The Green Bay Packers are one of at least seven different teams to schedule a pre-draft visit with Texas A&M tight end Jace Sternberger, according to Jared Tokarz of NFL Draft Insider.
Sternberger (6-4, 251) caught 48 passes for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named a first-team All-SEC performer during the 2018 season. He projects as a pass-catching tight end with average athleticism and blocking ability at the next level.
At the combine, Sternberger ran the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, did 17 reps on the bench press, hit 31.5″ in the vertical and finished the three-cone drill in 7.19 seconds. He wasn’t among the best finishers in any drill at his position.
Each NFL team receives 30 official pre-draft visits, and it appears the Packers will use one of their 30 on Sternberger, who Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compared to Jacob Tamme.
“His paychecks will be tied to his pass-catching so he’ll need to play stronger through route contact and with better focus when contested,” Zierlein wrote in Sternberger’s draft profile. “He has eventual starter potential as a move tight-end who can function as a big WR3/4 from the slot.”
The Packers are almost certainly in the market for a tight end in the draft. Jimmy Graham, Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan will return in 2019, but Graham and Lewis may not be on the roster in 2020 and Tonyan is a converted receiver still learning how to play tight end, a critical position in Matt LaFleur’s offense.
The Packers may view Sternberger as a developmental tight end prospect with the soft hands and route-running ability to contribute as a receiver and the frame to get bigger and stronger as a blocker. His average overall athleticism may keep him out of the top 75 picks.
