The Weakest Link: The Need for Veteran Leadership Inside the Packers ILB Room

Four years into the Gutekunst era it is obvious the inside linebacker position is not high on the priority list. Last season, after deciding not to invest in homegrown talent [Blake Martinez] the Packers were left with a young and inexperienced group of middle linebackers. Yes, they did bring in Christian Kirksey, who made some splash plays throughout the 2020 season. However, his inability to remain healthy coupled with the fact his biggest advocate, Mike Pettine, was let go at the end of the season, made him a cap causality coming into 2021.

At this point in time the Packers inside linebacker group looks like this.

Krys Barnes, a second year undrafted free agent, who started the majority of the games for the Packers last season. Kamal Martin, a 6th round pick in 2020, who took 208 defensive snaps last year in his injury riddled rookie season. Ty Summers, a 7th round pick in 2019 and Oren Burks, who has been nothing but a disappointment after being selected in the 3rd round of the 2018 draft. Together they make up one of the weakest interior linebacking groups in the entire NFL.

In this years draft the Packers added yet another late round linebacker to this group, taking Isaiah McDuffie out of Boston College in the 6th round. Although McDuffie is undersized, he plays hard and could easily find himself in the mix come Sunday’s this fall. When asked about his impression of McDuffie after his first couple days in Green Bay inside linebackers coach, Kirk Olivadotti, praised him for his attitude and work ethic.

“He is a guy that plays extremely hard” Olivadotti said. “First impressions are, he is a very serious guy who is not afraid of a hard days work, and he’s not afraid to ask a question if he doesn’t understand something […] all you gotta do is click on the film and you see that there is a guy thats going to play extremely hard. He fits in with this group very well, because thats what this group is, they are going to work at it, they are going to play hard”

Despite the promising words, playing hard does not make up for the groups lack of NFL experience. It is imperative for the Packers to sign a veteran free agent to come in and lead this young group, which according to The Athletics Matt Schneidman, is something Gutekunst has said the organization is trying to do.

There are a number veterans on the market who can come in and make an immediate impact. Players such as K.J. Wright, Kwon Alexander and De’Vondre Campbell are all currently available and any of them would give the Packers ILB group a boost if they were to be signed.

The Packers have about five million dollars in cap space for the upcoming 2021 season, which should be enough to bring in a veteran linebacker. A move like this would instantly enhance the second level of the Packers defense, that as of right now, is the teams weakest link.