1) Introduction:When the Green Bay Packers selected Nate Palmer in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the team saw something. Palmer was not projected by many to even be drafted but the Packers thought highly enough of him to make him a sixth round selection this spring. Illinois State is not exactly known as a football powerhouse, but Packers GM Ted Thompson hoped he found a diamond in the rough in Palmer. The defense Palmer played in had similarities to what the Packers run under Dom Capers and that must have played a role in Green Bay selecting him.
2) Profile: Nate Palmer
- Age: 24
- Born: 09/23/1989 in Chicago, IL
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 248
- College: Illinois State
- Rookie Year: 2013
- NFL Experience: 1 years
- Career Stats and more
3) Expectations coming into the season: Not was expected out of Palmer in 2013. He was expected to sit, watch and learn from Clay Matthews and at some point perhaps evolve over the next few seasons into a decent pass rusher for the Packers. Kevin Greene picked out Palmer when he visited Northern Illinois along with coaches from other teams and Greene was going to try to shape Palmer in the image of Matthews.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Palmer only saw minimal action, seeing the field in only eight of the team’s 16 regular season games. He failed to record a sack, which is a definite low-light for a player trying to be more like Matthews. On a positive note, Palmer recorded six tackles in both the loss to the Bears as well as the home win over the Cleveland Browns.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Palmer provided much needed depth for a team that was decimated by injuries at the linebacker position. For a player that very little was expected from in 2013, Palmer did the best with what he could being thrown into the fire as suddenly as he was.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: Non-existent. Palmer did not register a tackle in the playoff loss to the 49ers.
Season Report Card:
(B) Level of expectations met during the season
(C) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(N/A) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: C
——————Kris Burke is a sports writer covering the Green Bay Packers for AllGreenBayPackers.com and WTMJ in Milwaukee. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) and his work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com. Follow @KrisLBurke
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I never heard his name. Was he rooming with Stoneburner?
Who?