Name: Cedric Gray

School: University of North Carolina

Year: Senior

Position: Linebacker

Measurables: 6’1½“, 234 lbs.

Combine: ARM: 32 ½”. HAND: 9”. VERTICAL: 35 ½”. BROAD: 10’. BENCH: 17 Reps. 40-YD DASH: 4.64. 10-YD SPLIT: 1.59. 20-YD SHUTTLE: 2.67

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

“This is my passion; this is what I love. Even if I don't make it to the NFL, I want to coach, I want to be a trainer, I want to give back to young kids who want to go through this,” said Cedric Gray of his love for the game of football. He fell in love with the game playing with his brothers and his dad in the backyard, but he never dreamed his future playing field would be Kenan Memorial Stadium at UNC.

After moving to the Chapel Hill area, Gray was placed on the JV team as a freshman while many of his friends played Varsity. His talent was quickly recognized, however, and he became an effective two-way player for Ardrey Key High School. On top of his 131 tackles, Cedric finished his high school career with 2,467 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns, but it wasn’t until his senior year that he caught the attention of his dream school. The University of North Carolina offered him his first Division 1 scholarship offer to play linebacker during his senior year. Other teams would soon follow suit, but they were unable to match what the Tar Heels had to offer.

The beginning of his college career would start similarly to that of his high school career: he would realize that he was not at the top of the food chain. He says of his first practice, “It's the first time we were doing Inside Drill, probably the first or second day of full pads. The ball gets snapped, and I see two offensive linemen running at me. Not one, two of them, and they hit me and when I tell you they almost took me to the wall and put me on my behind. I had never gotten knocked back on my behind before since I got to Carolina. I got up and after that I was like, 'yeah, they ain't playin. They are not playing around.’”

However, just as in high school, Cedric’s talent and dedication to the sport soon brought him the success he was hoping for. He earned a starting spot as a sophomore in 2021 and earned First-team All-ACC honors in his junior and senior campaigns. He would finish his UNC career with 368 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 5 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles. Gray is expected to be selected near the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft.

Position Skills:

Strengths

Cedric possesses elite athleticism that makes him effective in coverage as well as downhill pursuit. His 40-yard dash is in the 70th percentile for his position, and his play speed is even faster than this.

He will bring three years of experience playing linebacker in a Power 5 conference. In each year he demonstrated physicality and a willingness to tackle. He is not afraid of contact and is a powerful tackler that will leave a ball carrier thinking twice.

Weaknesses

Play recognition will be an issue for Cedric in both the pass and run game. Though he has three years of experience, he struggled well into his senior season with play action fakes and other misdirection concepts.

His run fits are an issue even on plays with no misdirection. He is prone to taking aggressive angles, which leaves a cutback hole for opposing running backs.

As explosive as he is, his technique limits his run defense and pass rushing abilities. Far too often he runs into the chest of opposing linemen rather than using his hands to evade them.

Fit with the Packers:

As the dust clears from a hectic start to the offseason in Green Bay, middle linebacker has emerged as the biggest need.

My main concern with adding Cedric Gray is that he would seem to be more of a replacement for Quay Walker than a fitting pair. The Packers drafted Quay Walker in 2022 after De’Vondre Campbell’s All-Pro season in 2021, likely to be the long-term complement to Campbell. Campbell’s tenure in Green Bay ended earlier than expected, and the Packers are left without a Mike linebacker.

Being an off-ball linebacker himself, I would be surprised if Cedric Gray gets his long-awaited phone call from a 920 area code. However, Cedric’s RAS score of 8.04 is certainly within Brian Gutekunst’s range, and he seems to be a great character fit. Perhaps the team sees the lack of talent and depth in their linebacker room and views the position as “the more the merrier”. Whether or not they select the linebacker from UNC, you can all but guarantee the Packers will add to the room this April.

VIDEO: