The Green Bay Packers continued their extensive scouting of Alabama edge rusher Terrell Lewis with an official pre-draft meeting via virtual means.
Lewis told Peter King of NBC Sports that he’s met over Zoom with the Packers, along with other virtual visits with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions.
The Packers also reportedly met with Lewis multiple times at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he hit 37″ in the vertical leap and 10-4 in the broad jump but didn’t run or do any agility testing.
A former five-star recruit, Lewis (6-5, 262) produced 11.5 tackles for losses and 6.5 sacks over 11 games with Alabama in 2019. Pro Football Focus credited him with 48 pressures and 13 run stops over 483 total snaps. He was selected as a second-team All-SEC pick. Significant injuries suffered in both 2017 (elbow) and 2018 (torn ACL) limited Lewis to just four games over the two seasons, complicating his evaluation as a player.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Lewis ranked as the sixth-best edge rusher in the class and a second-round pick, noting his long-term potential to be a game-changing rusher.
From Brugler’s draft guide: “Lewis is still unrefined with his setup and feel as an upfield player, but he is long, rangy and explosive with similar upside as Danielle Hunter when he entered the league, projecting as an impact NFL pass rusher if he reaches his potential and stays healthy.”
It’s conceivable the Packers believe Lewis could fall deep into the second round due to his injury history and want to be as prepared in their knowledge of the prospect as possible. It’s also possible GM Brian Gutekunst really likes the talent and potential and is considering him at the backend of the first round. He signed Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith to four-year deals last March and drafted Rashan Gary in the first round of last year’s draft, but teams can never have enough top-tier pass-rushing talent in today’s NFL.
Lewis had a pressure rate of 19.8 percent in 2019, the third-highest among qualified edge rushers in the draft class, per PFF. He missed the entire 2018 season with a knee injury and then missed another game in 2019 after re-injuring the same knee. Lewis, who turns 22 in August, participated in the Senior Bowl.
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