Grading the Packers: Inside Linebackers

Our grades are focused on performance relative to the salary cap. De’Vondre Campbell was a big-time star on a unit with three “F” performances.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Player grades are a staple series of stories at the end of every NFL season. Ours are different, as we grade based on their impact relative to the salary cap. That’s because the cap is such a big part of building a roster. Not only must a team’s high-priced players deliver but it must have some of its less-expensive players outperform their contracts.

Generally, the Green Bay Packers got high marks from both groups in posting their third consecutive 13-win season, though too many fell flat in the playoffs.

This series continues with the inside linebackers. All salary data is from OverTheCap.com. Advanced stats are from Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions. All comparisons are of off-the-ball linebackers, which encompass 3-4 inside linebackers and all 4-3 linebackers. Of note, only the Los Angeles Rams spent less money at the position than the Packers in 2021.

Grading the Inside Linebackers

De’Vondre Campbell ($1.19 million cap charge; ranking No. 66 among LBs)

The Packers almost certainly wouldn’t have finished with 13 wins if not for Campbell going from June budget signing to first-team All-Pro. Even while sitting out the season finale against Detroit, Campbell finished seventh in the NFL with 145 tackles. He added six tackles for losses, six quarterback hits, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. Before sitting out the finale, he led the NFL with 101 solo tackles.

Of the 34 players with at least 107 tackles, Campbell and Washington’s Cole Holcomb were the only players with at least one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Campbell was the only linebacker in the league with 100-plus tackles and at least two sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. He tackled running backs. He covered tight ends. He was the glue to the defense.

According to SIS, 30 linebackers had 100-plus tackles. Of that group, Campbell ranked second with 4.5 yards allowed per target in the passing game and first with a missed tackle rate of 3.3 percent.

Campbell will be a free agent. It will be interesting to see what he’ll get – and if the Packers can afford him – after settling for his second consecutive one-year deal. Campbell was fantastic, to be sure, but how will he be viewed elsewhere? For instance:

Campbell led the team with nine stuffs, a tackle at or behind the line vs. the run; Kansas City rookie linebacker Nick Bolton had 20. Only 28 of his tackles on run defense held the play to 2 yards or less; Chicago’s Roquan Smith had 48. Meanwhile, he had 41 tackles on running plays that gained 5-plus yards, third-most among linebackers. In fact, his average tackle on running plays came 5.7 yards downfield, worst among linebackers. Wasn’t that the complaint about Blake Martinez, that too many of his tackles came too far downfield?

Still, some of this is nitpicking. Campbell was more than just a great bargain. He was great, period.

Grade: A-plus.

Oren Burks ($1.15 million cap charge; ranking No. 68 among LBs)

Burks was a third-round pick in 2008. With size, athleticism and a defensive backs background after starting his college career at Vanderbilt as a safety, he was billed as a new-age, every-down linebacker. Goodness knows the Packers needed one.

In four seasons, Burks didn’t break up a single pass. Zero. Of his seven career starts, three came this season, when he recorded 26 tackles and a half-sack. He was second on the team with eight tackles on special teams while logging a team-high 337 snaps. Burks missed four tackles – the same number as Campbell despite having 119 fewer tackles. The team dabbled with him at outside linebacker because, well, why not? Perhaps this grade is more career achievement than anything.

Grade: F.

Ty Summers ($874,476 cap charge; ranking No. 119 among LBs)

The best part about signing Campbell is it meant Summers didn’t have to play on defense. In 2020, he played 176 snaps on defense and started one game. It only seemed like he gave up a completion on every one off his defensive snaps. In 2021, he played 29 snaps on defense. In 14 games, Summers had four tackles on defense and four tackles on special teams, where he played a fourth-ranked 270 snaps. The Packers need standouts on special teams. Those really need to be linebackers because of their combination of size, speed and tackling ability. A seventh-round pick in 2019, Summers has not filled that role.

Grade: F.

Krys Barnes ($780,000 cap charge; ranking No. 147 among LBs)

In 16 games (13 starts), Barnes played just short of 50 percent of the defensive snaps. He finished third on the team with 79 tackles. He added six stuffs, four tackles for losses and four passes defensed. With Campbell playing 988 snaps and Barnes 527, here’s an interesting comparison.

Snaps per tackle: Campbell (6.81), Barnes (6.67). Run snaps per stuff: Campbell (35.9), Barnes (35.3). Coverage snaps per breakup: Campbell (132.8), Barnes (74.5). Distance of average tackle on run play: Campbell (5.7), Barnes (3.9). Stops (a PFF metric that essentially measures impact tackles) per overall snap: Campbell (18.6), Barnes (16.4).

Those numbers are pretty similar. That’s not to say Barnes is almost as good as Campbell. Campbell had huge edges in yards allowed per target (4.5 to 7.1) and missed tackles (3.3 percent to 11.1 percent), two hugely important areas. It’s to say Barnes is pretty darned good.

Grade: B.

Isaiah McDuffie ($692,676 cap charge; ranking No. 166 among LBs)

A sixth-round pick this year, McDuffie was a total nonfactor. He didn’t play a single snap on defense and was seventh on the team with 192 snaps on special teams. He had more penalties (team-high three) than tackles (two assists) on special teams. Yikes.

Grade: F.

Grading the Packers Series

Grading the Quarterbacks

Grading the Running Backs

Grading the Tight Ends

Grading the Receivers

Grading the Offensive Line

Grading the Defensive Line

Grading the Outside Linebackers

Grading the Inside Linebackers