Packers Grab Cowboys Legend’s Son For $20K After 32 Teams Pass

A Cowboys icon’s son just signed with one of Dallas’ oldest rivals on a standard undrafted free-agent deal. RJ Maryland ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Combine, tying for the second-fastest time among every tight end tested. His broad jump measured 10 feet 2 inches, in line with the tight end class average. He posted a Relative Athletic Score in the 8-plus range, well above average for the tight end class. Then the draft happened. All seven rounds, all 32 teams, and nobody called his name. The Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent, with the deal announced on May 1, 2026.

Why 32 Front Offices Said No

Maryland tore his ACL during the 2024 season after seven games at SMU, during which he had already posted 24 receptions for 359 yards and four touchdowns. He returned, played the entire 2025 season, posted 27 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns, and proved his health at the combine with numbers that outperformed most drafted tight ends. Scouts appeared to weigh his recovery timeline more heavily than his current testing. The combine measures what a player can do today, but the draft, in his case, weighed what evaluators feared he could not sustain.

The Measurables That Should Have Moved Him

At 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds with 32 1/4-inch arms, Maryland fits the modern NFL tight end frame cleanly. Only first-round pick Kenyon Sadiq ran faster among tight ends in Indianapolis. Those measurables translate on film, with PFF logging a 124.9 passer rating when he was targeted in 2025. For a late-Day-3 or UDFA profile, that combination of size, speed, and target efficiency is rare.

The Track Background Behind the Speed

Maryland’s 4.51 did not come out of nowhere. He ran an 11.33 in the 100 meters, a 23.21 in the 200, and a 50.68 in the 400 as a junior at Southlake Carroll in Texas in March 2021. That sprinter’s base is part of why his post-ACL speed held up at the combine. It also helps explain the long-strider acceleration scouts flagged before the injury.

The Roster Math at Tight End

Tucker Kraft is rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered on November 2, 2025 and is working back toward the start of the 2026 season. The Packers typically carry three or four tight ends on the active roster, and the bottom of that group is open heading into camp. Maryland walks into a real opportunity rather than a closed depth chart. For an undrafted player, that combination of need and roster youth is one of the better landing spots on the board.

A Five-Figure Investment

Maryland signed on standard UDFA terms, which typically include a signing bonus in the low five figures. For context, Kraft caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns in just eight games before his ACL injury. Replacing that kind of production through the draft generally costs a Day 2 selection and meaningful guaranteed money. Green Bay addressed the same positional need for a fraction of that cost.

The SMU Production Base

Maryland left SMU with 113 career receptions, 1,495 yards, and 19 touchdowns, finishing as the program’s all-time leading receiver among tight ends. He progressed every healthy year, with 28 receptions for 296 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman in 2022, 34 for 518 and seven in 2023, and 24 for 359 and four in only seven games before the 2024 ACL. That is a clean, upward development curve rather than a one-year spike.

What the Combine Said Versus What Scouts Said

Maryland’s testing day told one story. He ran faster than every tight end at the combine except one and posted athletic markers that fit a starting NFL tight end profile. The scouting reports told a different story, one centered on the 2024 knee injury and concerns about long-term durability. Put yourself in a war room with a medical report flagging recovery risk on a Day 3 prospect, and the temptation to wait and see is obvious. Green Bay sided with the data.

Movable Chess Piece, Not Just a Tight End

The Packers have Maryland currently listed as a wide receiver on the team site rather than a tight end, signaling how they view his positional flex. PFF charted his 2025 average depth of target at 7.8 yards with 164 yards after the catch, numbers that fit a move-piece role rather than a pure inline blocker. He averaged 11.9 yards per reception in 2025 while still rebuilding trust in the surgically repaired knee. In a Matt LaFleur offense built on personnel disguise, that flexibility matters.

Fit With LaFleur’s Offense

LaFleur’s scheme leans on two-tight-end personnel and pre-snap motion to create run and pass conflicts, and a receiver-listed tight end who can align in the slot gives the staff another formation lever. With Kraft sidelined, the Packers have room to experiment with Maryland detached from the line, where his 4.51 speed most directly threatens safeties. That is a different usage case than Musgrave or Kraft have filled, which strengthens rather than duplicates the room.

The Recurring Pattern Behind the Discount

The same cycle repeats every draft. A prospect tears a ligament, recovers, tests well at the combine, and still slides because the injury narrative outweighs the measurable evidence on tape. Maryland ran faster than all but one tight end in Indianapolis. When objective data and internal medical flags disagree, undrafted free agency tends to absorb the spillover.

A Legend’s Son in Rival Colors

Russell Maryland was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft and won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. His son just signed with the Packers, one of Dallas’ historic rivals. The Cowboys had every chance to bring him in themselves and chose not to. A franchise icon’s son will instead be wearing green and gold this summer, a detail that should sting in Frisco for at least a news cycle.

Early Camp Buzz

Within days of signing, Maryland was already drawing attention as a name to watch in rookie minicamp, with local beat writers flagging him as a UDFA gaining steam for a rookie role. That kind of early visibility before a single padded practice typically signals a player the coaching staff has flagged internally rather than just a media-generated storyline. For a UDFA, the first week of buzz often previews the training-camp narrative.

What the Signing Could Mean for Future Draft Cycles

If Maryland produces in Green Bay, every front office will face an uncomfortable review of how heavily they discount post-injury athletes. The precedent could nudge scouting departments to reweigh objective combine data against subjective medical risk. Teams that drafted slower tight ends with cleaner medicals will be asked why the athletic gap was worth the premium pick. The 2027 cycle is the next live test of whether evaluators adjust.

Who Wins and Who Pays

The Packers win on the front end with minimal cap commitment and real upside if Maryland sticks. Maryland wins because he gets a clean shot on a young, competitive roster with a real opening at his position. The 31 other teams that watched him fall through every round are the quiet losers if this signing works out. Kraft’s path back from injury also gets a little more crowded, since Maryland’s presence creates internal competition that did not exist a week ago.

The Cascade Keeps Moving

Maryland enters rookie minicamp fighting for a 53-man spot, and the competition is real. Next year, another elite athlete will tear a ligament, recover fully, test near the top of his position group, and slide because evaluators trust the narrative more than the numbers. The Packers just demonstrated the arbitrage works. Other teams will either copy the playbook or keep leaving value on the board, and the league will find out which group Dallas belongs to soon enough.

So the question for the room is simple: did Green Bay just steal a starter, or did 31 front offices see something on the medicals that the combine numbers could not?

Sources:
Green Bay Packers Communications, “Packers sign 5 draft picks, 10 rookie free agents,” Packers.com, May 1, 2026
Wes Hodkiewicz, “Packers announce signing of 10 undrafted free agents following 2026 draft,” Packers Wire, May 1, 2026
Bucs Wire staff, “2026 NFL Combine: Tight end testing results,” Bucs Wire, Feb. 28, 2026
Reuters staff, “Reports: MRI shows torn ACL for Packers TE Tucker Kraft,” Reuters, Nov. 3, 2025
SMU Athletics, “RJ Maryland 2025 Football Roster bio,” SMUMustangs.com, 2025
National Football Foundation, “Russell Maryland (2011) College Football Hall of Fame profile,” FootballFoundation.org