Packers 2021 Redraft: Sixth-Round Pick Isaiah McDuffie

It’s always easy to make draft picks nine months after the fact. So, did the Green Bay Packers make the right call with linebacker Isaiah McDuffie in the sixth round?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Hindsight is always 20/20, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft. A lot of things go into whether or not a draft pick was worth the investment. Was the scouting department’s projection correct? Was the player a good fit for the scheme? Was he given the proper coaching? How does he handle life as a professional?

With that as a backdrop, let’s revisit the Green Bay Packers’ 2021 draft class in a series of stories. Nine players were selected, including sixth-round pick Isaiah McDuffie with the 220th overall selection.

Before the Draft

The Packers needed a linebacker. They always need linebackers, of course. Blake Martinez was a tackling machine for four seasons but not exactly a high-impact player. Still, going with past-his-prime veteran Christian Kirksey and undrafted rookie Krys Barnes as the tandem for most of the 2020 season wasn’t exactly forward progress.

The Packers released Kirksey after the 2020 season, leaving a depth chart of Barnes and draft misses Oren Burks (third round, 2018) and Ty Summers (seventh round, 2019).

Packers Select Isaiah McDuffie in Sixth Round

A full-time starter at Boston College for the first time as a senior, McDuffie recorded 107 tackles, including three sacks and 6.5 for losses, in 11 games. He had 10-plus tackles in seven games, including a career-high 16 vs. Notre Dame. He added one interception to earn second-team all-ACC.

In 40 career games (20 starts), he recorded 230 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 15.5 TFLs. What stood out like a sore thumb is his lack of impact in the passing game. He had the one interception and just four passes defensed in his career.

At 6-foot-1 1/4 and 227 pounds, he ran his 4.58 in the 40. A scout compared him to Matt Milano and predicted he could start by 2022.

At the Time, I Would Have Picked …

McDuffie.

The Verdict

With Green Bay up, there were four players I liked available: McDuffie, slot receiver Dazz Newsome, cornerback Tay Gowan and outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper. Based purely on need, going with McDuffie was a no-brainer. The Packers drafted two cornerbacks (Eric Stokes in the first round and Shemar Jean-Charles in the fifth) and a slot receiver (Amari Rodgers in the third round), meaning there was no reason to go with Gowan or Newsome, and they were loaded at outside linebacker with The Smith Bros. and Rashan Gary, so there wasn’t an immediate need for Cooper.

Meanwhile, a top-heavy group of linebackers had been picked clean. After McDuffie went at No. 220, only one more linebacker was drafted, Mr. Irrelevant Grant Stuard by Tampa Bay at No. 259.

“Adding Isaiah McDuffie helps our special teams,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the end of training camp. “Isaiah got a little bit of a rough start there because of the injury, but then once he came on, he played really, really well in these last two preseason games.”

As it turns out, Cooper was the real find. Lasting until No. 239, the 11th pick of the seventh round started five games for Denver. Not only did he have 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits but he was a core player on the Broncos’ special teams.

Maybe they should have drafted long snapper Camaron Cheeseman, who went at No. 225 to Washington and had a strong rookie season.

As for McDuffie, he didn’t play a single snap on defense. Obviously, with the brilliant June addition of De’Vondre Campbell, there was no reason to get him on the field. He was seventh on the team in special teams snaps and contributed two tackles.

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.

More Packers Redraft

Sixth-round OT Cole Van Lanen

Fifth-round CB Shemar Jean-Charles

Fifth-round DT TJ Slaton

Fourth-round G Royce Newman

Third-round WR Amari Rodgers

Second-round C Josh Myers

First-round CB Eric Stokes