Zaire Franklin Brings Badly Needed ‘MF’er’ to Packers Defense

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin has a practical reason for hitting everything and everyone in sight on the practice field.

“Coach makes us put shoulder pads on, so I got to make sure they work. That’s all that is,” Franklin said with a smile after Tuesday’s practice at Packers training camp.

In the locker room, Franklin is a joy to talk to. He’s intelligent, funny and personable with a big heart. On the field, well, he’s a man with bad intentions.

“I feel like it’s been challenging for me a little bit, because that’s how I like to play,” he said of flipping the switch. “When I’m on the field, I’m a completely different person. My mentality in between the white lines is ultra-competitor – like, ultimate alpha.

“I want to challenge the best, the biggest. I don’t want no little guy. I want to go against the baddest mother****r out there. That’s how I feel. I feel like I’m the best. I’m the baddest mother****r on the planet when I’m on the field. That’s just my mentality.”

Knowing they couldn’t afford to re-sign four-year starter Quay Walker, the Packers pivoted to Franklin. It’s not often the forever-young Packers choose to get older, especially at the expense of trading a young starter (Colby Wooden, in this case).

But the 30-year-old, ninth-year pro has added a physical leader to the defense to pair with Edgerrin Cooper, who the Packers hope is on his way to becoming a star at the position. So far, Franklin is making his presence felt, literally and figuratively.

To be sure, Franklin will be a quality starter. He had at least 125 tackles in each of his final four seasons with the Colts. His play at training camp indicates it will be more of the same from a production standpoint. More than the numbers, he will bring some bite to a defense that has lacked it at times over the last several seasons.

“I don’t really think it’s about my standard,” Franklin said. “I think I bring what I bring, but it’s really about the standard that we all commit to. And I think the play style that we all committed to is about playing violent, playing aggressive and taking the ball away. And I think we’ve done a great job of that so far in camp.

“Obviously, it’s a lot more room to improve, but I think you’ve got to play defense with an edge. Defense is about … it’s called a ‘takeaway.’ You’ve got to take something from somebody, you know what I’m saying? So, that’s just the energy, that’s just the mentality and I think we’ve got the guys to do that.”

Green Bay Packers lineback Zaire Franklin takes a bike to practice at training camp on Aug. 11. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

So, if that means delivering a harder-than-necessary blow to MarShawn Lloyd or hauling down tight end Tucker Kraft, so be it. It’s football.

“It’s tough when you’re building relationships,” Franklin said. “You’re trying to let them know, ‘This ain’t a personal thing. It’s just how I get ready to play.’ But I’m trying to slowly but surely let them know who I am on the field while also confirming who I am off the field.

“But it’s been cool. We’ve got a lot of guys who understand that it’s ball. We don’t take it personal. We’re out there to make each other better. I feel like we are all brothers. You know, brothers fight. They get into it. But, at the end of the day, we’re family. So, I’m going to pick you up at the end of the day. You’re going to pick me up at the end of the day. Because we want what’s best for each other.”

The message is resonating. For instance, Franklin isn’t taking it easy on Kraft, who is coming back from a torn ACL. During Kraft’s first day of team drills on Sunday, Franklin took him to the turf. On Tuesday, Franklin hit him with some force a couple times.

But it works because they play with the same mentality that the team no doubt hopes will trickle down through the rest of the roster.

“He brings that the same energy, that same competitiveness, that same ***hole mentality that I feel like I bring on the defense,” Franklin said. “That’s what Tuck can do for the offense. So, it was great to have him out there, great to compete.

“We laugh about it. It’s one of the things, I think me and Tuck eat breakfast together every morning. I think we could just decide that we’re fighting that day, and we still going to eat breakfast together the next morning.”

Franklin led the NFL in tackles in 2024, when he added 11 tackles for losses, five forced fumbles and two interceptions to earn second-team All-Pro, but slipped to 125 tackles last season.

The numbers, though, aren’t the motivating factor. Instead, he is looking to be the “best version of myself” on and off the field.

“To be honest with you, I done went into a season with all kind of tackle goals and All-Pro stuff, but I want to be a winner,” he said. “I ain’t going to lie. Like, throughout training camp, I feel like you kind of get into this mode of what you want to be and what you want to accomplish, but I kind of had to sit with myself a couple days ago and remember why I came here.

“I came here to win. Anything short of being a winner is not good enough. So, that requires me to be the best linebacker in the league, then that’s what it’ll be. But I just want to help the team win, so that’s my only goal.”

There is some internal motivation, though. The Colts, no doubt seeing declining production, opted to trade their defensive captain.

A former seventh-round pick who went from a three-year backup to a premier starter, Franklin has proven the doubters wrong before.

He intends to tackle them again.

“I feel like every year you’re looking for something to prove, and I feel like coming here has been really dope because it’s a chance for me to prove it all over again,” he said. “These guys have heard who I am, but it’s up to me to prove who I am every day to them, to this fan base and city and this organization. That’s something I take pride in. That’s something I take personally.

“At the end of the day, somebody’s got to be wrong and somebody’s got to be right. And I’m here to make sure I’m right.”

It was a big day at Packers training camp yesterday. Here are the daily Winners and Losers, which includes one under-fire starter. ⬇️https://t.co/Uh1bzbY4Ja
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 19, 2026

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