Packers Sign Cornerback Who Made History in 2022

With the start of organized team activities less than one week away, the Green Bay Packers made a couple moves at cornerback on Wednesday. They signed Gregory Junior and released speedster Kaleb Hayes.

Junior was a sixth-round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

Junior played at Ouachita Baptist, becoming the school’s first-ever NFL Draft pick. He had two interceptions in four seasons. As a senior in 2021, he had one interception and seven passes defensed in 11 games to earn Division II All-American honors.

“Man, it’s a blessing just being the first person to represent Ouachita,” Junior said after being drafted. “I know we have three other people who went undrafted from Ouachita so just to be the first it means a lot. …

“Like I said, just being able to represent Ouachita Baptist and the football program. I’m glad I’m the first person. Hopefully there’ll be many more to come.”

With the Jaguars, Junior played in one game as a rookie and nine games in 2023, when he broke up the only pass of his career. During that preseason, he had one interception and PFF charged him with only 31 coverage yards in three games.

“Greg Junior has really stepped up a little bit. He’s kind of caught the attention,” then-Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said during training camp in 2023. “I think just seeing his maturity. I think you’re seeing a second year understanding the defense, the terminology. Those are the things I see with him and those second-year players having the understanding of even how we practice. That goes a long way.”

Last season, Junior was waived/injured early in training camp and didn’t play in any preseason games. He served stints on the Colts’ and Texans’ practice squads but didn’t play in any games. The Texans released him last week. The Packers were among the teams interested. 

For his career, Pro Football Focus has charged Junior with 11 completions in 13 targets for 103 yards. Of his 94 defensive snaps in 2023, 62 were in the slot.

At the time he was drafted, Junior was the eighth Ouachita player to reach the NFL. One of them was Ed Neal, who played for the Packers and Chicago Bears from 1945 through 1951. He started 12 games for the Packers in 1950 to earn Pro Bowl honors.

As an undrafted free agent, Cliff Harris was a Pro Football Hall of Famer with the Dallas Cowboys.

Before the 2022 draft, he measured 5-foot-11 7/8 and 203 pounds with 4.46 in the 40 and a 39 1/2-inch vertical leap. His Relative Athletic Score was 8.87.

The cornerback he’s replacing, Hayes, measured 5-foot-11 1/2, ran his 40 in 4.33 seconds and had a RAS of 9.75.

The Packers lost Eric Stokes, Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell in free agency; they signed Nate Hobbs in free agency and drafted Micah Robinson in the seventh round.

Junior joins a cornerback room that includes several late-round draft picks, including Carrington Valentine (seventh round, 2023), Kamal Hadden (sixth round by the Chiefs in 2024), Kalen King (seventh round by the Packers in 2024) and Robinson.

“I really don’t look beyond today,” he said during his rookie training camp. “There’s so much to accomplish when every single day begins and, if you aren’t in the moment, then the moment will pass you by.

“I have a lot to learn, and I can learn it – but only if I stay focused on my assignments and techniques. I’m not the kind of player who is going to worry about what I can’t control. I’m trying to work hard and have fun. I call it ‘staying on my road,’ and every single day I get up with the goal of staying on my road.”

The Packers not only like taking fliers on late-round cornerbacks, they like taking players who participated against top-notch competition at the Senior Bowl. That was Junior.

“The advantage with him was he was at the Senior Bowl, so we got a chance to see him there,” then-Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said after the draft. “We had several scouts go into the school, so he wasn’t somebody that was unknown or unheard of. The scouts did a good job of identifying him in the fall obviously, enough to get him a look at the Senior Bowl. We felt pretty good that we had a good amount of work done on him.”