Cory's Corner: Kamal Martin Is Answer At ILB
Kamal Martin is the next chapter of Packers inside linebackers.
Inside linebacker has been the white elephant in Green Bay for a long time.
The Packers know that inside linebacker is a position that cannot be ignored, but at the same time, the team hasn't had an athletic and dynamic inside linebacker since Johnny Holland in the late 80s and early 90s.
Green Bay signed Christian Kirksey to a two-year, $16 million deal last spring to replace Blake Martinez. But now it looks like Kirksey is nearly a carbon copy of Martinez.
What about the other inside linebacker? Oren Burks, Ty Summers, Kamal Martin and Curtis Bolton, who will have plenty of ground to make up when he comes back from the PUP list, are all slotted to compete for the job.
"As far as the other spot, there's open competition there," Packers defensive coordinator Mike Petttine said Friday. "Oren Burks. You've got Ty Summers. You've got Kamal, the draft pick. All those guys, they all have their own particular skill sets."
Burks should be the odds-on favorite, but has had injuries in his first two seasons. Can Pettine trust a guy that cannot stay on the field? Summers has only played special teams, it's a big jump from the raw, world of special teams to diagnosing offensive schemes.
Then there is Martin. "He has shown that explosive ability," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said on Sunday about the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Martin.
What was the one problem with the Packers defense last year? It couldn't stop the big play. It allowed the quick, dynamic players to zip all over the field. That explosive word has never been used with Burks or Summers.
Martin really jumps out on video and has even earned respect from his defensive teammates in practice already. Martin has another gear and he is very instinctual. He knows where the ball is going and he's excellent at getting there in a hurry and being very physical.
"I think Kamal's got a high ceiling, but he's a young player," said LaFleur. "He's going to make mistakes, but he's just got to continue to get better and better each and every day."
He certainly has. Martin was ranked as the No. 9 inside linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft last spring by Athlon Sports. That isn't total linebackers, that's just inside linebackers. You could say that he is playing with the chip on his shoulder the size of about 10,000 lakes after tallying 177 total tackles at Minnesota. He missed five games his senior year and he still had 36 solo tackles.
Martin has been proving everyone wrong wherever he has gone. He is just continuing the trend in Green Bay.
And if you're Pettine, you cannot keep an explosive player like Martin off the field. He needs to play to disrupt things and the Packers would love it if he could consistently blow things up.
If anyone is going to do it, it's Martin.
Introducing the newest #Packers LB - Kamal Martin.
Over his 4 years (40 games) in college, Martin totaled 177 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 TKFL, 4 INTs, 4 FF's and 5 PD's.
This may be my favorite pick for the Packers.
Who was your favorite pick? #NFLDraft #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/OrO32x1Gn3
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) April 26, 2020
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (39)
Bure9620
August 25, 2020 at 06:30 am
I hope so, that would be great to help solidify the middle of the field. Martin is kind of a throwback player in this world of subpackages and Dime players. He is a violent player, I love violent linebackers.
Roadrunner23
August 25, 2020 at 06:57 am
Martin looks pretty good, if Love, Dillon, Degura, Martin all hit (plus Runyon & Garvin) this will be an
A++ draft!
stockholder
August 25, 2020 at 07:00 am
If his knee holds up. He is the answer.
scoonie_penn
August 25, 2020 at 07:03 am
sounds like Oren Burks better get his resume updated. He's had plenty of time to show his talent or lack thereof. K Martin is flashing. Let's see if he can be consistent and stay away from injuries.
dobber
August 25, 2020 at 09:21 am
It sounds like Burks (and Kirksey) has been good in camp, too. This is a good problem to have.
blacke00
August 25, 2020 at 07:11 am
Hold the phone! How do you know Kirksey is another Martinez? He hasn't played a game as Packer yet? Give him a chance for Christ sake!
Coldworld
August 25, 2020 at 09:01 am
Loved this pick from the outset. Happy he is showing promising signs, but though it was clear that one of the take always of the first week was how different Kirksey was from Martinez in terms of instinct. Laughable comment by the author and worth no more space than that.
Hoping we come out if this with 3 ILBs that belong on the field, not just 2.
WestCoastPackerBacker
August 25, 2020 at 10:42 am
Yeah, is it just me, but didn't Aaron Nagler describe Kirksey "as advertised" after watching him in 11 on 11 (meaning more athletic than Martinez)? Martinez was a thumper w/o much range. Kirksey is not the same guy. More athletic, not just a thumper.
Fire_Gute
August 25, 2020 at 11:08 am
I agree. For all of Blake's negatives, he was already available to play. Kirksey has played 9 games in 2 years. Let's see if the guy can stay on the field more than 1/4 of the season before we can even say he is as good as Blake.
Stroh
August 25, 2020 at 11:22 am
If he's healthy there is little doubt Kirksey is definitely an upgrade over Martinez. He has better athleticism, better coverage, sideline to sideline chase speed and instincts for hitting the hole to get in the backfield. The only doubt is him staying healthy.
Guam
August 25, 2020 at 07:33 am
Little early to anoint anyone as the next great ILB. I would love to see Martin make the jump, but there is lots of pre-season yet to go. Hopefully at least one of the bunch steps up.
dobber
August 25, 2020 at 09:10 am
Absolutely! These guys really haven't had to play against anyone scheming against them. It really only happens in the weakest ways during typical preseason games...these guys are getting scrimmage scenarios and that's it. I really hope that Kamal Martin turns out to be a winner. The Packers desperately need two at ILB. Even one at ILB can help prop up a weaker player at the other spot. But based on less than 10 days of practice without true game scenarios, I'll want to reserve judgement.
PackfanNY
August 25, 2020 at 08:36 am
Man I hope so. You may want to pump the breaks a little. Martin had an injury last season I believe. His off-season prep for the NFL season has been truncated by CoVid. On top of that, the Packers will play ZERO preseason games to acclimate rookies to the speed of the NFL. Sure this applies to all rookies but I suspect they will be brought along slowly. I tend to believe we will see more reliance on veterans to start given the circumstances. Not sure if I’m Pettine I am placing my future employment on guys I’ve seen in practice.
CoachDino
August 25, 2020 at 03:17 pm
Good comments on the board. On one hand until a player can perform in live in season games the jury will be out. Plus as a rookie it's tough to be "reliable" - not make mistakes.
On the other hand, any one that watches a great deal of sports, particularly live, in person, its not so hard to spot the ones that have something special.
So it is very encouraging to hear that he does stand out, that's really all that can be said at this point.
Blizzard
August 25, 2020 at 08:40 am
Obviously Cory has forgotten about Brian Williams.
I am very hopeful that Martin will become a great player. However stating he is the answer at ILB this early in the game is pretty foolish.
Stroh
August 25, 2020 at 11:13 am
Absolutely Foolish to say the least. Lets hope to start with that he can become a solid player/starter. Cory clearly hasn't learned a thing from Nagler in the last decade or whatever.
jeremyjjbrown
August 25, 2020 at 11:27 am
The decades change but Stroh's lovely attitude stays the same...
Stroh
August 25, 2020 at 11:32 am
Brian Williams, Desmond Bishop and Nick Barnett all come to mind as ILB that were highly athletic and playmakers.
Migas
August 25, 2020 at 09:02 am
Martin certainly looks the part. I am disappointed about the comment that Kirksey is just like Martinez. Based on all that I heard before the injury setbacks he would have been considered an upgrade. He needs to be an upgrade.
Stroh
August 25, 2020 at 11:35 am
KIrksey is definitely not just like Martinez. Gotta consider who said that... Cory!
Handsback
August 25, 2020 at 09:26 am
This is good stuff. I'm not sure if Martin will start, but appears that he's well on his way to the 53 man squad. It's not just the other ILBs that Martin has to be compared to, its also the hybrid players like Greene that will determine the starting line-up. Frankly, more than anything else he could be a replacement for Kirksey should he succumb to injuries again.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 25, 2020 at 10:00 am
Oddly, I thought I read that Greene has been getting some deep safety reps. Darned if I can find it. It's possible that I was hallucinating.
flackcatcher
August 25, 2020 at 02:13 pm
I don't see why not. Greene did get reps at both safety slots last year, and he played on the backend in his rookie season under Pettine for most of the season. I would not worry about it, with the Packers locking out the media, we won't see the new formations until the regular season starts.
Coldworld
August 25, 2020 at 05:49 pm
Coach referred to Greene as able to move around from the box to deep. Implied he was getting reps as a traditional safety but I have not seen confirmation.
dobber
August 25, 2020 at 09:28 am
"That explosive word has never been used with Burks or Summers"
That's simply not true. Burks' RAS was a 9.73 and Summers was a 9.71. These guys are athletic freaks. The question was not whether or not they were explosive...it was whether or not they had the instincts to play.
Coldworld
August 25, 2020 at 02:55 pm
Excited by Martin, if he can be decent as a rookie then he is a big upgrade in terms of a second all purpose ILB over last year. Admittedly, because we didn’t have one, that’s a low bar. Anything more than that is gravy with a 5th rounder.
Still hoping one of the others comes through too. 2 is not enough in this season particularly. I hear Burks has looked good thus far too. I’d be a lot happier if he was one of 3 not 2. Here’s hoping.
CoachDino
August 25, 2020 at 03:22 pm
Burks was not a reach (for the most part) he had all the tools as Dobs points out. Can only hope it's an injury issue and not what I would tend to agree with Dobs - an instinct issue (Pro game just to fast).
Kirksey comment was kinda silly. Ive never heard that before
Since'61
August 25, 2020 at 09:38 am
So far so good. Let’s hope that Martin evolves into more than the usual preseason hype. Until then I will manage my expectations accordingly. Thanks, Since ‘61
jannesbjornson
August 25, 2020 at 10:56 am
One of the top three ILBs in the Big Ten last season.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
August 25, 2020 at 09:39 am
Nice to hear Martin is looking good. I know there was a lot of positives about him during the draft and if he wasn't injured he would have been drafted much higher. With the high percentage of misses with the Packer draft choices over the years it would be nice to hit a home run with Martin.
I honestly do not have high hopes for Burks but would love to be proven wrong. I know he is athletic and has a great RAS score but seems to be injury prone and slow to grasp Pettine's defense.
I do however have high hopes that Summers evolves into a good player. I like his energy and his speed combination. The only real question with Summers IMO seems to be how instinctive he is as a player? He does well on ST's and therefore one has to assume he can do it as a linebacker.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 25, 2020 at 10:02 am
Clark's contract number have come out. The cap numbers are ridiculously low at $6.69M this year ($1M savings) and $7.1M in 2021. I might have called it correctly: working through it to see if they used an option bonus in 2021.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 25, 2020 at 10:06 am
Nope, they didn't use an option bonus. But they also didn't give him $37M in cash flow in the first two years as was reported. Instead, Clarks settles for $28.79M
dobber
August 25, 2020 at 01:16 pm
$7M roster bonus in 2022, though.
As expected, they've pushed virtually all the cash hit out to 2022 and beyond.
Qoojo
August 26, 2020 at 01:01 pm
"Kamal Martin Is Answer At ILB"
How many padded practices? How many reps against 1s in pads? Summers was flying around last year too.
Stroh
August 25, 2020 at 11:08 am
He seems to be doing well so far, but its far to early to call him the answer! We'll see how he does in games that is when you might find out if he's the answer. And after yr1 when if he plays alot as a rookie, can he make the adjustments necessary when teams figure him out. As usual way off base and waay too early for any talk like that!
Coldworld
August 25, 2020 at 02:57 pm
He looks promising, which I’m thrilled about, but I agree, that’s the most one can say of any rookie at this point on any team.
Archie
August 25, 2020 at 11:52 am
Is smart, athletic and long. Plays the run and pass equally well. Can rush the passer. Instinctual. Fluid. Standing out first half of rookie camp. Checks all the boxes for me. Passes the eyeball test too.
laqua3030
August 25, 2020 at 07:23 pm
“The Packers know that inside linebacker is a position that cannot be ignored, but at the same time, the team hasn't had an athletic and dynamic inside linebacker since Johnny Holland in the late 80s and early 90s. “
How are you going to forget Nick Barnett? 1st round pick, athletic and dynamic. I feel like he played up to his draft slot. Just unfortunate that he played mostly in the Sherman era under Ed Donnatell.
NJ-RICK
August 26, 2020 at 01:14 pm
After watching some of his college games this Kid looks like the real deal... Just what the Packers need a real hitter on defense. IMO the weakest link on the defense line last season was D Lowry... How is he looking so far in camp...