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The Green Bay Packers will go into the 2020 NFL draft with a chance to use the team’s 10 draft picks to build on a roster that finished 13-3 and advanced to the NFC title game in 2019. GM Brian Gutekunst has three picks in the top 100 selections and seven Day 3 picks.
Packers Wire’s position-by-position draft preview rolls on at inside linebacker:
On the roster
– Christian Kirkey, 27, signed through 2021
– Oren Burks, 25, signed through 2021
– Ty Summers, 24, signed through 2022
– Curtis Bolton, 24, signed through 2020
Short term need
Massive. The Packers will go into the draft with one of the worst inside linebacker groups in the NFL. Christian Kirksey has meaningful NFL experience, but he’s missed 23 games the last two seasons with major injuries. Oren Burks has done nothing in two years. Ty Summers and Curtis Bolton have zero experience. Kirksey might be a slight upgrade over Blake Martinez, but the Packers are one injury away from an unmitigated disaster at the position.
Long term need
Massive. Kirksey is signed for just one season, and the Packers have a way out after one year if it goes sideways. Collectively, Burks, Summers and Bolton have some long term potential, but potential means nothing if goes unrealized, and there’s a good chance all three will be nothing more than career backups. Even if the Packers are comfortable with Kirksey short term, the roster has huge question marks at inside linebackers long term.
Chances of drafting position
High. The roster has room for two or more players at linebacker. The question is when the Packers will add to the position. Brian Gutekunst traded up in the third round to take Burks in his first draft, but does he really care about the position? The last decade and a half of draft history suggests the team doesn’t value linebacker early in the draft. There’s a good chance the Packers will wait until the middle rounds to address the position, especially if they miss out on the top tier players. That’s just how this team works. They prefer cheap patches at the position.
Depth of draft class
Strong. Patrick Queen and Kenneth Murray provide athletic options early, Zack Baun and Josh Uche offer intriguing off-ball conversion opportunities and Day 2 and early Day 3 should present multiple chances to take contributors after the first round. The Packers are fortunate. This is a good class, and they can probably wait to get a good player on Friday or Saturday.
Potential options
– Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
– Patrick Queen, LSU
– Akeem Davis-Gaither, Appalachian State
– Zack Baun, Wisconsin (edge transition)
– Jordyn Brooks, Texas Tech
– Willie Gay, Mississippi State
– Troy Dye, Oregon
– Josh Uche, Michigan (edge transition)
– Malik Harrison, Ohio State
– Logan Wilson, Wyoming
– Davion Taylor, Colorado
– Joe Bachie, Michigan State
Last LB drafted
2019. The Packers took Ty Summers out of TCU with the 226th overall pick.
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