Carl Bradford, linebacker
FOX Sports Wisconsin's Paul Imig gives an in-depth statistical analysis and film study of every Packers player in his annual offseason checkup. You can find every report here.
Season stats (Preseason only): four games (96 snaps), seven tackles, one missed tackle, one quarterback hurry, five stops (tackles that resulted in offensive failure); targeted six times in coverage, allowing four receptions for 26 yards and one touchdown
ProFootballFocus.com preseason rating: minus-4.6 (ranked second-worst among Packers defensive players in preseason)
Best preseason game: Preseason Week 2 at St. Louis (played 11 of 71 snaps); one QB hurry; minus-0.2 PFF rating
Worst preseason game: Preseason Week 4 vs. Kansas City (played 53 of 66 snaps); six tackles, one missed tackle, four stops; targeted six times in coverage, allowing four catches for 26 yards and one touchdown; minus-3.4 PFF rating
Expectations at the start of training camp: Low
Expectations were ... Not met
Looking live: When the Packers selected Carl Bradford in the fourth round (No. 121 overall) in the 2014 draft, there was some debate about which position he would play. Several national draft analysts penciled him in as an inside linebacker in the NFL, given Bradford's size at 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds. Green Bay's staff disagreed with that at the time.
"I see Bradford as an outside linebacker," coach Mike McCarthy said at the conclusion of the draft. McCarthy later added, "Bradford, when he first lines up, the meeting he will go to will be with the outside linebackers."
General manager Ted Thompson agreed with McCarthy about Bradford, saying, "I think he's going to be able to stand up on the outside and be a good player for us."
Bradford saw himself that way, too. "I'd probably say outside backer," said Bradford, who admitted to having "slim, not a lot" of experience at inside linebacker.
The first month of training camp could not have been quieter for Bradford. Though there's a fine line in drawing too much of a conclusion about a rookie too quickly, it looked like Bradford's struggles at outside linebacker were going to be a difficult thing for the team to make work. He had 8.5 sacks in his final season at Arizona State, so Bradford does have talent as an outside pass-rusher. But doing that at the next level in his smaller frame (which included measuring with 30-1/4-inch arm length at the Scouting Combine) was proving a challenge.
Before the second-to-last day of training camp, linebackers coach Winston Moss approached Bradford to alert him that the team wanted to see him play a different spot on the field. The Packers' initial look at Bradford as an inside linebacker was a positive one. Bradford was recognized in the "Movin' On Up" category of FOXSportsWisconsin.com's Training Camp Report series for performing well in the half-line running drill by getting into the backfield and picking up a tackle for loss.
"I liked it," Bradford said after that day's practice about inside linebacker. "I like coming downhill and opposing those tackles and guards and smashing those running backs."
Upon further review: There was a lot for Bradford to learn in a short amount of time, and not everyone can transition from outside to inside linebacker as quickly as Clay Matthews did midseason.
Bradford played inside linebacker in the preseason finale, which didn't go too well. He was given 80 percent of the defensive snaps in that game at inside linebacker, and while he flashed a couple times, Bradford was clearly going to be a project at his new position.
Despite other players doing more in training camp and preseason to earn a 53-man roster spot, the Packers kept Bradford around. Parting ways with a fourth-round pick just three months after the draft is obviously not something Thompson would prefer to do.
Green Bay continued to work on developing Bradford, but his entire rookie season came and went without contributing on game day. In fact, Bradford was a healthy inactive for every regular season game and both playoff games. The Packers could have certainly used an influx of fresh talent at inside linebacker during the season, but not even having Bradford active once was a sign of how much improvement would be needed from the 22-year-old.
Overall 2014 grade: Incomplete
Status for 2015: 60 percent chance of being on the active roster to begin next season. Green Bay kept Bradford around for one full season without getting anything out of him, but Thompson will likely be more hesitant to do so two years in a row. Working in Bradford's favor is that inside linebacker is the weakest position on the Packers roster. If the team parts ways this offseason with both A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones, while also moving Matthews back to outside linebacker, that would leave only Sam Barrington and Bradford as the holdovers at the position. It would still come down to how much improvement Bradford shows early in Year 2 of his career, but a mid-round pick often gets the benefit of the doubt.
Next: Right tackle Bryan Bulaga
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