No. 56 for the Green Bay Packers has had some serious name power attached to it, with a pair of Pro Football Hall of Famers and a Packers Hall of Famer among the list of players who wore it. Still, when it comes to the best player to take the number in Green Bay, the pick goes somewhere else.
That choice lands on Nick Barnett, a linebacker who gave the Packers years of steady production in the middle of the defense. He may not have been the flashiest name on the list, but he was the kind of player a team can lean on week after week.
Barnett entered the league as a first-round pick out of Oregon State in 2003, when Green Bay selected him 29th overall. He had already earned First-Team All-Pac-10 honors in 2002, and he wasted little time making himself part of the Packers’ defense. As a rookie, he won the starting middle linebacker job, piled up 112 total tackles, added 2.0 sacks, six passes defended, and three interceptions, and finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting while making the All-Rookie Team.
What followed was a career built on consistency. Barnett was never cast as a superstar, but he delivered at a high level for a long stretch, reaching at least 100 total tackles in six of his eight seasons with Green Bay.
The only exceptions were 2008 and 2010, both of which ended early because of injuries. He also picked up a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2007.
The 2010 wrist injury was a brutal break, since it kept him out of the Packers’ Super Bowl 45 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that season, Green Bay released him before 2011, and Barnett finished his career with two seasons in Buffalo and one with the team now known as the Washington Commanders.
Over eight seasons with the Packers, Barnett put up 789 total tackles, 52 tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, 15.5 sacks, 36 passes defended, and nine interceptions. One of those picks went 95 yards for a touchdown, which remains the third-longest interception return in team history.
As for the other big names in the No. 56 conversation, Nate Barragar is the Packers Hall of Famer on the list, having worn the number in 1932 during his four-year run in Green Bay in the 1930s. Ted Hendricks brought Hall of Fame credentials and a Pro Bowl season in his lone Packers year in 1974, and Julius Peppers posted 25.0 sacks in three seasons from 2014 to 2016.
But for Green Bay’s No. 56, Barnett gets the nod.
In Other News...
Packers Finalize Their QB3 Plan After Kyle McCord Decision
The Packers have settled on their third-quarterback plan, bringing in former Cardinals passer Kedon Slovis to join the practice squad behind Jordan Love and Tyrod Taylor. General manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed the move in a press conference, giving Green Bay a little more clarity at a position where depth can disappear quickly over the course of a season.
Slovis also comes with a familiar face from the preseason, having played against the Packers in the finale before ending up on their side of the roster decisions. His path has been anything but straightforward, with stops across multiple teams and colleges before landing in Green Bay, and the Packers are now betting that experience can help stabilize the back end of the quarterback room. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Emergency Running Back Plan Is Already Drawing The Wrong Debate
When Josh Jacobs landed on the Commissioners Exempt List, Green Bay had to move quickly to stabilize the backfield, and the front office settled on Kaleb Johnson, acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the kind of emergency swing teams make when the season is already moving, with the Packers needing a back who could step in and help absorb snaps while the situation around Jacobs plays out.
The wrinkle is that Johnson was not the only name under consideration. Tyrone Tracy Jr. of the New York Giants was viewed as a possible alternative, but he stayed put after a late preseason performance that helped cement his spot. Tracy also dealt with a minor injury in a recent game before returning to the sideline, while Johnson arrives in Green Bay with limited NFL experience and production, which has already pushed the conversation toward what the Packers might have preferred instead of the player they actually got. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Just Got A Blunt Reality Check On Josh Sweat
The Packers spent the offseason trying to give their defense more heft, bringing in linebacker Zaire Franklin and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to help stabilize the front. So it was only natural for fans to wonder whether Green Bay might keep shopping for another impact piece, especially after rumors tied the team to Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat.
Brian Gutekunst has now poured some cold water on that idea by denying those trade talks, and the timing matters with Sweat coming off a strong season and still under a multi-year contract. For a Packers defense that looks better on paper than it did a year ago, the message is clear enough: if Green Bay wants more help, it may have to look somewhere other than the player many fans had already started imagining in green and gold. [Read more 🡒]