Packers Have Ignored Inside Linebacker for Years

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2006, then-Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson doubled down on off-the-ball linebackers. With the No. 5 overall selection, he drafted A.J. Hawk. With a pick early in the third round, he took Abdul Hodge at No. 67 overall.

The Packers haven’t used a pick that early on an off-the-ball linebacker in any of the last 14 drafts. In fact, since the move to the 3-4 defense in 2009, they’ve used only one top-130 pick on an inside linebacker: Oren Burks with No. 88 overall in 2018.

With that, it’s little wonder why the Packers have been plagued by lackluster inside linebacker play for years and years and years.

Kamal Martin, No. 175 in 2020, showed some potential as a rookie but finished 17th in tackles. If not for a knee injury that ruined his final season at Minnesota, he might have been a top-100 pick.

Ty Summers, No. 226 in 2019, has been a quality player on special teams but hasn’t earned regular snaps on defense.

Burks was given snaps at outside linebacker this season in an attempt to salvage an early pick.

Blake Martinez, No. 131 in 2016, had a lot of tackles but not a lot of impact plays, so the team left him sign with the Giants in free agency last offseason.

Jake Ryan, No. 129 in 2015, was a bigger hitter than Martinez but more limited athletically. His tenure with the team ended with a torn ACL.

Sam Barrington, No. 232 in 2013, was a quality run stopper but limited athletically. He suffered a foot injury in the 2015 opener, never played for the team again and never started another NFL game.

Terrell Manning, No. 163 in 2012, never panned out, due in part to a battle with colitis.

D.J. Smith, No. 186 in 2011, a promising but undersized prospect, suffered a knee injury early in 2012 and never played another snap for the team.

“I think we have to have more productive play out of there,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week.

In a story on each team’s biggest weakness entering the offseason, Pro Football Focus delivered early-round and late-round fits. The early-round choice was Tulsa’s Zaven Collins. Collins was a unanimous first-team All-American and runner-up for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker after recording 53 tackles, 11.5 tackles for losses, four sacks, four interceptions and one forced fumble in 2020. He’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, giving him uncommon size for the position.

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