Green Bay Packers beat writer Paul Imig will be analyzing the 25 most important players to the Packers' success in the 2013 season. Check back each day to see the latest player on the list.
Note: This is not a list of the team's 25 best players or a series about past success, but rather which of them means the most to how Green Bay will fare this year. Criteria such as depth at that player's position, general expectations and overall importance of that player having a good season are all highly considered.
27 / Fifth NFL season
Clay Matthews is one of the NFL's best defensive players and among the league's most explosive playmakers on defense. Opposing teams have quickly discovered every season throughout the course of Matthews' four years in the NFL that containing him is the key to scoring points on the Green Bay Packers.
Matthews is what makes the Packers' defense go. He's disruptive against the run and is an elite pass-rusher. Even though he only played in 12 games last season, Matthews still finished fifth in the NFL in sacks with 13. Six of those sacks came in the first two games when the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears mistakenly thought that Matthews could be stopped with one-on-one blocking. After that, the rest of the NFL took note and would often double- or triple-team him.
Matthews is so dominant that it's given general manager Ted Thompson the luxury of being able to plan the rest of the defense around the star outside linebacker. Green Bay drafted Nick Perry in the first round in 2012 and defensive lineman Datone Jones in the first round in 2013 with the hope that both can become complementary pieces to support Matthews.
Matthews is No. 2 on this list because the Packers need him to have another great season in order to compete for the Super Bowl. The effectiveness of players like Perry and Jones also depend on him, so Matthews is responsible for more than just his own individual performance.
It didn't take much thought for Thompson and his front-office staff to realize that re-signing Matthews this offseason was a priority. But, now that Matthews is the recipient of a new five-year, $66 million deal, there are increased expectations that come with it.
If there was any hesitation whatsoever in Thompson's mind when deciding how to structure a contract that now has Matthews as the NFL's highest-paid linebacker, it was likely regarding injuries. Though Matthews has only missed six games in four seasons, there is often some type of injury ailing the four-time Pro Bowl selection. Plus, the Packers have to hope that Matthews isn't trending in the wrong direction from an injury standpoint after being sidelined four games in 2012 with a hamstring issue.
Expecting Matthews to not miss any action in 2013 would be unrealistic. It could happen that he makes it through the season unscathed, but that would just be a bonus for Green Bay's defense. However, the Packers need Matthews to not miss too much time. An expectation of 14 healthy starts seems fair.
There is no reason to question Matthews' abilities and talent. In three of his four NFL seasons, he's finished with double-digit sacks. The odds are certainly in Matthews' favor that he'll accomplish that again. Even in 2011 when he had a career-low six sacks, Matthews had career highs in forced fumbles (3), interceptions (3) and passes defensed (9).
The bottom line is that Matthews, when healthy, is about as consistently productive as any defensive player in the league. Now he just has to avoid an injury that sets him back, because Matthews is far too important to Green Bay's win-loss record to be out for any significant amount of time.
The Packers do not much have depth at outside linebacker, and there is clearly no one else on Green Bay's roster who is able to do as much as Matthews. Losing Matthews for an extended period of time would be a substantial blow to the Packers' chances of getting beyond the divisional round of the playoffs.
Matthews is just not the type of player who can simply be replaced. But, while defensive coordinator Dom Capers hopes he doesn't have to game plan without No. 52 on the field, Green Bay would then rely more heavily on Perry to contribute at a high level. After an injury-shortened rookie season, Perry will already play a pivotal role on the Packers' defense in 2013. If Matthews is unavailable at any point, Perry would get put in a more difficult spot because defenses wouldn't have anyone else they'd have to double-team.
The top bench option at outside linebacker is Dezman Moses, who exceeded all expectations as an undrafted rookie last season. With Erik Walden and Frank Zombo departing in free agency, Green Bay is counting on Moses to play a big role. It was a bit surprising that the Packers waited until the sixth round to draft an outside linebacker for some added depth, but it was then that they selected Nate Palmer. It remains to be seen how much Palmer will be able to do as a rookie transitioning from Illinois State, but Green Bay doesn't have many other solid choices at outside linebacker. That only adds to the importance of Matthews for the Packers in 2013.
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