GREEN BAY — The Packers drafted 11 players in the 2023 NFL draft, six of those were skill position players. In the seventh round and their last selection the team selected wide receiver Grant DuBose from the Charlotte 49ers and he had quite the journey to get where he is now.
“You just sit by the phone, just waiting to get that phone call and to be able to get that phone call and be there amongst my family and all my loved ones, it’s a day that I’ll never forget, so I appreciate it,” he said.
It wasn't the easiest journey for DuBose to make it to the NFL. In 2019 he was a freshman at Miles College, a Division 2 school, then the pandemic canceled his 2020 season..
“I always knew I’d get here one day,” DuBose said. “That was the goal. I just didn’t know when. (I) knew an opportunity was going to present itself.”
During the pandemic, DuBose worked four different jobs. From bagging groceries to working at a Hyundai manufacturing plant. However he made sure he was still growing his game.
“Just took the time to make sure that I was always going to the gym and going to the field,” he said. “Just trying to make sure I stayed in tip top shape preparing for an opportunity.”
He then transferred to Charlotte after earning a spot during their summer tryouts and the rest history, as he shined with the 49ers. In two years he amassed 126 receptions for over 1600 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“After I got drafted Christian Watson contacted me, Jordan Love, they all reached out,” he said. "It’s kind of seeing your dreams come true. You know we’re just getting started. I’m excited to work with them and see where we go with this."
It meant a lot to the new Packer to have Watson and his new starting quarterback reach out to him, but now he has to dive into learning the playbook.
“It’s a big one,” DuBose said about learning the playbook. “For the guys who play wide receiver here in Green Bay, I’m sure they’d say you have to be pretty smart to play the position, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”
Dubose long snapped in high school and he joked that he would play there if the team needed him to.
“If it’s going to get me on a roster, yea,” he laughed.
DuBose was held out of rookie camp with an injury and only time will tell if he will be ready for OTA's in two weeks.
