Versatility sets new Packers tight end Josiah Deguara apart

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GREEN BAY – As Day 2 of the NFL Draft drew to a close, the Packers parlayed their third-round pick into a unique playmaker with the selection of Cincinnati's Josiah Deguara on Friday evening.


While listed as a 6-foot-2, 242-pound tight end, Deguara was equal parts receiver, tight end and H-back during his five years with the Bearcats. Oh, and he also played on every special-teams unit throughout the course of his college career.


The results were prolific. After arriving on campus as a two-star recruit, Deguara graduated this past winter as only the second tight end in school history to eclipse 1,000 career yards. The other? Former Philadelphia Eagle Brent Celek.


So where does such a player project to line up in Head Coach Matt LaFleur's offense in Green Bay?


"Everywhere, quite frankly," GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters. "As we went through the process, that's a guy that Matt was very, very excited about."


Although the Packers still feature a traditional in-line stalwart like Marcedes Lewis, the offense has gradually shifted to lighter and faster "move" tight ends such as Jace Sternberger and Robert Tonyan who can play a wide variety of positions.


That was never more apparent than late last season when Sternberger, a third-round pick out of Texas A&M a year ago, slid seamlessly into an emergency H-back role with fullback Danny Vitale sidelined due to a knee injury.


This offseason, the Packers didn't re-sign Vitale, himself a hybrid whose pass-catching ability out of the backfield was a twist Green Bay wanted in its offense a year ago.