Barnes Rises to Become Packers’ Man in Middle

By one measurement, he's been more productive than Blake Martinez, who has finished in the top three in tackles the past four seasons.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – What a crazy seven months for Krys Barnes.

A three-year starting linebacker at UCLA, he went undrafted in April. Undrafted free agents are behind the eight-ball during the best of circumstances but that was especially true this year, with no rookie minicamp or offseason practices to get their feet wet, and the lack of a full training camp and preseason to show what they can do.

Sure enough, Barnes didn’t make the opening roster.

In a strange twist, though, Barnes went from the practice squad one day to the starting lineup at Minnesota a few days later. Now, he’s the main man in the middle for Green Bay’s improving defense headed into the playoffs.

“I couldn’t have scripted this at all,” Barnes said on Friday. “I did not think I would be playing this much this year. I didn’t think a lot of this was going to happen just because of the circumstances that we were in as far as COVID and not having a pro day and not having all those things. I didn’t know what was going to happen this year, but I kind of just give all the thanks to God. He’s put me in a great position this year. He’s able to bless me. The guys around me have embraced me and help me learn to take those steps that are needed to be where I am today.”

Barnes is 12th on the team with 421 snaps but second with 78 tackles. A day after collecting a career-high 14 tackles in the win at Chicago, Barnes earned all-rookie honors from the Pro Football Journal on Monday.

Barnes, along with veteran Christian Kirksey and fifth-round pick Kamal Martin, is part of the team’s new-look inside linebacker corps that appears to be hitting its stride at the right time.

Last year, Blake Martinez had his typically productive season with his 155 tackles ranking second in the NFL. This year with the Giants, Martinez finished third with 151 tackles. He averaged 6.61 snaps per tackle in 2019 and 7.03 snaps per tackle in 2020.

Barnes’ rate is 5.40 snaps per tackle.

“He’s got a really really good feel for the game,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “He sees things very quickly. He can diagnose what the offense is trying to do, and there’s no hesitation in his play. He’s got great instincts, great awareness, and finds his way to the ball-carrier consistently. Does a great job communicating calls to the other 10 guys out on the field to help them get lined up. He can make the necessary adjustments in terms of some of the checks that we put on our guys. That is a position that’s not easy to play. There are a lot of little adjustments or checks that you have to make, and he’s fully capable of doing that and he’s proven that over the course of the season.”