The Green Bay Packers have been dealing with injuries at the linebacker position as of late, but Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson have helped provide some stability coming off the bench.
De’Vondre Campbell left the New Orleans game with an ankle injury only 11 plays in and has been out since. In his place had primarily been McDuffie, although we had seen Wilson worked in during obvious running situations. Then, only 17 plays into the game against Las Vegas, Quay Walker left with a knee injury, putting McDuffie and Wilson on the field together for the rest of the game.
McDuffie has been a very reliable tackler this season, making 27 out of his 28 attempts. In coverage, he has held pass catchers to under nine yards per reception–again, a credit to his tackling ability. Against the Raiders, Wilson finished with one pressure and made seven of his eight tackle attempts while limiting the opponent to just 5.6 yards per catch.
“I think to Eric and Isaiah’s credit,” said linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti on Monday, “they’ve been ready, they’ve been prepared. And I think that’s something we understood going into it (the Raiders game). They have a hard job because they don’t get as many reps then, especially last week, Eric in the situation he was put it in.
“But I was pretty proud of the way Isaiah and Eric stepped up in the last game and just overall how they are as guys around the building. No matter the circumstances, they’re the same every day, and they’re going to come to work every day and really try to put their best foot forward and get themselves prepared the same all the time, which makes everybody’s life easier because now De’Vondre can concentrate on getting himself healthy.”
Linebackers have a difficult task having to defend both the run and the pass, especially when going up against an offense like the Raiders, which utilizes heavy personnel relatively frequently. It’s their job to muddy things up over the middle of the field, but they also have to fill running lanes and flow towards the sideline if that’s the way the ball carrier is going. Eye discipline and trusting what they see are essential to finding any sort of success.
In McDuffie’s case, he was also asked to be the defensive signal caller once Walker exited the game. These two players went from taking somewhat limited reps in practice as the backups to being key cogs in the middle of the Packers’ defense.
“That’s the first thing I told the defense,” said defensive coordinator Joe Barry, “how proud I was of the job Isaiah and Eric both did. But in the same breath, I’ve said it to you guys many times, quite recently, and our guys do, if you take the approach that you’re a backup, you’ll never be ready because you’re one play away from being a starter. You never know when that’s going to happen.
“I think a guy like specifically Eric Wilson, you never know when that moment is going to happen. That play goes down, bam, Eric you’re in. Not only in for a series, but he had to play substantial time for us. It just goes back to guys being pros and guys preparing and guys being locked in for every meeting, every walk-through because you never truly know when your moment is going to come or how it’s going to be, and Eric specifically did a phenomenal job with that.”
On top of the defensive responsibilities that both players have taken on, McDuffie and Wilson also continue to be core special teams players as well. Wilson played a team-high 20 snaps against the Raiders, while McDuffie was out there for 15. McDuffie is currently the second-highest-graded special teams player on the Packers, according to PFF, while Wilson ranks fifth.
After watching each training camp practice over the summer, one consistent takeaway that I had was that I kept coming away impressed with the play of the linebacker unit as a whole. What we’ve seen from both McDuffie and Wilson throughout the summer has largely carried over to the regular season when they have been called upon.
McDuffie has excellent burst, able to get outside to limit the ball carrier, and is more than willing to plug gaps. Wilson was effective as a blitzer and is often positioned well to limit pass-catchers over the middle.
We do not know the specific timelines of when Campbell and Walker will return. The fact that the Packers opted not to put Campbell on IR hopefully means that he will be available soon. Following the Raiders game, Matt LaFleur said the team was hopeful Walker would be able to play in Denver, but that remains to be seen. However, until then, while McDuffie and Wilson aren’t Campbell and Walker, the two have shown that they can hold their own when called upon.
“I’m very happy that Eric is a part of our football team,” added Olivadotti. “He is a true professional. I think he supplies leadership, not only for our group but for our team, to teach guys how to be a pro, day in and day out. You never know. You’re 16 plays into a game and end of playing every snap the rest of the night and also having your responsibilities you went into the night with. So having a guy like that around teaches a lot of people how to be a pro.”
