The Green Bay Packers Rashan Gary was made their top pick in the 2019 draft at 12th overall. Gary made a name for himself leading up to the draft with his outstanding workout numbers. This included a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash at 277 lbs and a 38-inch vertical leap. However, for all his athletic potential, it never showed a lot in college.
Gary had 9.5 sacks across three years at Michigan. By contrast, his teammates and fellow defensive end Chase Winovich had 18.5. He didn’t go until the 3rd round. So it’s clear the Packers are taking a sizable risk on the physical upside over proven production.
However, the risk doesn’t end there. Accord to former NFL doctor David Chao, the 21-year old will require surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder either before or after the season.
“Rashan Gary is a defensive lineman from Michigan and now the newest member of the Green Bay Packers, who selected him with the 12th pick of the NFL draft on Thursday night.
No question, he can play football. But there is a question of when and how well without surgery.
Gary will need shoulder surgery, as we discussed this week. It is merely a matter of when.”
This won’t even be first surgery for Packers Rashan Gary
What might give people even more pause about Gary is that this surgery, whenever it ends up happening, won’t even be his first regarding his shoulders. He underwent surgery back in 2018 and missed time during Michigan’s season for a similar ailment.
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So this would make his second time going under the knife in two years even if he waits until after the 2019 season. Not exactly the vote of confidence one hopes for from a top draft choice expected to carry the torch of a franchise forward into the future.
This is not to say he won’t pan out, but history does show that players who had injury issues in college tend to not escape them in the NFL.
