After losing to Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the same outdoor season, the Green Bay Packers added three wide receivers in this year’s NFL Draft. Everyone is most excited about Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, who selected the Packers in the second and fourth rounds respectively. However, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers made an interesting comment about Samori Toure, the seventh round.
“Physically they certainly look good,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “All three guys we drafted all have physical gifts. Obviously the top two picks are bigger, but the seventh-rounder has a lot of things ahead of him.”
Usually, when teams line up in the later rounds, they will look for certain traits. Toure has a nice mix of size and athleticism, which clearly drew him to the Packers. On his pro day, he ran a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash and is a decent size at 6-1, 190 pounds.
Toure began his college career in Montana. In 2019, he recorded 87 receptions and set the program record for receiving yards in a season (1495). Toure later transferred to Nebraska for his final season in 2021. He appeared in 12 games for the Cornhuskers, catching 46 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns.
Rodgers saw Toure firsthand at the mandatory mini camp, although the two worked together little. On the second day of minicamp Toure had a spectacular day. He stood out during the two-minute period, catching multiple catches from backup Jordan Love.
Toure will have to continue playing in training camp and eventually in the preseason if he hopes to make the roster. Right now, he may be the seventh or eighth recipient on the depth map vying for one of the last remaining spots. Perhaps his experience in special teams will give him a slight advantage.
“I took special team photos during my career at Montana,” says Touré said† “That’s something I can be very good at. I’m going to pay a lot of attention to it coming into the NFL. †
As for exactly what he will play in special teams, Touré is open to pretty much anything.
“I feel like I can contribute in different ways. I think I can run at kickoff, I can return kicks, I can return punts if they want me there,” he said in June† “I can get to the shooting spot on punter there and also rush the punter on punt returns, so I feel like there are a lot of different ways I can influence the team.”
Touré will have to work harder than ever before when training camp kicks off on July 27. It will be an uphill battle to make the final 53-man roster from Green Bay, but getting Rodgers’ attention is a good sign.
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Breaking down Packers WR depth map entering training camp
