Ranking the Packers (Nos. 67-69): Galeai Capitalizes on Second Chance

The Packers took the unusual step of guaranteeing salary to sign a pair of undrafted outside linebackers.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jun 30, 2020 1:54 PM EDT

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a tradition that stretches more than a decade, here is our annual ranking of the 90 players on the Green Bay Packers’ roster. This isn’t merely a look at the best players. Rather, it’s a formula that combines talent, salary, importance of the position, depth at the position and, for young players, draft positioning. More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about every player on the roster.

No. 69: ILB Krys Barnes (6-2, 229, rookie, UCLA)

Barnes started for most of his final three seasons and finished with a career tally of 212 tackles, five sacks, 21 tackles for losses, 15 passes defensed and two interceptions. He saved his best for last. After recording a career-high 85 tackles with 10 for losses as a junior, Barnes posted 74 tackles, four sacks, 10 TFLs, eight passes defensed and one interception as a senior. He went undrafted and signed with the Packers, collecting a $7,000 bonus.

“It's a great feeling and I feel great today knowing that I’m a Green Bay Packer, and there's no better feeling,” Barnes told 23ABC. “It was like a relief, a big relief, a weight lifted off my shoulders, kinda sitting there watching the draft, all the way through the last pick. All the other 31 teams who didn’t pick me and passed me up, I will go out there and show them what they missed on.”

At Liberty High School in Bakersfield, Calif., Barnes was teammates with the Packers’ first-round pick, Jordan Love. “It’s pretty cool being able to see him and being able to hear what he talks about from his interviews or pick his brain to figure out how knowledgeable we are,” Barnes told Bakersfield.com before the draft. “We're doing everything we can to make sure we're pushing each other, preparing for any opportunity that's up ahead.”

Why he’s got a chance: Linebackers who can cover will always have a spot in the NFL. All 15 career passes defensed came during his final two seasons.

No. 68: OLB Delontae Scott (6-5, 246, rookie, SMU)

As a senior, Scott earned second-team all-conference honors after posting 10 sacks, 18 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles. That ran his career totals to 18 sacks, 36 TFLs and five forced fumbles. Still, he wasn’t invited to the Scouting Combine, nor was he drafted. The Packers signed him with a $7,000 bonus and guaranteed $15,000 of his base salary.

He credited his position coach, Randall Joyner, for his big season.

“Technique is the biggest thing,” he told BYM Sports. “My position coach says every rep you do is either putting money in the bank or making a withdraw. If you do too many withdraws, you won’t have money when it’s time to party for the game, Saturday. I've noticed that technique is what separates the greats from the good players.”

Scott and his twin brother, Michael, started their careers at SMU before Michael transferred to a junior college and ultimately ended up at Oklahoma State. “We were used to sharing everything, so we always wanted more in a way,” Delontae Scott told TheTouchdownUK. “I guess that’s what started our competitiveness. We tried to see who could eat the most, who could beat who on video games more, racing, anything.”

Why he’s got a chance: The Packers have three sure-fire contributors in Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary. But Kyler Fackrell left in free agency. That leaves Scott, fellow undrafted rookie Tipa Galeai and seventh-round pick Jonathan Garvin among those in the running. According to Pro Football Focus, Scott finished 15th in the nation among edge defenders with 54 total pressures last year.

No. 67: OLB Tipa Galeai (6-5, 229, rookie, Utah State)

Galeai spent his first two seasons at TCU before transferring to Utah State. After sitting out the 2017 season, Galeai recorded 10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles as a junior and five sacks and nine tackles for losses as a senior.

Galeai took advantage of a second chance after being arrested and dismissed from the Horned Frogs. The arrest meant he couldn’t test in front of scouts at the Scouting Combine.

“When I left TCU, I felt like I didn't know what was next for me, or what I wanted to do,” Galeai told the school athletics site. “I still wanted to play football, but how was I going to get back into school? A lot of choices were placed in front of me, but for some reason, Utah State was the one that stuck out to me the most. Utah State is exactly what brought me out of that bad position I was in, in my life.”

Utah State defensive ends coach Bojay Filimoeatu said offenses consistently game-planned around Galeai’s presence in 2019, whether it was quick passes or double teams.

”He is barely scratching the surface with what he can do,” Filimoeatu told Deseret.com. “He is getting smart with all his drops and understanding coverages, understanding formations, understanding the run game and understanding just basic sets off of the offensive tackle. … I am more excited about the rest of the way with him because I know that he’s going to excel.”

Why he’s got a chance: With the departure of Kyler Fackrell, there’s room on the roster for a fresh face in the outside linebacker room. The Packers clearly like him. They signed him with a $7,000 bonus and guaranteed $25,000 of his base salary, a figure matched only by Baylor safety Henry Black.