Packers 53-man roster predictions following 2021 NFL Draft

Inside linebackers (4)

Krys Barnes, Kamal Martin, Ty Summers, Isaiah McDuffie

There’s a lot of potential with this group at inside linebacker, but very little experience. Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin are entering their second year, Ty Summers has played mostly on special teams, and Isaiah McDuffie is a rookie.

If there’s one position the Packers should consider adding a free agent in the coming months, it’s at inside linebacker.

While that’s entirely possible, for now, I have them keeping four inside linebackers on the roster.

Barnes was one of the surprises of the 2020 season for the Packers, starting in 10 games and ending the year as the team’s best inside linebacker. Martin missed part of the season due to injury but could see an increased role this year. He had impressed during the summer.

Injuries did force Summers to play more snaps on defense but he has become a core special teams player. According to Pro Football Reference, Summers played on 76.05 percent of the team’s special teams snaps last season, second-most behind only Oren Burks.

McDuffie was a sixth-round pick so we shouldn’t expect him to get much playing time on defense early on, although we would’ve said that about Barnes a year ago. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein believes McDuffie can “become a quality backup with core special teams value”.