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The Packers don’t want a repeat of all the 2009 sack stats on Aaron Rodgers. They’ve made that obvious. First, they resigned both Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher. Then, they went after a stud offensive tackle in the first round of the draft.
Bryan Bulaga will be protecting Aaron’s blind side in 2010. If he shines like he did in college, he’ll be protecting Aaron for many years to come.
A Brief, But Productive College Career
Bulaga started his college career with a bang by earning All Big Ten honors. When he ended his college career at the end of his Junior year, he had gained All-America honors and spearheaded an offensive line that helped the Hawkeyes to second place in the Big Ten conference.
Bryan scored an 84% in blocking consistency which is only one percentage point below Trent Williams, the top offensive lineman to go in the draft. Here’s how that percentage stacks up against Bulaga’s Packer teammates:
- Mark Tauscher – 83.2%
- Chad Clifton – 84.6%
- T.J. Lang – 81.67%
- Allen Barbre – 87.45%
College blocking consistency doesn’t always translate to the NFL very well. You don’t have to look any farther than Allen Barbre to realize that. However, if Bulaga can carry over that consistency to the pros, he’ll fill a much needed slot on the Packers’ offensive line.
Combine Production
Bulaga didn’t have an outstanding combine. He ran the 40 yard dash in 5.26 seconds, benched 26 times, had a 27.5 inch vertical jump, and an 8’2″ broad jump. None of these was even close to getting him in the top performers lists.
His 40 time was a full tenth off the tenth position on the list of offensive linemen. He needed to push three more reps out on the bench to make a four-way tie for tenth in the bench. His vertical leap was an inch and a half off the bottom rung of the leader ladder, and his broad jump came seven full inches shy of making the top performer list.
Of course, while the combine is a good chance for scouts to get a look at a player’s ability, it’s not where real battles are won and lost. The real winners show their worth when armored for battle, not when they’re running around a dome in their underarmor.
Bryan’s combine results might have been just the thing that allowed him to slip to the Packers at number 23. Hopefully, he can show the world that he has the type of intangibles you can’t measure.
Where It Counts
When it comes down to it, Bryan helped the 2009 Hawkeyes rack up 1485 yards of rushing and 2887 yards in their passing game. That’s 114.23 yards rushing every game and 222.8 yards per game passing. Not a bad day’s work for a midwest boy.
Oh, and in case you were wondering if Bulaga will fit in the Packers’ zone blocking scheme, you’ll be happy to know that his mobility was the reason some colleges thought of recruiting him as a Tight End.
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Twitter: jrehor
I think its interesting that the OL with the lowest percentage was TJ Lang. At the same time, the highest rated was Allen Barbre. Goes to show that numbers aren’t everything, since some of the missed assignments by Barbre came at the most inopportune times.
This is a great post. I missed it. I wonder if we shouldn’t put a paragraph with a read more on the front page and a link to here. I think Bulaga’s strength will go up significantly. I think there may have been some carry over from the thyroid problem that affected his performance even though his stamina was up. He is also very young…plenty of time to learn and grow and get stronger and even faster. This guy is a gem. I see him at LT too, not some other position (may move around initially) he will be the best lineman we have when Cliffy/Tausch are gone.