The Green Bay Packers may have landed a steal in this undrafted free agent.
The Green Bay Packers did not have a first-round pick in this year's NFL Draft, so they were forced to get very innovative with the selections they did have.
The Packers still managed to fill some pretty key needs with their draft choices, and afterward, they picked up some pretty intriguing undrafted free agents.
We already mentioned wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, who could be an overlooked gem, but Nick Baumgartner of The Athletic has identified another Green Bay UDFA who could cause some problems for opponents in 2026: SMU Mustangs tight end RJ Maryland.
"The Packers have Maryland — a college tight end — listed as a wide receiver, so we’ll see where he fits in," Baumgartner wrote. "The son of former Cowboys No. 1 pick Russell Maryland, RJ Maryland (6-4, 236) ran a 4.51 40 at the combine, trailing only Kenyon Sadiq at the position. He could be a matchup problem."
Maryland is very quick and posted a solid 74 athleticism score at NFL.com, so you can see why Green Bay may view him as a big wide out rather than a tight end.
RJ Maryland. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.The Southlake, Tx. native spent his entire collegiate career at SMU, which began in 2022. He immediately made an impact with the Mustangs, logging 28 catches for 296 yards and six touchdowns during his freshman campaign. He then broke out with 34 receptions for 518 yards and seven scores in 2023.
Maryland appeared to be on track to have an even better year in 2024, but an injury limited him to just seven games. During that time, he snared 24 balls for 359 yards while reaching the end zone four times.
This past season, the 21-year-old caught 27 passes for 322 yards and a couple of touchdowns in what was by and large the least productive showing of his collegiate tenure.
Based on the fact that Maryland totaled 19 touchdowns while averaging 13.2 yards per catch at SMU, there is certainly a chance that he could develop into a valuable weapon for the Packers. Whether that potentially comes as a tight end or a wide receiver remains to be seen.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Maryland even makes the team, but with Tucker Kraft recovering from a torn ACL and Luke Musgrave having been a major disappointment thus far, there is no doubt that Maryland is interesting.
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