Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Jake Stoneburner (11) is unable to catch a pass while defended by Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Jonathan Brown (45) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

If he has nothing else, Jake Stoneburner, one of the undrafted free agents signed by the Green Bay Packers this weekend, has by far one of the best names of all the players now in the National Football League.

While he comes into Green Bay listed as a tight end, nobody’s really sure where he will play. He’s played both wide receiver and tight end and didn’t light the world on fire while spending time at either position.

NJake Stoneburner
Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

While many thought for months that the Packers would select a tight end with their first round selection – many thought it would have been Tyler Eifert – the Packers did nothing to address the position. Starter Jermichael Finley is in the final year of his two-year contract and many thought Packers GM Ted Thompson would do something to bring in a player through the draft who might be able to replace him.

He did nothing of the sort and it wasn’t until he got Stoneburner to commit to coming to Green Bay as an undrafted free agent that the Packers got a new player at the position. Clearly Stoneburner wasn’t brought in as a replacement.

The Ohio State product doesn’t come to Green Bay with gaudy statistics and may have been passed over by NFL teams in the draft because of those numbers. Last season, he caught just 16 passes for 269 yards (16.8 yard average), and four touchdowns.

In four seasons with the Buckeyes, he caught 53 passes for 714 yards and 13 touchdowns. Decent stats, but certainly nothing worth writing home about. But to his credit, one of the reasons that Stoneburner’s statistics weren’t spectacular was because he’s seen as something of a “tweener.” He was switched from tight end to wide receiver just prior to his senior season and clearly didn’t belong on the outside – he didn’t have the speed and skills to play wide receiver, nor did he have the blocking skills and size to be an effective tight end.

In addition, he didn’t have Aaron Rodgers throwing to him when he was a Buckeye.

Jake Stoneburner zones in on a pass. Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

But now he does.

So, how will he fit in with the Packers? Well, it’s difficult to say, but they do plan to play him as a tight end. He will get the opportunity to compete, but his road is uphill. In addition to Finley, the Packers already have newcomer Matthew Mulligan, Andrew Quarless, D.J. Williams, and Ryan Taylor on the roster. While it’s a crowded field, it’s unclear whether Quarless will make it back from a nasty knee injury that kept him out all last season and both Taylor and Williams have been slow developers with limited playing time. So, Stoneburner has that going for him.

If nothing else, he will have the best name when the Packers open camp and should draw some attention in the competition for a spot on the team. At best, he will probably have the best chance for a roster spot if he can contribute on special teams.

TT was interested enough to bring him in. It will be up to Stoneburner to prove he belongs.

Why is speed such an important commodity for the Packers? Well with the switch from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4 defense, the duties of the cornerbacks change. In Dom Capers‘ new scheme, the corners are expected to play more zone and help in run support, as opposed to the in-your-face man-to-man that typified Bob Sanders‘ 4-3 defense in the past. The Packers will need their corners to be able to range quickly to cover their zone and to get up to the line quickly for run support.

There is too much emphasis on speed at the combine, I’ll definitely admit that. I mean, on the field, you aren’t going to be able to get down into your sprinter’s stance in your shorts and skin-tight shirt and track shoes and take off running. You’re going to be wearing pads and in some cases holding a football. That shows some part of how these times are inaccurate, but there is some merit to it. Aaron Curry, the top linebacking prospect in the draft ran in the 4.5s. Jenkins, thought to be the top cornerback prospect, ran in the 4.5s. Now, based on that, which one would you take? I’d definitely go with Curry.

Vontae Davis of Illinois moved himself up, showing up Jenkins by running a 4.49. Could the Packers reach for Davis at No. 9? Most likely not. I don’t even see the Packers going with Jenkins at No. 9 even if he had run well. The Packers have Al Harris, Charles Woodson, and Tramon Williams as quality corners. It’s hard to get three quality corners in this league, and with more youth behind them, adding Jenkins could just create a problem.

Look for the Packers to go defensive line or offensive line. More on this tomorrow…