The Green Bay Packers are oversigned at the linebacker position, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t add to their room in the hopes that they improve their 2026 roster (and beyond). Today, we’re going to take a look at the linebacker position, where the Packers stand and what options the team has in the draft.
Packers Linebacker Depth Chart
- Zaire Franklin
- Edgerrin Cooper
- Isaiah McDuffie
- Ty’Ron Hopper
- Nick Niemann
- Kristian Welch
- Jamon Johnson
The big news at the position this offseason was that the Packers allowed starting Mike linebacker Quay Walker to hit free agency, where he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. In return, Green
Bay should be rewarded with a fifth-round compensatory draft pick in 2027.
To replace Walker, the Packers traded nose tackle Colby Wooden, who was on the final year of his rookie contract, for Zaire Franklin, who had been starting at Mike for the Indianapolis Colts. Franklin is now on a two-year contract with Green Bay and is expected to start next to Edgerrin Cooper in the team’s new 3-4 defense.
When the Packers have run a 3-4 defense in the past, the team has typically only rostered an average of four off-ball linebackers. With Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper returning, they seem to make the most sense as the team’s backups at the position.
With that being said, Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch are veteran special teams aces, and Jamon Johnson was one of the team’s bigger undrafted free agent signings from the 2026 class, so there is opportunity for a fifth linebacker to make the team, depending on what happens this summer.
Linebacker Consensus Draft Board Rankings
- #5: Sonny Styles, Ohio State
- #36: C.J. Allen, Georgia
- #45: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
- #48: Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
- #55: Jake Golday, Cincinnati
- #62: Josiah Trotter, Missouri
- #77: Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh
- #112: Deontae Lawson, Alabama
- #131: Harold Perkins, LSU
- #132: Keyshaun Elliott, Arizona State
- #134: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU
- #148: Bryce Boettcher, Oregon
- #149: Taurean York, Texas A&M
- #155: Aiden Fisher, Indiana
- #160: Jimmy Rolder, Michigan
- #175: Jack Kelly, BYU
- #183: Justin Jefferson, Alabama
- #185: Red Murdock, Buffalo
- #227: Lander Barton, Utah
- #247: Owen Heinecke, Oklahoma (returning to school)
- #251: Eric Gentry, USC
On Thursday, a judge announced that Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke will get another year of eligibility to play college football, which was a big question leading up to the draft. For those wondering, the question revolved around whether his 15 minutes of lacrosse at Ohio State in 2021 should have exhausted a full year off his football eligibility.
The Packers haven’t brought in a draftable (at least in the mind of the consensus draft board) linebacker for a pre-draft visit, but they have brought in two potential undrafted free agent types: Louisiana’s Jaden Dugger and Louisville’s T.J. Quinn.
Dugger is a long linebacker who might be an interesting special teams project for the team, similar to Isaiah Simmons. He measured in at 6’5” and 242 pounds at his pro day with a 4.60-second 40-yard dash and 35” arms. With that length and frame, along with prior experience at safety, he could be one of the longer punt gunners in the league or an interesting punt block candidate.
Quinn, meanwhile, is a smaller linebacker, measuring in at 6’0” and 227 pounds at his pro day. He was a three-year starter for the Cardinals and was named third-team All-ACC in 2025.
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Do you want the Packers to add to the position? If so, who do you want them to take? Let us know in the comments section.
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