Green Bay Packers: 3 Biggest Surprise Players from 2020 Season
By Paul Bretl
No, the 2020 season didn’t end as we had hoped for the Green Bay Packers as we are about a week and a half removed from their loss to Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship. And I know some will disagree, but overall it was still an impressive season.
The Packers’ offense was the most productive in football, averaging the most points per game of any team in the NFL while also ranking first by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. And, of course, they went 13-3 for the second season in a row while making it to the aforementioned NFC Championship Game.
If a team is going to have success like this, they will naturally need their star players to perform at a high-level, but other players need to step up in a big way as well. As they say, it takes all 53 in the NFL.
In the Green Bay Packers’ case, there were several players who exceeded expectations this season, but I tried my best to widdle it down to my top three surprises from the 2020 season. As an Honorable Mention, I’d like to include Rick Wagner. Coming off the bench, he filled in well at the tackle position this season — even playing a little left tackle — and performed much better than I had anticipated.
Green Bay Packers Surprise No. 1: LB Krys Barnes
If you’re fortunate, you’ll have an undrafted free agent or maybe two make the initial roster and contribute on special teams during their first season. But in Krys Barnes’ case, he was playing defensive snaps Week 1 and eventually ended up with the green dot as the defensive play-caller. This feat is even more impressive given the abbreviated offseason due to COVID-19.
Like any rookie, Barnes had his ups and downs during the season and even had to miss some time on the reserve/COVID list. But a change in Week 15 against Carolina that made him the Mike linebacker really provided Barnes and the defense as a whole a needed boost.
Over the final three games of the regular season, Barnes recorded 27 tackles, including two for a loss, a forced fumble, and 11 stops, or plays that result in a failure for the offense, according to Pro Football Focus ($). He also allowed just over five yards per reception while in coverage.
Barnes is a smart player who adds some quickness and playmaking ability to the linebacker position here in Green Bay–making plays at the line of scrimmage and in coverage. There’s a reason he was given the responsibility of being the play-caller on defense, and it looks like the Green Bay Packers may have found an answer at linebacker in an undrafted rookie.