Green Bay Packers: Best-case scenario 7-round 2020 mock draft
By Joe Kipp
The Packers have a major need at inside linebacker, even with the recent addition of Christian Kirksey in free agency. Unless they take Kenneth Murray or Patrick Queen earlier in the draft, it’s hard to imagine Green Bay drafting any other linebacker besides Troy Dye. Dye, who attended Oregon, checks off a lot of boxes the Packers could be looking for at the position.
The biggest reason the Packers will like Dye (6-3, 231 pounds) is the fact that he’s an incredible athlete. He didn’t participate in any drills at the NFL Combine, but it does’t take a genius to see how athletic he is when watching his film.
Dye’s ability to cover tight ends is no surprise given his size. Last season, Blake Martinez was one of the worst linebackers in coverage in the NFL. On the flipside, Dye was one of the better coverage linebackers in college football over his four-year career. He’s also an effective run defender.
Despite his tall frame, Dye still has room to grow probably 5-10 more pounds of lean muscle. He’s built more like a safety than a linebacker at this point in his career, mostly due to his height. On tape, Dye is an inconsistent tackler, but he’s still one of the top five linebackers in the 2020 draft class. He finished with 391 total tackles (41.5 for loss) at Oregon.