Will Packers’ Anthony Belton Be Signed in Time for Training Camp?

Rookies are due to report for Green Bay Packers training camp on Saturday, with the first practice scheduled for Wednesday. Will second-round pick Anthony Belton be signed in time to participate in the first practice?

Belton is part of a huge logjam of second-round picks who remain unsigned. However, there was a breakthrough on Wednesday with the San Francisco 49ers signing defensive tackle Alfred Collins.

The sticking point has been at pick No. 40, New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.

It all started with pick No. 34, Houston Texans receiver Jayden Higgins. The second pick of the second round, Higgins became the first second-round pick to get every penny of his four-year contract guaranteed. Being a quarterback, Shough also wants his full contract guaranteed, even though he was selected six spots later.

Thus, everything had been on hold for Shough. If he got his full contract guaranteed, then a case could be made for No. 41 to get a big bump in guaranteed money. Last year’s No. 41, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, got 79.5 percent guaranteed by the Saints.

Now that Collins has signed, there is a roadmap for everyone else.

The contract values for draft picks are slotted, with Collins as the 43rd overall selection slated to get a four-year deal worth about $10.307 million. According to ESPN, 88 percent of his contract is guaranteed.

As a source pointed out on Thursday, that is the equivalent of last year’s 35th pick, Falcons defensive end Ruke Orhorhoro. That’s an eight-spot jump in terms of percentage of guaranteed money.

Thus, Belton as the 54th overall selection could be in the neighborhood of last year’s 46th pick. Last year, running back Jonathan Brooks’ four-year, $8.417 million contract included about $6.240 million guaranteed. That’s 74.1 percent.

Belton’s four-year contract will be worth a little more than $8.01 million. Using Brooks’ percentage as the new marker, Belton should get about $5.936 million guaranteed.

Contrast that to last year’s No. 54, Browns defensive tackle Michael Hall. His four-year, $7.07 million contract included $4.379 million guaranteed, or 61.9 percent.

After the first two picks of the second round, Collins is the only player under contract. The rest of the round should fall in line in relatively short order, the source said.

Belton was the starting left tackle at North Carolina State. With the Packers, he spent the offseason practices playing right tackle and right guard. As a second-round pick, the team no doubt would like him to compete for a starting job. The obvious place would be at right guard against returning starter Sean Rhyan.

“We really liked Anthony’s film at North Carolina State,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “Last year, I believe he was around 360-plus. He’s a little lighter now, but he was really athletic, and now it’s showing even more as he starts to shed some pounds. So, for a big man to be able to move like that, it’s pretty cool.”

That size and athleticism led to a fun nickname.

“I started calling him the ‘Big Escalade’ and it stuck, and the majority of the guys called him that as a nickname, as well,” Wolfpack strength and conditioning coach Dantonio Burnette told Packers On SI.

“The genesis behind that nickname is that Anthony Belton, he’s a really big guy – 6-foot-6, 336-pound guy – that is very smooth and is an excellent bender. When you see him change direction, it’s like, man, that’s wild that a big guy can move that well and be smooth while still doing it. He’s a big guy that’s very under control, so it was one of those things that, during the team run, he was out there killing the guy that he was going against. It was just one of those nicknames that I came up with.”