GREEN BAY, Wis. – Maybe the Green Bay Packers will have a good tandem at inside linebacker with Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin. But “maybe” isn’t “definitely.” And “good” isn’t “great,” or even “really good.”
Whether it was Ted Thompson or Brian Gutekunst, the Packers have not prioritized inside linebacker. Since Thompson drafted A.J. Hawk in the first round and Abdul Hodge in the third in 2006, the Packers have used only one top-125 pick on an off-the-ball linebacker. That was Oren Burks with No. 88 overall selection of the third round of Gutekunst’s first draft in 2018.