Getty De'Vondre Campbell #59 and Rasul Douglas #29 of the Green Bay Packers react after a play during the second quarter in the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on September 18, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers spent a ton to solidify their defense over the offseason but in some important ways, the team has yet to get its money’s worth.
One of the players for whom Green Bay broke the bank was De’Vondre Campbell, signing the middle linebacker to a five-year deal worth $50 million over the offseason after he produced an All-Pro campaign in 2021. Campbell had his career year while playing on a $2 million deal but after getting the bag, he has regressed to a degree.
While Campbell has been productive based on a glance at the stat sheet, leading the team with 36 tackles, it’s the plays he’s not making that represent a minimal, yet meaningful, decline.
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic on Monday, October 3, cited Pro Football Focus when making the case that Campbell has already made more mistakes this season in the one area of the game most crucial to his position — tackling — than he did all of last year.
According to PFF, De’Vondre Campbell has missed six tackles in four games.
The 2021 first-team All-Pro middle linebacker missed four tackles all last season in 17 games.
“According to PFF, De’Vondre Campbell has missed six tackles in four games,” Schneidman wrote. “The 2021 first-team All-Pro middle linebacker missed four tackles all last season in 17 games.”
Campbell Was Among Best NFL Finds, Contracts in 2021
Patrick McDermott/Getty ImagesWide receiver Diontae Johnson of the Pittsburgh Steelers is tackled by middle linebacker De’Vondre Campbell of the Green Bay Packers during a game on October 3, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Campbell’s 2021 season was not just a credit to the player, but also to Green Bay’s front office as arguably the single best free agent deal made in the entire league that year.
The linebacker started 16 regular season games, amassing 146 tackles, including six tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, five passes defensed, two sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles, per Pro Football Reference.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst added Campbell after he’d been available on the free agent market for approximately three months, waiting for any team to take a chance on him. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Atlanta Falcons and played his fifth year as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
To go along with his team-leading 36 tackles, Campbell has also notched two tackles for loss and defensed a pass through four games, though he has yet to produce any turnovers.
Packers Struggling Mightily Against The Run Through 4 Games
GettyLB De’Vondre Campbell of the Green Bay Packers warms up before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 19, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
As a team, the Packers have been strong against the pass — save for a Week 1 debacle, during which Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings torched the secondary — allowing the third fewest yards through the air across the first four games of the year.
The run defense has struggled, however, as Green Bay has afforded opponents more yards on the ground than 20 other NFL franchises during that same span and has allowed a collective average of five yards per carry, according to statistics provided by NFL.com.
A big part of the Packers’ issues in the run game are tied to tackling, which is what the team has paid Campbell to shore up.
“Not only are the Packers allowing nearly 5 yards per rush, but they’re having troubling bringing runners down,” ESPN’s Rob Demovsky wrote Tuesday. “There are only three teams allowing more rushing yards after contact than the Packers. This was an issue last year, and it continues to be one this season.”
Green Bay carries a defensive efficiency rating of 57.9, good enough for 13th in the NFL. The defense is hopeful it will return some help in the secondary this week, as cornerback Jaire Alexander missed Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots with a groin injury he suffered during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers one game earlier.