Inside linebackers (5)
Curtis Bolton (0.0 percent)
An undrafted rookie free agent from Oklahoma ($7,000 signing bonus), he suffered a knee injury in the third exhibition game and spent all year on reserve/injured. In 78 snaps over 2 ½ exhibition games, he missed three tackles, made a couple of hard hits and intercepted a pass. A one-year starter at Oklahoma, he was a dynamo on special teams for three years. Undersized (6 foot, 228 pounds), competitive, fast (4.57 seconds in 40), tries to play physical, likes the game, feisty on the practice field. Worth another look. Grade: Incomplete
Oren Burks (6.0)
The old saw of “Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” was never more appropriate. Burks had it all leaving Vanderbilt: speed (4.62), vertical jump (39 ½), broad jump (10-11), arm length (33 3/8), short shuttle (4.15), 3-cone (6.82) and Wonderlic score (24). Some teams throw all those numbers into a computer and come up with overall size/athletic rankings. In the 2018 draft, one club had Burks third behind the Bills’ Tremaine Edmunds and the Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch but ahead of the Bears’ Roquan Smith, the Colts’ Darius Leonard, the 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Titans’ Rashaan Evans, all of whom were drafted before Burks. The Packers felt so good about Burks that they traded a fifth-round pick to Carolina to move up from No. 101 (first selection, fourth round) to No. 88. Burks started each of his two seasons injured before returning after a few games to considerable curiosity. He looks every bit the part. What’s telling is that in both seasons coordinator Mike Pettine felt compelled to get Burks off the field after a few games of considerable exposure. As a rookie, Burks played just eight of his 122 snaps in the last four games whereas this season he played only 15 of his 69 in the last six games. The coaches didn’t trust that Burks knew the playbook. He made too many mistakes. He wasn’t ready to play, and he certainly wasn’t ready to make the calls. There’s book smart, and then there’s football smart. At the same time, Burks wasn’t physical against the run or effective in coverage. Mind you, the Packers were grasping at straws at inside linebacker opposite Blake Martinez. Instead, they felt better playing veterans other teams had discarded. In a situation made to order for a third-round draft choice to emerge, Burks was deemed worthless other than for his role on special teams. In the kicking game, he led the club in tackles with 12 in 289 snaps, second on the team. Grade: D
B.J. Goodson (26.3)
When Burks and others flopped during the 2018 training camp, the Packers traded for Antonio Morrison. Fifty-three weeks later, they acquired B.J. Goodson as a Band-Aid. Morrison (6-0 ½, 233, 5.12) had been a fourth-round pick (No. 125) by the Colts in 2016. Goodson (6-0 ½, 240, 4.65) had been a fourth-round pick (No. 109) by the Giants that same year. Morrison played 299 snaps and made 42 tackles (3 ½ for loss, eight misses). Goodson played 305 snaps and made 52 tackles (one for a loss, four misses). An unrestricted free agent, Morrison was never signed by another team. The same fate might await Goodson, who will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Goodson is a stiff, two-down thumper, just as Morrison was. He’s a better athlete than Morrison and probably was more harmonious in the defense, but the impact of the two players was equally minimal. Grade: D-plus
Blake Martinez (98.4)
A myriad of factors influences the overall performance of a defense. In two seasons under Mike Pettine, the Packers have ranked 18th in yards twice and 22nd followed by 23rd against the run. Players have come and gone, but Blake Martinez (selection No. 131 behind Goodson and Morrison in that fourth round of 2016) has played more snaps (2,189 of a possible 2,223) than anyone else. Now the Packers seem poised to let Martinez walk as an unrestricted free agent, and therefore force themselves to get better through the draft or, possibly, free agency. Martinez will sign for a hefty salary somewhere else. Some teams value and respect his durable, productive performance as a 3 ½-year starter with 595 tackles, including 223 this season. He’s an achiever. He has wrung every ounce out of his ability. With his thick, indestructible build, Martinez was always there in the middle of every defensive set. He wore the electronic helmet. He communicated the call from Pettine. Martinez wasn’t always accountable for his many mistakes. He blew his share of run fits and coverages. Many of his tackles were downfield. He wasn’t nimble or speedy enough to run through successfully, his speed to the sideline was marginal and he rarely exhibited the violent hand usage or strength to shed an interior lineman and stop a ballcarrier dead in his tracks. He made just 3 ½ tackles for a loss in 2019, third on the team behind Za’Darius Smith and Kenny Clark. He also missed 19 tackles, on a par with his last two seasons. Still, Martinez got a ton of backs down before they could get to the safety level. He didn’t have much knockback compared to many other ILBs but he usually got them down. That’s important. In man coverage, he had limitations when matched against speed and quickness. In zone coverage, he could flip his hips and carry deeper routes sufficiently so as not to be a total liability. Never a playmaker, he was responsible for just seven turnover plays. His total of seven pressures as a rusher this season was down from 15 ½ a year ago. He’s a box player with short arms (31 5/8), someone who got worse the further away he was from the box. The Packers don’t think Martinez made an impact and think they can do better. Time will tell if they’re right. Grade: C-plus
Ty Summers (0.0)
It was a mistake not giving some regular-season playing time to Summers. Minus Martinez, Summers will get a shot at one of the two openings at linebacker, and it would be instructive if the organization knew if he had progressed after an up-and-down exhibition season. It was his combination of size (6-1 ½, 241), speed (4.52) and smarts (Wonderlic of 27) that led the Packers to draft him in the seventh round. Summers played more snaps (249) on offense or defense than anyone on the team in August, and more snaps (351) on special teams over the 18 games. In the first two exhibition games, he missed almost as many tackles (seven) as he made. In the last two, he missed just one. Summers showed range chasing down scrambling quarterbacks. He delivered half a dozen hard hits. On special teams, his speed covering kicks in the middle of the field stood out. He finished second with nine tackles. Now it remains to be seen just how good his instincts are and if his short arms (31 ½) limit him in coverage. Grade: Incomplete
Curtis Bolton (0.0 percent)
An undrafted rookie free agent from Oklahoma ($7,000 signing bonus), he suffered a knee injury in the third exhibition game and spent all year on reserve/injured. In 78 snaps over 2 ½ exhibition games, he missed three tackles, made a couple of hard hits and intercepted a pass. A one-year starter at Oklahoma, he was a dynamo on special teams for three years. Undersized (6 foot, 228 pounds), competitive, fast (4.57 seconds in 40), tries to play physical, likes the game, feisty on the practice field. Worth another look. Grade: Incomplete
Oren Burks (6.0)
The old saw of “Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” was never more appropriate. Burks had it all leaving Vanderbilt: speed (4.62), vertical jump (39 ½), broad jump (10-11), arm length (33 3/8), short shuttle (4.15), 3-cone (6.82) and Wonderlic score (24). Some teams throw all those numbers into a computer and come up with overall size/athletic rankings. In the 2018 draft, one club had Burks third behind the Bills’ Tremaine Edmunds and the Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch but ahead of the Bears’ Roquan Smith, the Colts’ Darius Leonard, the 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Titans’ Rashaan Evans, all of whom were drafted before Burks. The Packers felt so good about Burks that they traded a fifth-round pick to Carolina to move up from No. 101 (first selection, fourth round) to No. 88. Burks started each of his two seasons injured before returning after a few games to considerable curiosity. He looks every bit the part. What’s telling is that in both seasons coordinator Mike Pettine felt compelled to get Burks off the field after a few games of considerable exposure. As a rookie, Burks played just eight of his 122 snaps in the last four games whereas this season he played only 15 of his 69 in the last six games. The coaches didn’t trust that Burks knew the playbook. He made too many mistakes. He wasn’t ready to play, and he certainly wasn’t ready to make the calls. There’s book smart, and then there’s football smart. At the same time, Burks wasn’t physical against the run or effective in coverage. Mind you, the Packers were grasping at straws at inside linebacker opposite Blake Martinez. Instead, they felt better playing veterans other teams had discarded. In a situation made to order for a third-round draft choice to emerge, Burks was deemed worthless other than for his role on special teams. In the kicking game, he led the club in tackles with 12 in 289 snaps, second on the team. Grade: D
B.J. Goodson (26.3)
When Burks and others flopped during the 2018 training camp, the Packers traded for Antonio Morrison. Fifty-three weeks later, they acquired B.J. Goodson as a Band-Aid. Morrison (6-0 ½, 233, 5.12) had been a fourth-round pick (No. 125) by the Colts in 2016. Goodson (6-0 ½, 240, 4.65) had been a fourth-round pick (No. 109) by the Giants that same year. Morrison played 299 snaps and made 42 tackles (3 ½ for loss, eight misses). Goodson played 305 snaps and made 52 tackles (one for a loss, four misses). An unrestricted free agent, Morrison was never signed by another team. The same fate might await Goodson, who will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Goodson is a stiff, two-down thumper, just as Morrison was. He’s a better athlete than Morrison and probably was more harmonious in the defense, but the impact of the two players was equally minimal. Grade: D-plus
Blake Martinez (98.4)
A myriad of factors influences the overall performance of a defense. In two seasons under Mike Pettine, the Packers have ranked 18th in yards twice and 22nd followed by 23rd against the run. Players have come and gone, but Blake Martinez (selection No. 131 behind Goodson and Morrison in that fourth round of 2016) has played more snaps (2,189 of a possible 2,223) than anyone else. Now the Packers seem poised to let Martinez walk as an unrestricted free agent, and therefore force themselves to get better through the draft or, possibly, free agency. Martinez will sign for a hefty salary somewhere else. Some teams value and respect his durable, productive performance as a 3 ½-year starter with 595 tackles, including 223 this season. He’s an achiever. He has wrung every ounce out of his ability. With his thick, indestructible build, Martinez was always there in the middle of every defensive set. He wore the electronic helmet. He communicated the call from Pettine. Martinez wasn’t always accountable for his many mistakes. He blew his share of run fits and coverages. Many of his tackles were downfield. He wasn’t nimble or speedy enough to run through successfully, his speed to the sideline was marginal and he rarely exhibited the violent hand usage or strength to shed an interior lineman and stop a ballcarrier dead in his tracks. He made just 3 ½ tackles for a loss in 2019, third on the team behind Za’Darius Smith and Kenny Clark. He also missed 19 tackles, on a par with his last two seasons. Still, Martinez got a ton of backs down before they could get to the safety level. He didn’t have much knockback compared to many other ILBs but he usually got them down. That’s important. In man coverage, he had limitations when matched against speed and quickness. In zone coverage, he could flip his hips and carry deeper routes sufficiently so as not to be a total liability. Never a playmaker, he was responsible for just seven turnover plays. His total of seven pressures as a rusher this season was down from 15 ½ a year ago. He’s a box player with short arms (31 5/8), someone who got worse the further away he was from the box. The Packers don’t think Martinez made an impact and think they can do better. Time will tell if they’re right. Grade: C-plus
Ty Summers (0.0)
It was a mistake not giving some regular-season playing time to Summers. Minus Martinez, Summers will get a shot at one of the two openings at linebacker, and it would be instructive if the organization knew if he had progressed after an up-and-down exhibition season. It was his combination of size (6-1 ½, 241), speed (4.52) and smarts (Wonderlic of 27) that led the Packers to draft him in the seventh round. Summers played more snaps (249) on offense or defense than anyone on the team in August, and more snaps (351) on special teams over the 18 games. In the first two exhibition games, he missed almost as many tackles (seven) as he made. In the last two, he missed just one. Summers showed range chasing down scrambling quarterbacks. He delivered half a dozen hard hits. On special teams, his speed covering kicks in the middle of the field stood out. He finished second with nine tackles. Now it remains to be seen just how good his instincts are and if his short arms (31 ½) limit him in coverage. Grade: Incomplete