The Green Bay Packers selected safety Kitan Oladapo in the fifth round (No. 169 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.
Height: 6-2
Weight: 216
From
Breakdown: Big, physical safety built for defending the run and playing robber as a strong safety/in the box type. Led all drafted safeties in run defense grade last season, per PFF. The Packers think he has big nickel linebacker potential. Has the body type and athleticism to be a force on special teams. Likely a rotational player early in his career but could eventually emerge as an ideal complement for Xavier McKinney. Had surgery on toe and will miss offseason workout program.
Dane Brugler’s scouting report: “A three-year starter at Oregon State, Oladapo was a versatile safety in defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s hybrid 3 -3-5 stack. A former walk-on at cornerback, he transitioned to safety in Corvallis and earned All-Pac-12 honors each of the last three seasons. Oladapo confidently reads run/pass and aggressively drives downhill with competitive urgency to make impactful tackles. His average twitch and build-up speed out of transitions will be more noticeable versus NFL receivers, but his route awareness helps keep him stay connected in coverage. Overall, Oladapo doesn’t have ideal top-end speed or rangy ball skills for deep coverage, but he is a good-sized athlete who trusts his sightlines and enjoys making noise in the run game. He projects best as a down safety who can also earn his paycheck on special teams.”
Lance Zierlein’s scouting report: “Oladapo possesses classic strong safety traits and play attributes, which should help evaluators define him more easily. He has very good size, with the play strength and toughness to tackle near the box and enough cover skills to line up over tight ends in man. While he can play some split safety, he can be a little inconsistent in big space, so playing forward is his best bet. There is room for improvement as a tackler, but he generally pursues with leverage and takes his role as last line of defense to heart. He has “make it” size and attributes. He’s likely to come in as a backup with special teams duties but has a pretty good shot of becoming an eventual starter.”
They said it: “He’s a little different body type than the other two. He’s a big, 6-2, 216-pound kid. Long arms. Aggressive, when he hits you, you go down. He’s a very good athlete at that size. He can pedal, he can flip, he can turn. He’s versatile, more of a true safety but he can play that big nickel or will linebacker if you need him too. The playstyle. Very smart. Captain as well. One, good football player, and two, the kind of person we want to infuse in this locker room.” — Jon-Eric Sullivan, vice president of player personnel
New uniform
Green Bay Packers DB Kitan Oladapo (@Kitan_Oladapo) is wearing number 27. Last assigned to Patrick Taylor. #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/dXZiEbiG0S
— NFL Jersey Numbers (@nfl_jersey_num) May 1, 2024
RAS card
