rate of 23.3 percent (17 misses). That was the worst in our position rankings.

Here is a closer look.

Relative Athletic Score: 7.42. At 6-foot-1 3/4 and 231 pounds, Hopper ran his 40 in only 4.68 seconds and his shuttle in a plodding 4.46 seconds. But he aced the jumps. Gutekunst said the team’s time on Hopper was in the “high” 4.5s in the 40.

Brian Gutekunst Discusses Ty’Ron Hopper: “he’s really physical, he can run, but his stopping power, when he takes on blockers, is pretty impressive. Very serious-minded guy, I think he really helped change that defense. The Missouri defense this year was excellent. They had a number of good players, but I think they’re very well-coached there, another one of those programs where we felt really good about taking somebody out of that program, because of how they do things there. But his stopping power as a tackler was really impressive.”

Year 1 Outlook: While Eric Wilson played well in a backup role last season, Hopper’s got a chance to be the No. 4 linebacker. Given the physicality of that position, the No. 4 linebacker could be in the starting lineup for a significant number of games. If nothing else, Hopper’s size and speed will bolster Green Bay’s disappointing special teams.

NFL.com Scouting Report: “An off-ball linebacker with length, speed and agility, Hopper is lacking in field vision and instincts. He can be a step late to diagnose play design and has moments where he looks lost in coverage. Hopper has sideline-to-sideline range and plenty of physicality to hit what needs to be hit. There are holes in his game that can be exploited, but he has traits and should get a chance as an NFL backup with special teams value.” He was No. 177 overall on Athlon’s Big Board.

Our Grade: C. This grade has nothing to do with Hopper, actually. Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch will be free agents next offseason, so this is a bit of a forward-thinking pick used on an athletic prospect. But on any list of the Packers’ biggest draft needs, cornerback would rank front and center. Instead of adding a potential starter in the defensive backfield, the Packers used a premium draft pick on a backup linebacker.

Pro Football Network Grade: C-plus. “As Hopper displayed in a 2022 campaign that saw him amass 13.5 TFLs, he has the explosiveness to sear through narrow lanes in support, and he’s also a fluid and natural mover in coverage. There’s still work to do both with refinement on the intangible side and mass buildup, but Hopper has a solid toolbox to work with.” There is a more extensive breakdown at the link.

2024-04-28T19:01:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd