WSU Football NFL Draft News: Green Bay Packers Snatch Up OG John Fullington Quickly in Free Agency

Sep 14, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington State Cougars offensive linesman John Fullington (77) during warm-ups before a game against the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington State Cougars had their day in the sun Thursday when Deone Bucannon was gobbled up by a needy Arizona Cardinals team in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, but we were (are) hoping that the Cougs are not close to done with their opportunities to make NFL rosters. Offensive tackle John Fullington pointed us in the right direction moments after the draft was over, getting a call from the Green Bay Packers.

Fullington has a whole lot going for him after the Packers were extremely quiet in the draft when it comes to offensive linemen. In fact their only draft pick was center Corey Linsley from Ohio State in the 5th round. But that’s only the beginning of good news for Fullington.

The Packers brought in the former Coug on one of their 30 allowed pre-draft visits and apparently liked what they saw. On top of that Green Bay has only signed one other UDFA lineman to this point, Central Florida’s Jordan McCray to improve the competition. Also they didn’t sign any OL in free agency but lost guard Greg Van Wroten to the process. Basically, while the Packers are likely not done on the O-line in post-draft free agency, the fact that they brought him in and worked him out just a couple of weeks ago is important, along with the fact he was one of the first to get a call from the Packers after the draft was complete.

While he struggled at times early in his career at tackle, Fullington has shown terrific lateral agility in his 6’5″, 300 lbs frame and also possesses tremendous durability, having started 43 consecutive games in Pullman for the Cougars. But when he moved inside to play guard he began to excel and the Cougs got much better on the interior, cutting down on an NCAA leading 57 sacks from 2012 to just 32 in 2013. He also possesses a ton of reps as a pass blocker having come from a Mike Leach offense over the past couple of years, which would translate well to Mike McCarthy’s offense in Green Bay, where Aaron Rodgers and the Pack are always near the top of the league in pass attempts per season.

A full list of Green Bay’s UDFA signings can be found HERE at our official FanSided site for the Packers, Lombardi Ave.