Versatility is one of the most important traits the Green Bay Packers look for in any draft prospect. In February, CheeseheadTV’s Mark Oldacres published a piece highlighting Green Bay’s draft philosophy in their own terms, showing how often Brian Gutekunst used the word “versatility” to describe many of their picks.
Last year, Gutekunst spoke about how important versatility is to Green Bay’s approach to evaluating prospects.
“We’re looking for well-rounded guys,” he said.
Edgerrin Cooper, Javon Bullard, and Evan Williams were Green Bay’s defensive picks in the first four rounds a year ago. Cooper was an efficient off-ball linebacker who showed upside as a pass rusher. Meanwhile, Williams and Bullard rotated in the back end while sharing snaps in the box.
But what if I told you that Green Bay just drafted a player with the potential to do everything these guys did last year?
The Packers selected Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver in the fifth round this year. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors three times. However, a foot injury limited his senior season to two games.
Oliver earned All-America honors as a freshman and was named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2021, finishing the season with 11.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. He followed up with five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2022, then capped off his collegiate career with a career-high six sacks and a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss in 2023.
In 2021, Oliver played 320 snaps along the defensive line and 54 in the box as an off-ball linebacker. The following year, his role expanded. He saw 400 snaps on the defensive line and 60 as an off-ball linebacker.
Two years later, Oliver’s versatility took another step forward as he began lining up in the secondary. He played 58 snaps as a slot corner and three on the outside, 436 snaps on the defensive line, and 417 snaps as an off-ball linebacker. He played only 86 snaps in 2024, with 79 on the defensive line.
Oliver recorded 134 pressures over four seasons at Oklahoma State and never posted a pass-rush grade lower than 76.2. In 2024, despite playing just 46 pass-rush snaps, he registered 15 pressures, with a 34.8% win rate, a 32.6% pressure rate, and a 90.8 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy once likened Oliver’s versatility on defense to the impact Christian McCaffrey brings to the San Francisco 49ers’ offense.
“Whatever the defensive coordinator wants me to play,” Oliver said of his versatility. “It does not matter where I fit in at. To me, I feel like I can be a linebacker, edge rusher. I can be both. It’s whatever the defensive coordinator sees me fit.
“I want to play that, whatever that position is, to the best of my ability. Whether it’s linebacker or edge, whether it’s punt returner, kick returner, the quarterback, running back, whatever it is, I’m going to play it to the best of my ability.”
After the draft, Oliver talked to the local media and pointed out that speed is a big part of his game, but it’s not the only thing he brings. He said he can also win with power and that mixing speed and strength keeps blockers off balance and opens up more ways for him to beat them.
“It’s always speed with me,” he said. “That’s what I pride myself on, is my get-off and how fast I can attack the corner. And also just to do it off of that with my power makes my speed rushes that much more effective, and it also makes my power-rush moves that much more effective.”
Last year, Jeff Hafley talked about putting together a special package for Edgerrin Cooper. Oliver has the tools to give Hafley even more options across all phases of the defense. I doubt the Packers would line him up in the secondary. However, he could play a hybrid edge rusher/off-ball linebacker role to give the defense some unscouted, exotic looks because he has the versatility the team seeks.
