The Green Bay Packers have one of the NFL’s most surprising rookie defenders to start the 2020 season.
Linebacker Krys Barnes, an undrafted free agent from UCLA, is receiving national recognition after emerging as a surprise starter for Mike Pettine’s defense. Pro Football Focus, who grades every player on every play of every game, named Barnes to the site’s All-Rookie Team after four games. According to PFF, Barnes has seven stops – or a tackle constituting a failure for the offense – and zero missed tackles over 85 snaps.
Overall, he’s the site’s second-highest graded rookie linebacker among players with at least 25 snaps played.
Amazingly, Barnes wasn’t even on the Packers’ initial 53-man roster. GM Brian Gutekunst added him to the active roster on the Saturday before the Packers’ season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings, and then Pettine shocked many by started him at linebacker next Christian Kirksey.
The rookie now looks like he’ll be a contributor all season, possibly even when Kirksey (pectoral) and fellow rookie Kamal Martin (knee) return from injured reserve.
Through four games, Barnes ranks second on the team in total tackles with 25. He also has three pressures as a blitzer, per PFF, and he nearly intercepted Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on Monday night.
Barnes and Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen – who was on the board when the Packers took Jordan Love in the first round of April’s draft – were the two All-Rookie linebackers. No other Packers rookie made PFF’s team.
In our quarter-season awards, Packers Wire named Barnes as the team’s best defensive rookie.
