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The Packers wouldn't mind another Greg Jennings at No. 52. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
By Mark Eckel
If history is an indicator the Green Bay Packers do not have a good chance to get an impact player with the 52nd pick of the NFL draft.
If Packers history is taken into consideration then the team just might get a star with that 52nd pick in next month's draft.
Of the last 10 players taken with the 52nd overall pick only two have ever made a Pro Bowl — wide receiver George Pickens who made it last year with Dallas and linebacker Deion Jones who made it his second year with Atlanta.
The rest have either been career back-up types or in some cases total busts.
In the case of the Packers the team has held the 52nd pick just one other time in the Super Bowl era. That was 2006 when they selected wide receiver Greg Jennings out of Western Michigan.
Jennings played 10 years in the league, seven with the Packers and helped them win a Super Bowl in 2010. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice and had three 1,000-yard seasons. General manager Brian Gutekunst and his personnel staff would sign on right now to get a player of Jennings' ilk at No. 52 this year.
As for the past 10, not so much. Here's a list of what they have done.
2025: Oluwafemi Oladejo, DE, UCLA (Titans) — Oladejo spent most of his rookie season on injured reserve. He appeared in just six games, with two starts and had a total of 13 tackles.
2024: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas (Colts) — In two seasons Mitchell has caught 56 passes for 765 yards and two touchdowns.
2023: Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA (Seahawks) — He became a nice No. 2 back to pair with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker before he suffered a knee injury late in the year. In his three seasons he's carried 427 times for 1,761 yards and 21 touchdowns. The No. 3 player on the list.
2022: George Pickens, WR, Georgia (Steelers) — The prize of the list, although he was traded by the Steelers to Dallas a year ago. Pickens career numbers are 262-4270-21. The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him last month.
2021: Jeremiah Owusa-Karamoah, LB, Notre Dame (Browns) — He's been mostly a backup and special teams player in Cleveland. He does have three interceptions in five years.
2020: Cam Akers, RB, Florida State (Rams) — He had his moments early on with the Rams, but is now with his fourth team. His 2,044 rushing yards over six years is very pedestrian.
2019: Drew Sample, TE, Washington (Bengals) — A classic backup tight end/special teams player. Sample has played all seven years with the Bengals. He's caught 115 passes with five touchdowns.
2018: Kemeko Turay, LB, Rutgers (Colts) — Played five years in the league all with the Colts mostly as a backup/special teams player. He had 12 sacks in his time there.
2017 — DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame (Browns) — Hard to believe the Browns missed on a quarterback. He lost all 15 games he started for Cleveland as a rookie and was traded to Green Bay in 2018. He appeared in three games for the Packers in 2018 and never played again.
2016 — Deion Jones, LB, LSU (Falcons) — His career started well. He was finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year and made the Pro Bowl his second year. He played 10 years in the league, his first six as a starter for Atlanta before becoming a backup in Cleveland, Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Other 52 Notes: From a Packers standpoint, the last defensive back selected with No. 52 was Ike Charlton, out of Virginia Tech was bay in 2000. He played for four teams in three years without much success.
The last defensive tackle taken was Marvin Austin out of North Carolina in 2011. He never started a game in his brief career.
And the last offensive lineman taken was Khalif Barnes out of Washington by the Raiders in 2005. He played 12 years and had a decent career.