Green Bay Packers drafted Cole Madison in the 2018 NFL Draft in the fifth round. Madison did not play a single game for Green Bay. In fact, he barely showed up in Green Bay. Madison was dealing with personal problems. Later, the team revealed Madison struggled with the death of his friend Tyler Hilinski, a former teammate at Washington State, who committed suicide due to CTE. No one knew if Madison would be back with the team in 2019. Early this week, he showed up with the team ready to work for the 2019 season. Madison gives the Packers a boost at interior offensive lineman depth and gives them another draft pick for the 2019 season.

Even though Madison played right tackle in college, it appears he will be playing guard for the Packers. Madison played in Mike Leach’s spread offense system, therefore, it is not a surprise that he is a great pass-blocker. He works well in space which could be helpful to Matt LaFleuer’s zone running attack. He is well-positioned for an up-tempo attack and can get out on blocks when the team needs him to in the run and screen game. In a weird way, I could see Madison being a useful sixth lineman if LaFleur chooses to go with a jumbo package.

In a surprise to no one if you’ve watched Washington State, Madison is not exactly a lineman made for a slower offense. Some of the scouts were concerned with the ability to pass block in a regular-paced offense. A lot of the draft worries were actually about his arm length and if he would be able to play tackle at the next level, it does not seem like the Packers believe he can be on the outside.

Regardless of what happens with the 2018 Packers draft pick, it is good to see him out there again and playing with the team. Packers already have a great deal of draft picks, and they added another one with the return of the Washington native.

Charlie.