“It would mean everything to me to come in and be able to,” Myers told reporters on a conference call after the Green Bay Packers took him in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. “He’s just such a great player and to follow him up is a great task I’m excited to get a shot at.”
Linsley became a starter as a rookie in 2014 and was a standout for the Packers for seven seasons. He made the All-Pro first team last year and signed a five-year, $62.5 million contract with the Chargers in March.
Green Bay director of scouting Matt Malaspina did not rule out Myers moving into Linsley’s old spot immediately.
“I can’t express to you how excited we are organizationally to bring him in,” Malaspina said. “What he brings to this organization as far as competitive nature — and he’ll have to earn it like everyone else. Nothing is given in this league, but things are stacked in his favor that he’s the right kind of guy you want to go out there with.”
Malaspina raved about Myers for about 10 minutes, praising him talent, intelligence, work ethic and lineage.
“He’s a great kid. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s strong. Typical Ohio State guy,” Malaspina said. “Loves ball. Highly successful kid from a really good lineage of his family. His father and brother played at Kentucky, his mom is a hall of fame at Dayton for basketball. It’s really important for Josh to be another great offensive lineman at Ohio State, which he is.”
He praised Myers for his ability to move and control his body at 6-foot-5 and says he can see him fitting into the Packers’ zone running scheme.
Malaspina watched Myers play in person at the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern and came away impressed with what he saw both during the game and before.
“He’s a guy that other guys gravitate toward,” Malaspina said, noting he liked how Myers carried himself during pregame warmups. “That energy is something we want to bring into this team.”
The Packers used the 30th pick in the second round on Myers, who had a good guess what was happening when a call from a Green Bay area code flashed onto his phone while he watched the draft with his family in Miamisburg on Friday night.
“I was so excited. It’s hard for me to even put into words what that feeling was like,” he said. “I’ve spent my whole life working at this game and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it pay off so quickly without warning.”
After winning four Big Ten championships and playing in the College Football Playoff twice, Myers is excited about joining another football team that has a history of success.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “To go to an organization like Green Bay and be a part of everything they have going on there, to be a family, to get into the locker room to meet those guys — I’m just so excited. I can’t wait.”
Ironically, Myers traveled to Green Bay for treatment for a turf toe injury he suffered toward the end of the Big Ten title game, and he had a feeling he might end up back there some day.
He said he has been able to resume running near full speed after having foot surgery, and he has been able to start doing offensive line drills.
Malasplina said the team did its due diligence on Myers’ health and has no concerns.
He can see Myers finding a home at center or guard for the Packers, but regardless is thrilled to have him become part of the organization.
“He is the perfect representative for Ohio State,” Malaspina said. “He is what you want whether you were running a corporation or a football team.”
Myers is the 25th Ohio State player drafted by the Packers and the first since Linsley was a fifth-round pick in 2014.
Merle Wendt, an All-American end, was the first Buckeye drafted by the Packers when they chose him in the sixth round in 1937.
Ohio State has had at least one offensive lineman drafted six years in a row, a streak that began with Butler High School graduate Taylor Decker going to the Lions in the first round of the 2016 draft.
Myers is the fourth OSU center to be taken in that time, joining Pat Elflein, Billy Price and Michael Jordan.
The six-year streak is the longest for the Buckeyes since an eight-year streak from 1963-70.
A local offensive lineman has been drafted three years in a row.
Last season, Ross High School graduate Simon Stepaniak was taken 209th overall by the Green Bay Packers.
In 2019, Milton-Union’s Wes Martin was chosen by the Washington Redskins with the 29th pick in the fourth round.
Stepaniak and Martin were both standouts at Indiana.
Also in this draft, the Bengals chose Fairfield grad Jackson Carman in the second round.
Myers was one of six Buckeyes taken in the first three rounds of the draft.
Justin Fields went No. 11 overall to the Chicago Bears, Pete Werner was chosen by the New Orleans Saints with the 28th pick in the second round followed by Myers. The Minnesota Vikings picked Wyatt Davis 23rd in the third round, the San Francisco 49ers took Trey Sermon two picks later and Baron Browning went to the Denver Broncos with the last pick of the third round.
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