Tag: Eric Wilson

Packers film room: LB Eric Wilson steps up in win over Texans

Breaking down Eric Wilson’s big-time performance for the Packers on Sunday against the Texans.

When putting together their original game plan for the Houston Texans in Week 7, the Green Bay Packers hadn’t planned on playing Eric Wilson at Mike linebacker. Those plans changed after Quay Walker exited the game early in the second quarter with a concussion.

Wilson ended up playing a season-high 57 snaps on defense and proved to be a key ingredient in the team’s come-from-behind win in the second half.

More often than not, the eighth-year linebacker was in the right place at the right time, finishing with six tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and a pass breakup.

“Big time credit to Eric Wilson,” Matt LaFleur said postgame.

“He made some big-time plays… I can’t say enough great things about him. He is the consummate pro in terms of just always knowing what to do and then being able to, when called upon, go out there and deliver. I’m really proud of him, and we’re lucky to have a guy like that on our team.”

Wilson is exactly what you want in a backup linebacker. Someone who can step up at a moment’s notice and you can play winning football with. He certainly did that on Sunday and will be the subject of this week’s film room as we break down some of his key plays.

Let’s begin.

Wilson (#45) did a great job reading and reacting to this halfback screen on 2nd and 10. Green Bay was getting a good amount of pressure on CJ Stroud, so the Texans decided to release their center and guard to set up a screen for Joe Mixon and possibly pick up a chunk play. However, Wilson already beat them to the spot, thanks to his quick processing and angle to the ball. This savvy veteran play put Houston into a third and long and eventually led to them settling for a field goal.

As an NFL journeyman, Wilson has been asked to wear some different hats, which has helped him develop a unique skill set. Here, the Packers send him on a blitz in a mug front with the one linebacker bluffing before dropping into coverage. Wilson continues to rush the passer, though, and is utilized as the penetrator on a stunt with defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The center picks up Clark, but the guard isn’t able to block Wilson, allowing him to get a clear path to the quarterback.

Here, Green Bay is once again running a mug front, but this time, Wilson is also bluffing and drops into coverage. While dropping back, he immediately keys in on the tight end who is running into his area. Wilson does a good job shuffling his feet, getting eyes on the quarterback, and then breaking on the ball to force an incompletion. Overall, it is an excellent rep by Wilson, who has shown he can hold his own in coverage.

Is this really another double A gap mug front? Yes, it is. But this time, both linebackers are blitzing and running a stunt. Edgerrin Cooper is the penetrator, while Wilson is the looper. Cooper does a good job of pinning the center to get Wilson free. The running back tries to identify where the pressure is coming from, but the stunt confuses him. He is too late to recognize Wilson, who gets another free rush at Stroud.

Conclusion

Wilson deserves his flowers for Sunday’s performance. Being asked to wear the communication headset and then making some crucial plays in a win over a tough team isn’t easy. Wilson has made a name for himself as an ace on special teams, but clearly, he is more than that. In the second game of the season, he had a forced fumble and an interception in a narrow win over the Indianapolis Colts. Making the most of another opportunity, he managed to one-up that performance in Week 7. Wilson has proven to be a great depth piece, but on Sunday, he showed that maybe he is due for a larger role.

Packers LB Eric Wilson jam-packs impact into 8 snaps vs. Colts

Eric Wilson produced a forced fumble, a big run stop on third down and an interception over just eight snaps vs. the Colts.

It’s hard to imagine a part-time player making more of an impact than what veteran linebacker Eric Wilson provided the Green Bay Packers over eight defensive snaps on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Wilson, who rotated in and out of the lineup with rookie Edgerrin Cooper as the third linebacker in the Packers base defense, produced a forced fumble, an assisted run stop on third down and an interception over eight snaps in the 16-10 win.

“He did an outstanding job, especially after going back and looking at it,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

The forced fumble — on Jonathan Taylor at the end of an explosive play — didn’t create a turnover. But Wilson’s final two big plays were drive-enders and point-deniers.

On the first, Wilson expertly defended the option on 3rd-and-1. He played Anthony Richardson, who was forced to pitch the ball, and then helped contain the running back for a loss. The Colts missed a 50-yard field goal one play later. LaFleur said Wilson did an “unbelievable job” to string out the play and allow teammates to rally to the ball and make the stop.

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On the next drive, Wilson intercepted Richardson while playing as the “hook” defender. He got underneath the route behind him and made the pick, ending a Colts drive inside Packers territory. LaFleur said Wilson “squeezed” the route and made a “really good play” on Richardson’s throw.

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In a game the Packers won by six points, Wilson helped complicate or deny two second-half scoring opportunities for the Colts.

Pro Football Focus provides an overall grade for every player for every game. Wilson’s final defensive grade over eight snaps ended up at 99.4 on a 100.0-point scale.

“He’s a guy who pours his heart and soul into his work and he’s a professional and gets better every day,” LaFleur said. “He knows what to do. That’s a big part of it. When given opportunities, he’s gone in there and done pretty well for us.”

Wilson, a veteran special teamer, also led the Packers in special teams snaps with 17 against the Colts.

Packers re-sign LB and core special teamer Eric Wilson

The Green Bay Packers re-signed linebacker and core special teamer Eric Wilson, according to Wilson’s official Instagram page. 

The Green Bay Packers re-signed linebacker and core special teamer Eric Wilson, according to a statement on Wilson’s official Instagram page.

“Another year with the Pack!!” Wilson wrote in the post’s caption.

Wilson, who has played 30 games in Green Bay, led the Packers in special teams snaps with 308 last season. He was also on the field for 121 snaps on defense.

Wilson had 12 special teams tackles in 2023, leading the Packers and ranking eighth in the NFL overall. He had 13 in 2022, the 16th most in the NFL. Wilson’s 25 special teams tackles since the start of the 2022 season rank in the top 10 in the NFL and is first among Packers players.

The Packers are switching to a 4-3 defense and need depth at off-ball linebacker. The team released De’Vondre Campbell but has re-signed Wilson and Kristian Welch — two top special teamers — this offseason.

Wilson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He’s played in 108 regular season games and six playoff games across seven seasons. He has 1,621 career snaps played on special teams.

Packers want to keep free agents Keisean Nixon, Eric Wilson and Tyler Davis

The Packers want to keep at least three of their own free agents, per new reporting from Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Green Bay Packers would like to keep free agents Keisean Nixon, Eric Wilson and Tyler Davis, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

All three veterans have expiring contracts and will become unrestricted free agents come the start of the new league year on Wednesday.

Nixon is a two-time first-team All-Pro kickoff returner and was the team’s starter at nickel cornerback in 2023.

Wilson has been a core special teams player for Rich Bisaccia in each of the last two seasons. He played over 500 total special teams snaps across the last 30 games in Green Bay and led the team in special teams tackles between 2022 and 2023.

Davis was a core special teamer in 2022 and looked primed for another big role in 2023 before suffering a season-ending knee injury during the preseason.

All three players returned on the Packers on one-year deals before the 2023 season.

Other unrestricted free agents for the Packers include safety Darnell Savage, safety Rudy Ford, offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr., running back A.J. Dillon, safety Jonathan Owens, offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, linebacker Kristian Welch, cornerback Corey Ballentine and tight end Josiah Deguara.

The start of the new league year is 3:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The legal tampering period — when upcoming unrestricted free agents can begin negotiating with other teams — begins on Monday at noon.

Packers regain lead after spectacular fumble recovery on long kickoff return

Eric Wilson of the Packers made an amazing fumble recovery

Keisean Nixon was off on a long kickoff return. After 73 yards, he was hit and fumbled. Elation turned into horror for Green Bay Packers fans.

However, Eric Wilson was following his kick return and made a dive for the loose football.

He came up with and four plays later, Tucker Kraft caught a TD pass from Jordan Love.

The two-point conversion to Aaron Jones was good and Green Bay led 21-14 in a game that had broken loose at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.

Packers re-sign linebacker/special teamer Eric Wilson

The Packers continued an offseason dedicated to special teams by re-signing LB Eric Wilson, who led the team in special teams tackles last year.

The Green Bay Packers announced the re-signing of linebacker and core special teamer Eric Wilson on Saturday.

Wilson arrived in Green Bay from the Saints practice squad in October of last season. Over 13 games, he led the Packers in special teams tackles (13) and special teams grade at Pro Football Focus. Wilson was on the field for 197 special teams snaps and 60 defensive snaps in 2022.

The 28-year-old has played in 91 career games and seen action on over 1,300 special teams snaps.

Wilson’s re-signing is the latest in an offseason dedicated to special teams. The Packers re-signed returner Keisean Nixon, tight end Tyler Davis, cornerback Corey Ballentine, safety Rudy Ford and now Wilson, while also signing long snapper Matt Orzech and safety Tarvarius Moore.

Wilson figures to remain a core special teamer for Rich Bisaccia while providing experienced depth behind starters De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker at linebacker. Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie will be the likely backups in 2023.

Wilson, an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati, previously played for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans.

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10 worst NFL free-agent signings in Eagles franchise history

With the NFL’s legal tampering period set to get underway, we’re looking at the 10 worst free agent signings in Philadelphia Eagles franchise history

NFL teams make some of the worst decisions when it comes to the process of properly evaluating and, or adding big named free-agent talents to the roster. When it works, it can change your organization’s path to success, while leading to multiple playoffs or Super Bowl runs.

When it doesn’t work, it can be disastrous with costly consequences from the general manager all the way down to personnel.

We’ve compiled a list of the ten worst free-agent signings in the Eagles’ team history and almost added Eric Wilson (2021) to the list before placing him on the honorable mentions list.

New Packers LB Eric Wilson is getting a back-to-back trip to London

By the time new Packers LB Eric Wilson returns to Green Bay from London, he’ll have traveled almost 40 hours in the air over roughly a week or so.

One week after going to London as a member of the New Orleans Saints, linebacker Eric Wilson is headed back overseas with his new team, the Green Bay Packers.

Wilson, who was on the team’s practice squad, traveled with the Saints to London to play the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday. The Packers signed him off the practice squad on Tuesday, and now he’s headed back to London as a member of Green Bay’s 53-man roster.

Wilson didn’t play in the Saints’ loss to the Vikings, but he could be on the field in a special teams role for the Packers on Sunday.

It’s been a grueling week of travel for the veteran linebacker. From New Orleans to London is roughly nine hours of in-flight time. The way back is about 10. So 19 total hours there and back, plus a flight from New Orleans to Green Bay mid-week (roughly four hours), and now another international flight, this time from Green Bay to London (roughly eight hours). By the time Wilson returns to Green Bay early Monday, he’ll have traveled almost 40 hours in the air in a little over a week’s time.

Wilson told Wes Hodkiewicz of the team’s official site that he’s “trying to make the most of it.”

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Packers get more special teams help in new LB Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson joins Dallin Leavitt, Keisean Nixon and Rudy Ford as additions to the Packers 2022 roster geared toward special teams.

The Green Bay Packers dipped into the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints to sign linebacker Eric Wilson, one of the NFL’s best special teamers between the 2017 and 2020 seasons.

Wilson, who has 26 career special teams tackles, joins cornerback Keisean Nixon and safeties Dallin Leavitt and Rudy Ford as additions to the 2022 roster done specifically (or mostly) for special teams. General manager Brian Gutekunst continues to fortify the third phase personnel for coordinator Rich Bisaccia.

Wilson, who will factor in as the team’s fourth inside linebacker, could be an immediate contributor.

Wilson’s special teams grades by year between 2017-20, per PFF:

2017: 90.2 (3rd best in NFL)
2018: 78.9
2019: 77.5
2020: 90.0 (9th best)

Wilson, an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati, has played 1,112 special teams snaps over his five NFL seasons.

PFF has Wilson down for 19 tackles, eight assisted tackles, four penalties and seven missed tackles on special teams.

One thing going for Wilson: he’s an elite athlete with a perfect body type for chasing down returners on punts and kicks. While a little undersized for an every-down linebacker (6-1, 230), Wilson has 4.5 speed, explosive lower body power (39.5″ vertical, 10-1 broad) and quick feet (6.96-second three-cone). At linebacker, Wilson has a Relative Athletic Score of 9.48 out of 10.0.

Not only do the Packers need the depth at linebacker with Krys Barnes on injured reserve, but Bisaccia and Matt LaFleur might want a linebacker like Wilson to be a core special teamer. Inside linebackers are generally coveted for coverage responsibilities due to tackling ability and general athleticism.

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Saints sign CB Chris Harris Jr. to their practice squad among multiple roster moves

Saints sign veteran CB Chris Harris Jr. to their practice squad among multiple roster moves:

We’ve seen the New Orleans Saints churn their depth chart before, adding new players to the practice squad to bring in new skill sets and fresh competition throughout the season, but on Tuesday they lost a few veteran players while introducing some newcomers. The team reported a busy update to the daily NFL transactions wire with three new players joining the practice squad and a spot opening on the 53-man roster; let’s run through the news.