Packers 2016 Recap: T Jason Spriggs
2016 Stats
- 16 games played, 2 starts
- Pro Football Focus: 45.7/100
Expectations going into the season: Moderate
Expectations were: Not met
Analysis: Spriggs doesn’t justify expense in first season
Two things are true about Jason Spriggs: first, he’s extraordinarily athletic. Second, he in no way justified the cost the Packers paid to trade up to pick him in the 2015 NFL draft.
Spriggs wowed talent evaluators at the 2015 NFL combine with his impressive physical gifts. At 6-6 and 305 pounds, Spriggs ran a 4.94 40-yard dash, leaped 115 inches in the broad jump, and posted 31 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press. He was and is an incredible specimen.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the Packers gave up three picks to move from the 57th pick to the 48th in the second round, swapping picks with the Colts and sending a fifth and seventh round pick to Indianapolis to complete the deal.
The idea was that the Packers could pencil Spriggs in as a swing tackle, having him serve as the top reserve behind both David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga.
In practice, Spriggs had a much different 2016 season than expected.
While he did see time as a tackle (and even an extra tackle or quasi-tight end in heavy packages), Spriggs mainly served as a guard, starting two games in relief of T.J. Lang while Lang recovered from a broken foot midseason.
Both inside and outside, Spriggs showed serious issues with strength, which was a knock on him even dating back to his collegiate playing days in Indiana. He wasn’t reliable enough to be left alone in blocking assignments, and he had major trouble with power rushers.
If Spriggs wants to reward the Packers for their major investment, he needs to get much stronger this offseason. If he doesn’t, the Packers will have paid a heavy price for a workout warrior.