Considering his 4.29 speed in the 40, it’s probably fitting that receiver Matthew Golden was the runaway best rookie during the Green Bay Packers’ offseason practices.
As a first-round pick, Golden should be the best of Green Bay’s rookies. Looking beyond the obvious, who could be a sleeper? CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso picked the sixth-round pick, defensive tackle Warren Brinson.
Why? Because of athleticism and underrated production.
First, the athleticism. At 6-foot-5 1/4 and 315 pounds, Brinson’s Relative Athletic Score was 9.10. While his 40-yard dash time of 5.09 seconds wasn’t anything spectacular, Trapasso pointed to Brinson’s elite 9-foot, 7-inch broad jump, which ranked in the 94th percentile among defensive tackles.
Second, it’s production – though you might have to go searching for it. In 59 games over five seasons, Brinson had only six sacks and 14 tackles for losses. That includes two sacks and six TFLs in 2024, when he made four of his eight career starts.
However, looking at the numbers at Pro Football Focus, “Brinson accumulated a career pressure rate of nearly 9 percent at Georgia, which is spectacular given how much two-gapping head coach Kirby Smart asks of his defensive tackles,” Trapasso wrote. “With the explosiveness that's indicated by his broad jump, Brinson is the every-down defender who will stack and shed blocks against the run on first down then creep into the backfield more regularly than anyone will expect in obvious passing situations.”
Brinson was the most noteworthy addition at a key position of need for the Packers. T.J. Slaton, who started every game the last two seasons, signed with the Bengals in free agency. He was the big, space-eating man in the middle of Green Bay’s formidable run defense last year.
At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, Brinson uses length rather than brawn.
“He’s a little bit of both,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said when asked whether Brinson was more a run stopper or pass rusher. “I was proud of T.J. the way he progressed. When he first got here, he was kind of just one of those guys that held the point really well, he could eat up double teams. But he progressed as a pass rusher, as well.
“I think Brinson coming out probably has a little more pass rush naturally. But (he’s) a really big man that can do a lot of things. I think the coaching staff and I know I believe he can play up and down the line. He’s not just a one position player on the defensive line. So, that was one of the things that attracted us to him.”
Brinson joined the Athens-to-Green Bay pipeline. Linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt were first-round picks in 2022 and defensive back Javon Bullard was a second-round pick in 2024. All three will be key contributors this season.
Maybe Brinson will join them.
“I love Warren,” Wyatt said at Packers minicamp on Thursday. “He’s a funny guy. He fit right in with us. But what I expect from Warren is what he did at Georgia – but a little better. It’s a lot better talent up here but Warren, he can definitely bring a lot of talent pass-rushing a lot of aggressiveness, power and stuff like that. He can bring a lot to the team.”
Brinson missed the two weeks of OTAs due to an undisclosed injury but took part in drills during minicamp.
Because of the defensive linemen he had to compete with to get on the field and the offensive linemen he had to deal with at practice, he should be battle-tested to contribute from the start.
“It was always competition. You’ve got [Lions rookie] Tate Ratledge up there, we’ve got [Chargers guard] Jamaree Salyer,” Brinson said. “We had a lot of people up there that you had to compete against. You had to bring your A-game every day at Georgia. Every day. And if you were not on your point, you got your head knocked off.
“I’m going to take the same thing to the NFL and be on point every day and be serious. It’s a warrior mentality out there. I’m trying to win, I’m trying to feed my family. Got to eat.”
