Rookie OL joins Packers’ 5-player inactive list vs. Lions

Rookie OL Jacob Monk is a healthy scratch for the third straight game for the Packers. Here’s the inactive list.

The Green Bay Packers had one healthy scratch and four injured players on the team’s five-player inactive list for Week 14 against the Detroit Lions.

Rookie fifth-round pick Jacob Monk, a backup at guard and center, is inactive for the third straight game and fourth time overall this season. Andre Dillard, Kadeem Telfort and Travis Glover are the three backup offensive linemen for the Packers on Thursday night at Ford Field.

The injured players already ruled out are cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), receiver Romeo Doubs (concussion), linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and cornerback Corey Ballentine (knee).

The Lions will be without starting left tackle Taylor Decker and defensive linemen DJ Reader and Levi Onwuzurike, who are all inactive. Detroit’s injured reserve list is extensive and includes edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and linebackers Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez.

Packers inactives

CB Jaire Alexander
CB Corey Ballentine
LB Edgerrin Cooper
WR Romeo Doubs
OL Jacob Monk

Lions inactives

CB Emmanuel Moseley
OL Giovanni Manu
OL Taylor Decker
OL Kayode Awosika
DL Levi Onwuzurike
DL Josh Paschal
DL DJ Reader

DeWayne Carter and other Duke football alums celebrate the UNC comeback

DeWayne Carter and other former Duke football stars shared their excitement on social media after the Blue Devils came back to beat UNC.

The entire city of Durham rejoiced on Saturday night when the Blue Devils beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, scoring three second-half touchdowns for a 20-point comeback, and a few former members of the team joined in from afar.

No former Blue Devil made his support more vocal than [autotag]DeWayne Carter[/autotag], the 2023 All-ACC First Team defensive tackle. Carter, who is also undefeated this season after the Buffalo Bills drafted him in the third round, never lost faith in the squad despite the early mistakes.

The Blue Devils took the lead with a little more than five minutes on the clock, and the defense clinched the game from there. Vincent Anthony Jr., Wesley Williams, and the pass rush forced a three-and-out on the first potential game-winning drive before linebacker Tre Freeman intercepted a pass from UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell on the second, cementing the win.

“NEVER A DOUBT MAN,” Carter wrote on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) in a series of posts celebrating the win.

https://twitter.com/Dewaynecarter0/status/1840176101600973155

https://twitter.com/Dewaynecarter0/status/1840176393461637467

Carter joined the Blue Devils in 2019 and spent the next five years with the program, finishing his collegiate career with 126 total tackles and 12 sacks in 52 games.

Fellow defensive line alum Ja’Mion Franklin, who spent three seasons with the Blue Devils from 2021-23, shared a short but sweet message after the victory.

https://twitter.com/Jamion_Franklin/status/1840178893921132692

Jacob Monk, a fellow member of the 2024 NFL draft class who ended up with the Green Bay Packers, highlighted the performance of running back Star Thomas. The New Mexico State transfer surpassed 200 yards of total offense, running for 166 and picking up 45 more as a receiver, and reached the end zone twice.

https://twitter.com/JacobMonk_/status/1840162418871210443

While Carter and the other former Blue Devils may not have suited up on Saturday, it’s obvious that they remain a part of the Duke football program in their hearts.

Contract details for Packers fifth-round pick OL Jacob Monk

The Green Bay Packers announced that they signed fifth-round pick OL Jacob Monk and Over the Cap has the contract details.

The Green Bay Packers have officially signed fifth-round pick Jacob Monk. Over the Cap now has the details on what Monk’s rookie deal will look like.

Monk earned a standard four-year rookie contract that totals $4.321 million with a signing bonus of $301,616.

Monk will receive the full signing bonus up front, but from a salary cap perspective, that $301,616 can be pro-rated over the life of the contract. Or, in short, the cap hit in 2024 from that bonus is just $75,404.

That pro-rated signing bonus amount plus a base salary of $795,000 makes up Monk’s cap hit for this season, which totals $870,404.

Moving forward, beyond 2024, a $75,404 cap hit from the pro-rated signing bonus will be on the Packers’ books all four years of the contract, along with Monk’s base salary increasing each year as well.

In 2025, Monk’s base salary will be $960,000. In 2026 it increases to $1.075 million, and then $1.190 million in 2027.

Here is a look at what Monk’s cap hit will be each season:

2024: $870,404
2025: $1.035million
2026: $1.150 million
2027: $1.265 million

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more experienced player than Monk, who started 57 games during his career at Duke and did so at multiple positions. Monk is a former team captain, a leader, and the ultimate competitor.

With the Packers, Monk has the ability to play all three interior positions and, this summer, could challenge Josh Myers at center or Sean Rhyan at right guard for starting snaps.

“He’s an elite wiring kind of guy,” said Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan. “He’s quick. He’s strong. We feel like he’s a center-guard swing guy. The thing we liked about him was his playstyle.

“You talk to the people at Duke, they talk about how he’s the leader of the pack. He wants to win and those guys follow him. That comes out in his playstyle. He’s a snap to whistle guy. He’s looking to bury you. He’s got a skill set to go along with it. He can get off the spot, snap, reach, and he’s got enough power and leg drive to move you if he needs to.”

Green Bay Packers 2024 fifth-round pick: OL Jacob Monk

The Packers selected Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers selected offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round (No. 163 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.

Height: 6-3
Weight: 308
Age: 22
From: Clayton, NC

College profile

Breakdown: Box-checker for the Packers along the offensive line: experienced, versatile and athletic. Extensive experience at guard and center but also played right tackle. Likely center-guard swing player in the NFL. Tested like an elite athlete in both movement and strength. Started 58 total games and was a two-time captain. The Packers think he has the athleticism and intelligence to play multiple positions in the NFL. Potential future replacement for Josh Myers at center.

Dane Brugler’s scouting report: “A five-year starter at Duke, Monk switched between right guard and center in former offensive coordinator Kevin Johns’ scheme. The highest-ranked recruit in the Blue Devils’ class five years ago, he earned a starting role from the get-go (played tackle for the first time as a true freshman) and then showed off his versatility between guard and center, depending on where he was needed (earned All-ACC honors in his final three seasons). Monk has graceful movements out of his stance (second-best 10-yard split among centers at the combine) and processes his surroundings quickly (coaches rave about him as a teammate and worker). His hands have moments where they are all over the place, and he gets himself in trouble when he lunges in attempts to answer power. Overall, Monk doesn’t have elite size and strength, which puts more of a premium on his technique, but his foot quickness and football IQ belong on an NFL roster. He projects best as a backup center who can fill in at guard in a pinch.”

Lance Zierlein’s scouting report: “Rare five-year starter and two-year team captain with explosive power and plus athleticism. Right off the bat, Monk will be dinged for his lack of ideal size as a center. He’s going to have trouble with bulky two-gappers who can snap a punch into him and quickly separate. However, one-gapping defenders will have their hands full, as he’s more than capable of washing them down or outright pancaking them. Monk can slide and redirect A-gap rushers, but an offensive line coach must get him to protect with inside hands. Monk’s blend of football IQ, nimble feet and power give him a realistic chance to compete for a job, no matter how he gets into a camp.”

They said it: “He’s an elite wiring kind of guy. He’s quick. He’s strong. We feel like he’s a center-guard swing guy. The thing we liked about him was his playstyle. You talk to the people at Duke, they talk about how he’s the leader of the pack. He wants to win and those guys follow him. That comes out in his playstyle. He’s a snap to whistle guy. He’s looking to bury you. He’s got a skill set to go along with it. He can get off the spot, snap, reach, and he’s got enough power and leg drive to move you if he needs to.” — Jon-Eric Sullivan, vice present of player personnel

New uniform

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Highlights

Jacob Monk, a leader and tone-setter, boosts competition along Packers IOL

Duke OL Jacob Monk was a player that the Packers really wanted, and he will provide a needed boost to the offensive line competition.

Duke interior offensive lineman Jacob Monk, who the Packers selected in the fifth-round of the NFL draft, was a player that, as GM Brian Gutekunst put it, they “really wanted to acquire.”

“First of all, he’s a really good player,” said GM Brian Gutekunst after the draft. “He’s very quick, he’s very strong, powerful man. He can play guard, he can play center, so he’s got the versatility that we like.

“The more we got to know him as a person and all the things coming out of there, he just, we really felt like he was a fit for what we’re trying to do, not only athletically and what he can do on the field but just the grit and determination that you have to have to be a really good player in that room.”

When it comes to what the Packers look for in offensive linemen, Monk checks really every box.

Monk is about as experienced of a player as you will see with 58 starts at Duke, playing 3,681 snaps. He’s versatile as well, having the ability to play all three interior spots, and even has some tackle experience.

Monk is also an excellent athlete and strong, posting an elite Relative Athletic Score of 9.74, which featured a 5.09-second 40 time and 31 reps on the bench press.

Duke quarterback Riley Leonard has said that Monk is “an incredible human being,” but at the same time, is “the most intense football player” he’s ever played with.

“I have a brother with Down Syndrome and autism,” said Monk when speaking to reporters after being drafted, “and he’s taught me compassion, he’s taught me how to be a good human being, I feel like he’s taught me how to be patient with people.

“And also, at the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had my dad play football, I’ve had my uncle go play at the highest level. They taught me how to play this game the correct way. You have to flip that switch. You cannot go out there wily-nilly on Fridays, Saturdays and now Sundays for me. You can’t do that. You’ve got to play the right way.”

In addition to what Monk showcased on the field at Duke, which includes his versatility, durability, and his competitive fire, like several of the Packers’ draft picks this year, he was a team captain–holding that title twice.

“I feel like passion for the game, passion and effort,” said Monk. “Like I said earlier, you have to play this game a certain way. I try and go out there and not disrespect it. If I’m not giving full effort, if I’m not passionate about what I’m doing, I don’t need to be out on that field. That’s my strengths, being a captain.”

Monk will join a Packers’ interior offensive line group where competition was very much needed, and he should contribute to that right away. Prior to the draft, the only interior blockers on the roster were Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Royce Newman.

With his ability to play both guard and center, Monk could push either Rhyan or Myers for playing time. Rhyan has to continue to improve in pass protection, while Myers continues to battle consistency issues and is in the final year of his rookie deal.

Although the Packers did spend three of their 11 draft picks on the offensive line, Matt LaFleur said that Jordan Morgan will start out at left tackle, and Travis Glover, a seventh-round selection, has far more experience at tackle than guard.

Cultivating competition within each position group has been the theme of the offseason for Gutekunst, and when it comes to Monk, he is going to find himself in the heat of that right away, as the Packers begin their search for the “best five” offensive linemen.

“He’s quick,” said VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan. “Very quick, strong, aggressive play style, excellent motor, gets after it. He’s a snap-to-whistle kind of guy. Like I said, his play style and the way they talk about him, his wiring, he’s an elite, elite guy.

“He’s a leader and he kind of sets the tone at that program. Guys follow him and I think that kind of oozes out on his film when you’re watching him and this guy’s getting after it and he’s out there to win.”

Packers select Duke OL Jacob Monk at No. 163 overall in 2024 NFL draft

The Green Bay Packers traded up to No. 163 overall and selected Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers traded up to No. 163 overall and selected Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Packers sent a sixth-round pick (No. 219) to the Buffalo Bills to move up five spots from No. 168 and get more help for the offensive line.

Monk (6-3, 308) started 58 games at Duke: 36 at right guard, 12 at right tackle and 10 at center. He projects as a guard or center at the NFL level.

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Monk was a three-time All-ACC selection (2021-23) and was a team captain in 2023.

Monk ran the 40-yard dash in 5.09 seconds, hit 29.5″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-0 in the broad jump and did 31 reps on the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score is 9.74 out of 10.0.

The Packers need a backup plan behind Josh Myers at center and could use more depth at guard. Monk is the second pick for the Packers along the offensive following the selection of Jordan Morgan in the first round.

Jacob Monk goes to the Green Bay Packers in fifth round

The Green Bay Packers drafted Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft on Saturday.

The Green Bay Packers traded up to draft Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft on Saturday.

Monk, who played both right guard and center for the Blue Devils last season, went with the 163rd overall pick. The Packers gave up two picks to go get the longtime Duke starter.

At 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, Monk was ESPN’s 154th overall prospect on the Best Available tracker and the site’s seventh-highest center.

Monk, like former teammate Graham Barton, played all across the Duke offensive line. He started as a right tackle in 2019, shifted to right guard the next two seasons, and started dabbling as a center in 2022 and 2023. He spent the last two Blue Devils seasons as a team captain, and he earned Second Team All-ACC honors as a senior.

Duke has now seen three former players drafted by the NFL this year. Barton went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 26th overall pick in the opening round and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter went to the Buffalo Bills in the third round.

The Athletic’s new seven-round mock draft features three Duke linemen

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler went through each and every pick of the upcoming NFL draft for his latest projections, and he had three Blue Devils come off the board.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler went through each and every pick in the draft for his newest seven-round mock on Wednesday, and he fit three former Blue Devils into his projections.

First up, offensive lineman Graham Barton. The presumed first-round pick is expected to shift inside as a guard at the next level, and Brugler thinks he’ll do so in Pittsburgh.

Since Barton played both outside and inside in college (three years at tackle and one year at center), The Athletic writer thinks Pittsburgh will value his flexibility as the Steelers try to rebuild their offensive line.

“Barton offers the five-position versatility that would allow Pittsburgh to get its best five on the field,” Brugler wrote.

Duke defensive lineman DeWayne Carter, a presumed fourth-round pick, came off the board next. Brugler slotted in the All-ACC defensive tackle to Minnesota with the 108th pick, the eighth name off the board in the fourth round.

Last but not least, Barton’s former companion along the offensive line got his moment in the sixth round. Brugler projected that center Jacob Monk would go to the Denver Broncos with the 203rd overall pick in the middle of the sixth round.

Giants had dinner with Duke’s Graham Barton, Jacob Monk

The New York Giants had dinner with Duke offensive linemen Graham Barton and Jacob Monk before their Thursday pro day.

The New York Giants have been busy scouting and working out quarterbacks on the pro day circuit, which has routinely stolen the headlines. But quarterbacks haven’t been their only focus.

General manager Joe Schoen & Co. have also done a significant amount of work on wide receivers and offensive linemen.

After watching Notre Dame’s Joe Alt earlier this week, the Giants shifted their attention to Duke University, which held their pro day on Thursday.

Long-time NFL draft expert Tony Pauline reports that Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo was on hand to watch Graham Barton and Jacob Monk, whom he met for dinner the night prior.

Among those at the workout are Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as well as offensive line coaches for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. Barton and Monk had dinner with the Giants last night.

The versatile Barton, who had a good showing at Duke’s pro day, is projected as a late first-round, early second-round pick. He obviously not on the Giants’ radar at No. 6 overall but if he slides a bit in Round 2, he becomes a more realistic option.

Monk, a five-year starter and two-year team captain, is a bit undersized and is projected as a Day 3 pick or priority undrafted free agent.

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