Green Bay Packers: 5 most irreplaceable players
2. Blake Martinez
Blake Martinez is another player who lines up at a spot that lacks depth for the Packers. The third-year pro had a breakout season last year and led the team in tackles with 94. This was just the beginning for Martinez and allowed himself to become established as one of the premiere inside linebackers in the NFL.
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Look for Martinez to take another big leap in 2018 and really make his name well-known outside of Green Bay and around the rest of the NFL. Martinez can do a little bit of everything in defending against the run and in coverage.
Jake Ryan and Oren Burks are behind him on the depth chart. While Ryan is a fine run defender, he’s struggled mightily in coverage. He’s perhaps most well known for always chasing backs and tight ends while trying to cover them.
Burks is a rookie and brings lots of speed to the table. He even played some strong safety in college. However, he has yet to play an NFL snap and is far from proven. If Martinez goes down, the Packers don’t have anyone behind him to pick up the slack.