Jayrone Elliott, outside linebacker/special teams
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 (playoffs included): 15 games, zero starts (54 defensive snaps), 17 tackles, two missed tackles, zero tackles for loss, zero sacks, one quarterback hit, zero interceptions, zero passes defensed, zero forced fumbles, zero penalties committed, two stops (solo tackles that resulted in offensive failure); targeted one time in coverage, allowing one reception for 10 yards
ProFootballFocus.com season rating: 0.0 on defense; 6.5 on special teams (second-ranked Packers special-teams player)
Best game: NFC championship game loss at Seattle; two special-teams tackles; 0.5 PFF special-teams rating
Worst game: Week 7 win over Minnesota; zero tackles, one missed tackle on special teams; minus-0.5 PFF defensive rating
Expectations at the start of the season: Low
Expectations were ... Exceeded
Looking live: Along with Jeff Janis, Jayrone Elliott was one of the most exciting players that the Packers had during preseason and training camp. Though Janis had low expectations himself as a seventh-round pick, Elliott was undrafted and plays a position that Green Bay already had a lot of quality depth at. To describe Elliott at the start of training camp as a "long shot" to make the active roster would have been an understatement.
The first significant mentions of Elliott in the FOXSportsWisconsin.com Training Camp Report series came on Aug. 4. It was during that practice that Elliott was an Honorable Mention for the "Movin' On Up" category when he went 4 for 4 in the one-on-one pass-rushing drills. Elliott beat both Bryan Bulaga and Derek Sherrod once, while besting Don Barclay twice.
Two days later in practice, Elliott was at it again with two live-action "sacks" (remember, no hitting quarterbacks in practice) of Matt Flynn.
This set the stage for Elliott in the Packers' second preseason game in St. Louis. In a span of four plays, Elliott had three sacks. Not only is that a remarkable statistic, it was a major breakthrough for Elliott because he had only played six defensive snaps in Green Bay's preseason opener. It really put him on the map for the coaching staff and moved him into serious conversation for being an undrafted player worth keeping.
Elliott's situation had really headed in a positive direction by Aug. 19. Up until that point, he had spent the first 15-20 minutes of each practice inside the Don Hutson Center working against the starting offense. For a defensive player, that was a bad thing because the top players on defense were working outside on Ray Nitschke Field during that time period. Now, Elliott was outside, taking Adrian Hubbard's spot. Elliott was also working with the No. 1 punt-coverage group, which was another sign that the Packers had plans for him in the regular season.
Elliott secured his spot among the 53-man active roster in the preseason finale. Working against Kansas City right tackle Donald Stephenson (who was presumed at the time as the Chiefs' starter), Elliott drew a holding penalty using his quickness to get inside and then picked up a third-down sack with a power move on back-to-back plays.
Upon further review: Elliott led the NFL with five sacks in preseason, earning himself the "Sackmaster" nickname from teammates. He was also called "Shakespeare" for making so many plays. But with the depth Green Bay had at outside linebacker, it would have taken an injury or two for Elliott to see much action on defense once the wins and losses counted.
Elliott was on the gameday inactive list in Weeks 1 and 2 despite being healthy. He ended up playing only 15 defensive snaps in the first half of the regular season, all 15 of them coming at Chicago in Week 4. Elliott was back on the gameday inactive list in Week 11.
But while he was only given 54 defensive snaps in the regular season (and zero in the playoffs), Elliott provided a lot of value to the Packers' special teams groups. See, there actually was someone giving a positive contribution to Green Bay's special teams.
In the regular season, Elliott had the second-most special-teams tackles with 15, trailing only Sean Richardson (17). In the playoffs, Elliott led the Packers with six special-teams tackles. He was at his best on the kickoff-coverage unit and gave the type of effort that Green Bay wasn't getting across the board on special teams. Not surprisingly, Elliott was rated by ProFootballFocus as the Packers' second-best special-teams player for the entire season.
Overall 2014 grade: C-plus
Status for 2015: Ninety percent chance of being on the Packers' active roster to begin the 2015 regular season. Of course there's always a slight chance that an undrafted player won't be back for Year 2 in Green Bay. But in the case of Elliott, he sure looks like a long-term keeper. If the Packers are forced to choose one outside linebacker in 2015 between Elliott, Nate Palmer and Andy Mulumba, it would sure seem like Elliott would be the easy winner. Special teams would play a big factor in that, especially now that Mike McCarthy will be spending more of his team with those groups. He might never be a regular-season "Sackmaster," but if he stays healthy it's hard to see Elliott not carving out a nice career in Green Bay.
Next: Quarterback Matt Flynn
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