Three late-rounders join the Pack

By Os Davis | Tuesday, July 11, 2006 | ( 1 )

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The last were first in Green Bay Packers land this week, with three late late-round picks inked to honest-to-Lambeau NFL contracts.

Sixth-rounder Tyrone "The Dentist" Culver became the latest addition to the green-and-gold roster sheet, signing on Tuesday. The safety spent four years as a Fresno State Bulldog; in all of those seasons he was an academic All-American. Culver was named All-WAC as a senior.

Culver's career stats show something of an all-around game at Fresno State, with 178 tackles (101 solo) recorded amidst nineteen passed defensed, five interceptions and a handful of fumble recoveries and forced fumbles.

In scouting reports, Culver was noted as potentially helpful against the run and for his playmaking abilities. Like many late-rounders, Culver gets red marks in categories such as speed and instinct, but could work out as a utility player type. If not, he could always attend dental school, his other preferred profession.

Johnny Jolly - now there's a great football name - represents the other Packer sixth-round pick. As a three-year Aggie starter, the former Texas A&M defensive tackle impressed with his durability but the stamina required at the pro level concerns Packer brass with regard to Jolly. He racked up 94 tackles in 2003, and recorded 11 1/2 tackles-for-loss to go with five sacks in 2005.

Common wisdom has Jolly as a run stopper for the Green Bay D in 2006, in hopes of exploiting the DT's speed and covering his reported weakness in pass rushing.

Dave Tollefson was not quite the famed "Mr. Irrelevant" of the 2006 draft, but he was darn close. For trivia heads, the honor actually went to WR Kevin McMahan, chosen by the Oakland Raiders at No. 255. Tollefson was grabbed by Green Bay two choices earlier.

If durability is a concern in Jolly's case, it's a full-on major issue in Tollefson's. The DE's list of injuries suffered as a Northwest Missouri State Bearcat is long and works against the All-Mid-America Conference all-American. As a senior, Tollefson bagged 58 tackles and a big 12 1/2 sacks.

Should Tollefson stick around, he figures to be used mainly on passing downs, as his difficulty in slowing the run has been noted.

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	About Os Davis Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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