Free Agent LB De’Vondre Campbell is an Under the Radar Option

We know the Green Bay Packers have a big hole to fill at ILB and one free agent that’s flown under the radar is De’Vondre Campbell of the Atlanta Falcons.

With the inevitable departure of Blake Martinez in free agency, despite his limitations that many will point out, his absence will leave a huge hole to fill at the inside linebacker position. There’s just no way that the Green Bay Packers can go into the 2020 season relying on the unproven Oren Burks and the inexperienced Ty Summers and Curtis Bolton.

So whether it be in free agency or early on in the draft, addressing this position is something that needs to be near the top of GM Brian Gutekunst’s offseason to-do list, which it appears to be.

During the NFL Combine, we learned that the Packers would be looking into free agents Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, and Joe Schobert, all of which are some of the best available options on the open market. However, one other free agent linebacker that hasn’t received much attention but could be on Green Bay’s radar is De’Vondre Campbell of the Atlanta Falcons.

In a recent article by Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, he spoke with a top NFL scout about the potential options at linebacker in free agency. And this scout would go on to rank Campbell as the second-best option at the position, behind Littleton but ahead of both Schobert and Kwiatkoski. Certainly not bad recognition to receive.

For those who are a bit unfamiliar with Campbell, he is a former fourth-round pick back in the 2016 NFL Draft and has spent his first four seasons in Atlanta. Considering Atlanta’s disappointing season and that they are in a tight cap situation, there is the real possibility that he signs elsewhere this offseason.

Over the last three seasons, Campbell has been very durable having appeared in all 48 games during that stretch which includes 34 starts and according to Pro Football Reference, he has played in 87.25 percent of Atlanta’s total defensive snaps in that span. Definitely an important quality that teams look for if they are planning to sign a player to a multi-year deal.

On top of that, the 2019 season was Campbell’s best from a numbers standpoint as he totaled 129 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.

As far as his game goes, he has proven to be solid against the run, a reliable tackler, and an effective pass rusher when asked. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), they credited Campbell with 23 run stops, which is a run play that results in a “loss” for the offense. This was tied for the 24th most out of the 59 linebackers that qualified and was the same amount that Littleton had as well.

PFF would also record just seven missed tackles for Campbell which was the 10th fewest in the NFL of the 58 linebackers who played at least 50 percent of their team’s snaps. Not bad at all, especially considering how often he was around the ball with his 100 plus total tackles.

Campbell has also displayed positional versatility which is something that Mike Pettine will be a fan of. Of his 921 defensive snaps in 2019, over half were taken from the box, which is to be expected, but another 249 came from the defensive line. Additionally, 99 snaps came as either the slot corner, the out wide corner or as the free safety.

However, an area of his game where he can improve upon is in coverage. While Campbell moves well, this past season he allowed 58 receptions on 69 targets with an average of 10.6 yards per catch, along with four touchdowns and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 110.9 when throwing his direction.

Ultimately, Campbell isn’t the player Cory Littleton is, but that shouldn’t be the expectation either. With limited spending power this offseason, there’s the possibility that Littleton is out of the Green Bay Packers’ price range, and a player like Campbell could be a solid option for them at a more modest cost.

With free agency right around the corner and all of the attention focused on Littleton, Schobert, and Kwiatkoski – and for good reasons – De’Vondre Campbell is just another name to keep our eyes on as everything unfolds.