The Green Bay Packers made eight picks during the 2019 NFL draft and signed several others during college free agency, adding an influx of first-year talent to the roster. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going through and reviewing the 2019 season for all of the Packers’ top rookies.
Next up: linebacker Ty Summers, the 226th overall pick and the Packers’ seventh-round draft pick in 2019:
Season stats
Summers played in all 18 games and finished fourth on the team in total special teams tackles (six), including a team-high four assisted tackles.
Snap counts
Despite not playing a single snap on defense, Summers was on the field for a team-high 311 special teams snaps, or 72.6 percent of the team’s regular-season total. He played 42 more special teams snaps during the postseason. Summers’ season-high for special teams snaps was Week 11 against the 49ers, when he played all 26 snaps. His season-low was nine against the Panthers in Week 9.
Best game
Summers delivered a pair of assisted tackles covering kickoffs against the Seahawks in the divisional round. Twice, he got down the field and helped make the stop of Travis Homer short of the 30-yard line.
Season recap, future outlook
Summers overcame an up-and-down summer, made the 53-man roster with a thrilling end to the preseason and then secured a valuable spot as a four-way player on Shawn Mennenga’s special teams unit. Most weeks, he not only covered kicks and punts but also blocked for kicks and punts. His production covering on special teams wasn’t extraordinary but he was often asked to take on blocks and play a thankless role. Despite the defense’s limitations at inside linebacker, Summers was provided no opportunities to get on the field as a rookie. Blake Martinez stayed healthy, B.J. Goodson played the thumper role and Mike Pettine prioritized getting defensive backs onto the field. Summers has functional athleticism and a good motor but he showed issues getting off blocks and finishing tackles during the preseason. Reading and reacting were a problem at times at TCU and the issue didn’t look rectified at any point this summer. He’ll need a big jump to get on the field in a meaningful way on defense in 2020, but his special teams value should provide an annual pathway to the roster.
Season grade
Seventh-round picks are guaranteed of nothing, so Summers sticking around and playing in every game as a core special teamer made for a strong rookie year, even if he didn’t earn playing time at a weak position on defense. The hope for every young player is that they come back more comfortable and confident in Year 2 and enjoy a big developmental step. The Packers could use one from Summers, although it’s likely he’ll never be anything more than a special teams specialist. Grade: C