We spent all offseason forecasting who the Packers would use at the “Star” position in new defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s system, which player — or combination of players — could best match up against whomever the opposing team puts in the slot.
One option, defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said, was putting All-Pro outside cornerback Jaire Alexander inside to match up against No. 1 wide receivers.
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Little did we know, and little did the Packers know, they didn’t even have to use a defensive back to do that.
Just look at a two-play sequence from early in the fourth quarter of Green Bay’s 27-17 win over the Steelers on Sunday. With the Packers leading, 27-10, and the Steelers facing a third-and-5 from the Packers’ 47-yard line, inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell broke up a pass intended for JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had lined up in the slot.
Campbell responded with a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag.
On the very next play, Smith-Schuster lined up in the same exact spot and ran a shallow crossing route with the Packers in zone coverage. Campbell began the play guarding wideout James Washington in the opposite slot, but passed off Washington to cornerback Chandon Sullivan when he, too, ran a shallow crosser. Campbell picked up Smith-Schuster, who caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger 4 yards short of the first-down marker and stuffed him well short of the line to gain for a turnover on downs.
“He was all over the field,” head coach Matt LaFleur said of Campbell. “He’s wearing a lot of hats for us. He’s obviously the guy communicating out there, but he’s in all those different personnel groupings and asked to fill multiple responsibilities.”
It’s early, yes, only four games into the season. But, all jokes aside about the “Star,” that two-play sequence and a litany of other plays through the first four weeks have shown why the Packers might’ve struck gold in filling a position this offseason that has been lacking for so long.
When’s the last time Green Bay featured a middle linebacker who attacked the ball and stonewalled someone for a stop rather than letting a ball carrier come to him? When’s the last time a Packers middle linebacker consistently and efficiently made tackles in one-on-one situations in the open field? When was the last time a middle linebacker here could disrupt plays involving the opponent’s top receiver from the slot on consecutive plays?
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The answer: It has been a while.
Nick Barnett, perhaps? A.J. Hawk? That stretch of Desmond Bishop? Certainly not Antonio Morrison, Blake Martinez or Christian Kirksey.
When the Packers signed Campbell this summer after he spent the 2016 through ’19 seasons with the Falcons and 2020 with the Cardinals, we heard about his size (he’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds). We heard about the 28-year-old’s familiarity LaFleur from their 2016 season together in Atlanta. We heard reasons why this veteran free-agent signing (like Kirksey in 2020) would actually help the Packers (unlike Kirksey).
But if you responded with skepticism, nobody would’ve blamed you, especially given the recent history at the position. It just seemed to be the one spot a franchise who gets just about everything right could not. Every day in training camp, the Packers were reminded of their greatest ever linebacker while practicing on Ray Nitschke Field. They probably will never find someone like Nitschke again, but someone who struck even the slightest sliver of fear into an opposing offense would do.
It seems like the Packers might’ve finally found that someone.
“Speed, leadership and confidence,” outside linebacker Rashan Gary said of what Campbell brings. “That’s a guy who walked in the building, studied his butt off, got the plays and started making the plays right away. Like I said, me coming into Year 3 and seeing a player that’s just able to do that, it was like a ‘Wow’ moment. Now, just me playing with him, it’s like, ‘Oh, we getting 15 tackles here? Oh, we filling up the gap?’ Oh yeah, I love playing with this guy. He’s bringing the juice, flying around and making us a better defense.”
"I think we did a really good job of executing our game plan & just staying the course."
Reviewing @Came_Along_Way 🎥 pic.twitter.com/aEp1nczDea
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 4, 2021
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell has 13 “stops” through four weeks (he also has an interception, fumble recovery and two passes defensed). PFF defines a “stop” as “a play where a defender makes a tackle, and the location of the tackle means the play is a successful one for the defense.” It’s subjective, but you get the point. Campbell ranks first on the Packers, tied for eighth among linebackers and tied for 13th in the league in that category, but six of the players either tied with him or above him have played more than his 243 defensive snaps (97.6 percent of Green Bay’s total defensive snaps).
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Among linebackers who have played at least 60 defensive snaps in pass coverage this season, Campbell, who has played 156, ranks fourth in PFF’s pass coverage grade, allowing 17 catches on 26 targets for 86 yards (5.1 yards per reception) and 43 yards after the catch (2.5 YAC/reception) with only one missed tackle in pass coverage. PFF ranks Campbell as its second-best run defender in the NFL among linebackers who have played at least 40 defensive snaps against the run, giving him only one missed tackle and nine total tackles against the run.
Campbell hasn’t only boosted Green Bay’s defense, which currently ranks sixth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (311.5), but special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton has grown to love him, too. When fellow inside linebacker Krys Barnes suffered a concussion against the 49ers in Week 3, Campbell filled Barnes’ role on special teams.
“Campbell is a big, big time professional,” Drayton said of the sixth-year veteran. “He does not have to, but he chooses to sit in on all of our special teams meetings … as soon as (Barnes) went down, we didn’t even have to go to (Campbell). He was already out. ‘Hey coach, I’m ready to rock and roll.’ And then he does a good job protecting and goes down and makes the tackle. So, you know, anytime you have people who are so selfless, man, that’s awesome. That’s what you look for (in) what you’re trying to breed in a team.”
“That’s the thing about pro football, you have to have the next-man-up mentality,” Campbell added. “Anything can happen at any time. It’s a very physical and violent sport. You have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Krys went down and I ended up having to start on punt on top of playing every snap of defense. That’s a situation where you have to be prepared and you have to expect anything to happen.”
The Packers are already without three All-Pro caliber players in David Bakhtiari, Za’Darius Smith and Elgton Jenkins.
They lost another to a shoulder injury on Sunday, and we wait to hear the severity.
On Jaire Alexander and what his absence would mean: https://t.co/qaNokNDq4X
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 4, 2021
Campbell had a rough Week 1 in Jacksonville against the Saints, against the run and pass, but he has responded admirably. Apart from getting beat by Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson for a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone in Week 2 — in which Campbell should’ve gotten more help from rookie cornerback Eric Stokes — it’s hard to pinpoint any play on which he has been noticeably behind.
On a defense that is missing its best edge rusher (Za’Darius Smith) and now its best cornerback (Alexander), having a sturdy and healthy inside linebacker has done wonders so far.
“We’re lucky we have him,” LaFleur said. “He’s definitely been productive, but he’s also been a great asset to our locker room. He’s certainly earned the respect of his teammates, and that was a really great pickup for us.”
(Photo of De’Vondre Campbell tackling JuJu Smith-Schuster: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)