Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The Green Bay Packers selected Louisiana-Lafayette defensive lineman Christian Ringo in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. His name wasn’t one that brought a lot of attention to the selection, but it was a pick that could very well end up being a huge step in the right direction for their defense moving forward.
On the outside looking in, he appears to be a potential depth pickup at the most for the Packers. That being said, when looking deeper into the selection, it is obvious that Ringo is a diamond in the rough and could become a big piece for the Packers in the future. He has the talent to develop into a starting defensive lineman, and the Packers have a very solid coaching staff that is capable of developing talent.
Ringo ended up recording 45 tackles and 11.5 sacks in his senior collegiate season last year. It was a season that showed off his NFL potential, and is the reason that Green Bay decided to give him a chance.
At 6-foot-1 and 298 pounds, Ringo is very undersized defensive lineman and that was a big reason that he slipped to the sixth round. Despite his lack of size, the Packers decided to focus on the production that he put up on the field as a senior. Those numbers cannot be looked past, and there are quite a few players that have overcome a lack of size to be major playmakers in the NFL.
Quite a few scouts have compared him to current Green Bay defensive lineman Mike Daniels, who is a big piece of their defense. He is just 6-foot-0 and 305 pounds, which puts him at a very similar size. Daniels is just one of the examples that the Packers have seen in the past that have overcome lack of size to become key players.
Even though he has confidence in his own abilities, Ringo still understands that he has to prove that he can be consistent in order to earn his way in the NFL.
“It’s easily, easily, easily because I didn’t have the year I needed to have my junior year,” Ringo said when talking to Fox Sports. “I know when the NFL is recruiting they’re looking for consistency. That’s definitely probably why.”
One of the oldest sayings in the book is that no one should ever judge a book by its cover, and that applies with Ringo. His heart, work ethic and attitude are going to be more than capable of overcoming the size issues that he could face. Green Bay has the type of defensive system that he could thrive in, and have had quite a few players come through and prove themselves.
Ted Thompson is one of the smartest general managers in the league, and he saw something in Ringo when watching his tape. While there weren’t many teams who would have considered giving Ringo a chance, the Packers believe that he has a future in the league.
Needless to say, the opportunity that the Packers have given Ringo has not been taken for granted. He understands that they could choose to go another direction at any point in time, but he also understands that the Packers see something in him and want to work with him. That in and of itself will help motivate Ringo to work harder on improving his game and forcing his way onto the field at some point in the future.
Expect to see Ringo make the roster this season and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him make his way onto the field at some point. Whether he does see playing time as a rookie or not, there is no denying that his future is incredibly bright with Green Bay.
Evan Massey is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com, and contributes across the NFL, MLB, NCAA and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
