6 Free Agents the Packers Should Sign Before Mandatory Minicamp

5. Shaq Leonard, Linebacker

It's been a quest all offseason to figure out exactly which players were going to make up the Green Bay Packers' linebacker unit.

With new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley coming in from Boston College, the Packers will be transitioning to a base 4-3 defense. That's why we saw them go after Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft and then Missouri's Ty'Ron Hopper in the third round.

Although the Packers will likely roll with their young players, it's possible that one of Cooper or Hopper isn't going to be ready to make that jump to the NFL immediately, and therefore they could use someone like the veteran Shaq Leonard.

The longtime Indianapolis Colts star linebacker was one of the weirdest, most unexpected in-season cuts last year, and he wound up going to the Philadelphia Eagles to try and help that defense get back on track. Playing in a 4-3 defense with the Packers, I think Leonard could really flourish. He was an All-Pro four years in a row before missing all but three games in the 2022 season due to injury.

Perhaps now that he's a couple of years removed from that, he can be as effective as he once was. Adding Leonard to this young linebacker group in Green Bay could be a massive late-offseason addition.