Green Bay Packers: Things you need to know about B.J. Goodson
By Kenny Jilek
The Green Bay Packers have acquired B.J. Goodson from the New York Giants. Here are three things you must know about the inside linebacker.
The Green Bay Packers have made a trade for former fourth-round pick, B.J Goodson. Before the trade, Goodson spent three years with the New York Giants after being taken with the 109th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
His three years in New York were uninspiring. His rookie year, he only made two tackles in 15 games played, but he did force a fumble. In year two, he started all seven games he played and showed some flashes of talent. He made 53 tackles, including three for loss, defended two passes, and forced another fumble. However, he was knocked out for the season with a leg injury.
In his third season, he came back stronger, playing in 15 games, starting in 13. He had career highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and passes defended with 61, 4, and 4 respectively. He also had the first two interceptions of his career and recovered a fumble.
While he has not done much to make huge impacts, he has shown improvements from year to year. His approximate value has risen every season from 1 to 3 to 6. Hopefully, that continues this season and he can be an impact player next to Blake Martinez.
In college at Clemson, he showed his ability to be a playmaker on defense. After three fairly pedestrian seasons, he evolved into a star in his senior season. He was all over the field that season, making 108 tackles, 14 for a loss. He also was a force in the passing game, rushing the quarterback with 5.5 sacks, and dropping into coverage with two interceptions and three passes defended.
If B.J. Goodson can continue his improvement in the NFL game and reach his potential that he showed he has in his senior season at Clemson, this could be a great trade for the Green Bay Packers. This is his fourth NFL season, after all, and his fourth season in college was his breakout year.
It will be interesting to see how many snaps he gets week one against the Bears, but his playing time will grow throughout the year. My guess would be that Ty Summers will get the starting nod on Thursday night, simply because he has been there for all of camp and knows the system. Once Goodman gets some games under his belt with the Green Bay Packers, there is a definite chance that he could take the starting job.
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This move provides depth for the Packers at inside linebacker next to Blake Martinez, which makes it good value even if Goodson doesn’t play extremely well. In the worst-case scenario, Goodson and Summers both struggle in the regular season, but getting Goodson gives Green Bay two chances of having a solid starter next to Martinez, with potential for a breakout season in this revamped Green Bay Packer defense.