Packers: What we expect from Krys Barnes after impressive debut

One of the biggest surprises in Week 1 for the Packers was the great play of the Krys Barnes.

The Green Bay Packers took a flyer on an unknown rookie named Krys Barnes out of UCLA, and he came out this past Sunday and performed admirably. The middle linebacker position was one of the most talked-about positions all offseason.

With the run defense as bad as it is, the MLB spot is always going to come under scrutiny whether it be warranted or not. Adding former Cleveland Brown Christian Kirksey in the offseason is a nice step forward, but with Oren Burks and Ty Summers as MLB 2 options, things didn’t look great.

As stated above, Krys Barnes is an undrafted free agent out of UCLA. He got an invite at the start of camp and must’ve impressed the coaching staff well enough because he earned himself a week one starting job, which is no easy feat.

He made his way onto the practice squad before being signed to the active roster on the September 12, the day before game day. He had limited playtime on Sunday with only 15 snaps, but he had a strong showing. Barnes got in on seven total tackles, with two of them being TFLs including a fantastic play on Dalvin Cook.

Barnes was a productive player during his time at UCLA after not get many defensive reps during his freshman year. He got a little bit better each year. With more playing time in his sophomore year, he got himself 50 total tackles.

He had a little bit of a breakout his junior year with 85 tackles, a sack, and a pick. Barnes definitely put himself on the map his senior year getting himself 74 total tackles, four sacks, and another interception, while starting all 11 games that he played in.

It’s still hard to determine what his ceiling is going to be for the Green Bay Packers, but a quality starter is a fair place to start so far. Packers fans have been dying to see a good MLB for many years now. Here’s to hoping Krys Barnes will be the one to fill that void.