The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Wisconsin Badgers have quietly turned into Linebacker University. Since 2016, the Badgers have had eight linebackers get selected in the NFL Draft.
This season the Badgers will have two more players added to that list. Leo Chanel is likely a day two pick and will be the ninth Badger linebacker to get drafted since 2016.
The 10th Badger linebacker that will hear his name called since 2016 is Jack Sanborn. The three-year starter checks in at No. 69 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.
Sanborn came to Madison as a four-star recruit out of Illinois. During his first year as a starter in 2019, Sanborn recorded 80 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, and three pass deflections.
In seven games during the 2020 season, Sanborn recorded 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
This past season, the Badger linebacker enjoyed a career year. Sanborn recorded 89 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and five sacks.
Love this from Jim Leonhard & the #Badger defense.
3rd and 6, opening drive: PSU stacks Dotson/Strange, Clifford is looking for Dotson out of the break the whole way…
but Noah Burks drops in coverage after showing blitz, gives Sanborn time to get home pic.twitter.com/ynKQrX44H5
— Ben Kenney (@benzkenney) September 5, 2021
“He was awesome,” Ben Kenney, the producer of the Bill Michaels Show, said. “Leo Chenal got a lot of the headlines and had some crazy statistical games, but Sanborn was a steady force in the middle of the nation’s top defense and was often overlooked. The way Jim Leonhard uses the inside linebackers, there were countless times a Chenal sack happened only because of a seal from Sanborn and the attention he got. He was the leader and catalyst in the middle of a defense that would not have been the same without him.
Sanborn is a physical tone-setter against the run. That’s Sanborn’s calling card. He comes downfield fearlessly and takes on blockers head-on. He’s a gritty linebacker with a relentless motor. Sanborn does a great job of using his hands to shed blocks.
Jack Sanborn is a hard-nosed defender with a relentless motor. pic.twitter.com/zAJNmJ2tBB
— Brennen Rupp (@Brennen_Rupp) February 15, 2022
Sanborn isn’t the most athletically gifted linebacker in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, he plays fast due to his read and react ability. Due to his high football IQ, there are rarely any false steps. He has a quick trigger and is able to get skinny to shoot gaps, displaying great burst to make plays behind the line of scrimmage.
“He’s the next in a long line of Wisconsin linebackers that are always in the right place,” Kenney said. “Nobody thought TJ Edwards would be that great of a professional, yet he had 100 tackles for the Eagles this year because of just that: intelligence and a great motor. Sanborn is similar in that regard. A “nose for the football” is an overused term, yet it does apply perfectly here.”
Sanborn has a high batting average as a tackler. He’s a physical tackler and delivers a pop at contact. He drops his pads and jars the ballcarrier.
“Sanborn is a tremendous tackler,” Kenney said. “The discipline is tremendous to find the right gap, but Sanborn seemed to make the tackle every time he met the runner. His trio of intelligence, motor, and fundamentals is hard to replicate.”
The biggest question mark with Sanborn will be how he holds up in space at the next level. It’s something that he wasn’t asked to do a ton of at Wisconsin.
Sanborn has the lateral agility, quickness to match up with running backs at the next level.
Almost missed this, but look at Jack Sanborn pick up & run with the Gopher running back.
That's an NFL-caliber linebacker, ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/u9tWWbUvzq
— Ben Kenney (@benzkenney) December 21, 2020
“He has the capability to run with some running backs and most tight ends, yet he wasn’t asked to do it a lot at Wisconsin,” Kenney said. “I’d say his strengths definitely lie coming downhill against the run. He’s probably a linebacker a team would want to keep away from open space with the NFL’s top tight ends and running backs.”
Why didn’t Sanborn have a lot of reps in coverage? Because he’s more effective as a blitzer. Sanborn finished his career with 11.5 sacks. The Badger linebacker is able to run over running backs and has a nice combination of strength and quickness to get home as a blitzer.
He’s faster around the edge than most tackles and has the strength to meet interior linemen in the middle,” Kenney said. “Those two traits mixed with well-timed rushes and more pass-rush moves than most inside linebackers have, you see why he gets in the backfield so often. The only problem last year? There were times Leo Chenal and Sanborn both got free, Chenal was just so unbelievably quick that he got there first.”
Sanborn has all the traits to be a hired gun on special teams with his energy, toughness, and closing burst.
“Wisconsin is a program where most players make their mark on special teams before seeing the field as a starter,” Kenney said. “It’s also a role that requires a great motor and good discipline, both of which Sanborn has. For what the Packers have dealt with on special teams, I definitely Sanborn can start to fix those issues.”
Fit with the Packers
The Green Bay Packers could be losing all-pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to free agency. With his play this past season, he may have priced himself out of Green Bay’s price range.
If Campbell leaves in free agency it will continue the revolving door at the linebacker position.
Would the Packers take a linebacker early in the draft to replace Campbell if he walks? History says no. The Packers haven’t drafted an off-ball linebacker in the first round since 2006.
If the Packers miss out on the first and second waves of linebackers in the 2022 NFL Draft, Sanborn is a player that they could target on day three of the draft.
“You can get him late in the draft and he can come in day one and help on special teams,” Kenney said. “Then you can move to more jumbo packages and use his run defending skills, then maybe eventually he sees the field as a starter. When you take Wisconsin defenders you know they’ll bring it every day and work hard enough to find a role. Sanborn is a guy many are sleeping on in this draft cycle.”
There are question marks surrounding how Sanborn will hold up in coverage. There are no questions that he could step in from day one and be an impact run defender while being a special teams ace.
If Campbell isn’t re-signed, Sanborn could step in and be a day one starter. The Packers would just have to deal with potential lumps in coverage from the rookie linebacker.
Even if Campbell is re-signed Sanborn could be a perfect tag-team partner with Campbell in the middle of Joe Barry’s defense. He is a hard-nosed defender that will impact the run defense while being a key piece in helping Green Bay turn around the play on special teams.
