Packers must get up to speed
NFL inside linebackers have to be faster now
Pete Dougherty
GREEN BAY - Blake Martinez has been the second coming of A.J. Hawk at inside linebacker: Durable, reliable and a little too ordinary.
In the NFL you sometimes have to move on from a player and force yourself to get better, even though getting better isn't guaranteed.
That's where the Green Bay Packers are with Martinez.
The 31⁄2-year starter is in line to hit the
free-agent market in a couple of weeks, and signs suggest he’s going to do well for himself. One NFL scout I talked with last week guessed Martinez will get a deal that averages in the vicinity of $9 million a year.
But the Packers shouldn’t consider paying that, or anything close, to retain Martinez. They need a more dynamic player in the middle of their defense to succeed in today’s NFL.
“The game has changed,” the scout said. “You have to be able to run and cover (at inside linebacker), change directions.”
Realistically, the best way for the Packers to find that kind of player is in the draft. The free-agent market is thin for top talent, which means it will be terribly overpriced.
According to PackersNews’ Tom Silverstein, the Packers were pricing out the inside linebacker market while at the NFL scouting combine last week.
The top inside linebackers in free agency are the Los Angeles Rams’ Cory Littleton and the Atlanta Falcons’ De’Vondre Campbell. Next probably are Cleveland’s Joe Schobert and Martinez.
SI.com reported over the weekend that the Packers are interested in Littleton. He’s a good player. The Rams might even franchise or transition him. But is he really worth $12 million a year or more? Doubt it.
Schobert and Martinez are comparable players and figure to get comparable deals in free agency. As another scout put it, Schobert is better than Martinez in coverage, Martinez is better against the run.
Rather than investing big money in Martinez or anyone else at the top of a weak and overpriced market, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is better off signing a cheaper stopgap starter and drafting a more talented inside linebacker in the first two or three rounds.
There should be plenty of options for both.
In free agency, the player who jumps out is Chicago’s Nick Kwiatkoski, a backup who played almost half (47.4%) the Bears’ defensive snaps last year because of injuries to Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan. The 26-year-old Kwiatkoski finished the season with three sacks, one interception and four
The Green Bay Packers aren’t expected to show inside linebacker Blake Martinez (center) the money.
passes defended.
He’ll probably cost about half what Martinez and Schobert get. Over the weekend Cheesehead TV reported the Packers have interest in Kwiatkoski, and last week a scout told me that Kwiatkoski and Martinez are similar players.
“I really like Kwiatkoski,” the scout said. “(Martinez) is better only by experience. Could see them being pretty close otherwise.”
If Kwiatkoski ends up costing too much, there are other options.
Last week the New York Giants cut 28-year-old Alec Ogletree, a former first-round draft pick and second-team All-Pro (2016) who was a salary-cap casualty because of his $10 million salary for 2020. His pass coverage slipped last year, but he probably can be had in the $5 million range.
Jonathan Bostic (28) has been the definition of a stopgap starter, starting for three teams (Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Washington) in the last three years. Last season he made the minimum with Washington, and had an interception, two passes defended and a sack.
Jamie Collins at age 30 remains a versatile player who can play any linebacker position. He started 15 games for New England last year and finished with three interceptions and seven sacks. He should be inexpensive after making $2 million with the Patriots.
The Bears’ Trevathan turns 30 in late March and is available, too, though he’s had several bad injuries (broken leg in 2014, torn ACL in ’16, and an elbow injury that landed him on IR for the last seven games last season) in his career. He made $6.4 million last year and presumably will be much cheaper than that because of age and injury history.
And the Los Angeles Chargers’ Denzel Perryman could become another salary-cap casualty because of his $6.5 million salary. Perryman, 26, is a former second-round pick who was slowed by an ankle injury all last year.
As for the draft, it offers a good inside linebackers class that includes 10 players who helped their draft stock by running the 40 in less than 4.6 seconds at the NFL scouting combine Saturday night (Martinez, by contrast, ran 4.71). That doesn’t mean they’re all good players, but speed and agility are essential at that position in today’s game.
The Packers picking at No. 30 overall have no shot at the most coveted prospect, Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons (4.39 40), who is going to be a top-10 pick. Odds are they’ll also have to move up for Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray (4.52, 38inch vertical) and LSU’s Patrick Queen (4.50, 35 inches), who are likely to go in the top 25 picks.
Another possible first-rounder is Wisconsin’s Zack Baun. He wasn’t one of the burners (4.65) but appears to be a likely first-round pick because of his allaround talent and instincts — he was a standout high school quarterback who proved to be a natural when he switched to defense in college. He was an effective edge rusher at UW (121⁄2 sacks last season) but played off the ball linebacker, and some teams think he can play there full time in the NFL because of his feel for the game. He’ll probably get picked in the final third of the first round.
Among the next tier of prospects are Texas Tech’s Jordan Brooks, Temple’s Shaun Bradley, Wyoming’s Logan Wilson and Mississippi State’s Willie Gay Jr.
Brooks is shorter than preferred (6-0) but ran a 4.54 40 and played a lot of coverage against spread offenses in the Big 12 Conference. He appears to be a likely second-round pick.
Bradley (6-1, 235) might have jumped into the second- to third-round range with his scorching 4.51 40.
Wilson didn’t quite break 4.6 (4.63) but has decent size (6-2, 241) and natural cover skills. He’s looking like a thirdround pick at this point.
And Gay (6-1, 243) is a talented player who crushed the physical testing (4.46 40, 391⁄2-inch vertical) but his red flags will require a lot of background work. Last season he was suspended eight games for academic violations and later reportedly broke a bone in his quarterback’s face during a fight just days before Mississippi State’s bowl game. Even with the red flags he’ll probably be a second- or third-round pick.
The NFL has changed, and the Packers’ approach to inside linebacker has to change with it. To be fast on defense, you need speed in the middle of the field. To get that the Packers have to move on from Martinez and draft someone who can both cover and hit.