March 10, 2026, 6:49 a.m. CT
The Green Bay Packers will have a new linebacker in Zaire Franklin after agreeing to swap defensive tackle Colby Wooden in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts.
Franklin, who turns 30 this year, has started for the last four years in Indy, developing from a seventh-round pick to a Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro in 2024. He is coming off a down year in 2025 though.
What should Packers fans expect from Franklin in green and gold? To a large extent it depends whether last year was an aberration, or the start of a steep decline. Here are his percentile rankings compared to his fellow linebackers in 2024:
His 61 PFF grade may not indicate it, but the majority of his underlying statistics in 2024 were legitimately fantastic, and Franklin was worthy of the accolades he garnered.
Specifically he was a menace around the line of scrimmage, producing his best season as a run defender as well as a pass rusher.
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Franklin was active and impactful in run defense, leading the NFL with 173 tackles and ranking well above average in stop rate against the run (tackles resulting in a failure for the offense) and average depth of tackle. This was not a case of padding stats by mopping up plays five yards downfield.
The biggest difference in Franklin’s game that year was his missed tackle rate in the run game went way down, which had been an issue previously, and was again in 2025. He missed only 5.7% of tackle attempts in run defense in 2024, which was 11th-best in the league.
It was his best season in terms of playmaking, as he racked up four forced fumbles and two interceptions. Franklin was remarkably efficient as a blitzer, putting up 15 pressures and four sacks per PFF on just 52 pass rush reps.
His discipline was also improved from previous years, as he only committed one penalty, his career best since becoming a starter.
In 2025, his numbers plummeted, as you can see below:
Franklin’s missed tackle rate regressed massively to the worst ranking of his four years as a starter, as he whiffed 16% of the time, and he also fell to below average in solo tackles per snap and stop rate.
Last season was his least effective as a pass rusher. He rushed the passer 60 more times, only managed four additional pressures and had one fewer sack. Perhaps it was a case of the Colts getting too carried away after his success the previous year and asking him to do it too often.
His splash plays dipped significantly, as he only forced two fumbles and did not have a pick. Penalties also ramped up.
One thing you will notice in both charts is that Franklin is a below average player in coverage. He is not a true liability, and should provide an upgrade on Isaiah McDuffie, who was currently slated as Green Bay’s tandem linebacker with Edgerrin Cooper, but that is not a high bar.
The natural way to evaluate Franklin is how he compares to Quay Walker, who he will be replacing. It is an interesting discussion.
Both players have started for four years, and on the whole they have been of almost the exact same quality according to the numbers, but they get there in different ways.
Walker’s problem was that he was a perfectly safe and satisfactory starting linebacker, but he did not make enough plays or impact games enough for his draft pedigree. Franklin is the opposite. He will shoot his shot and make highlight plays, but will also get it wrong and hurt his team.
Franklin’s 2024 season was better than anything Walker has produced, but his 2025 performance was worse than any of Walker’s seasons.
There are a couple of stats which show their difference in style well. Walker ranked in the 94th percentile for missed tackle rate in 2025 but only the 44th percentile in average depth of tackle. Franklin ranked in the 18th percentile in missed tackle rate but the 83rd in average depth of tackle.
Franklin is not as strong in coverage, but Walker has not been a plus in that aspect himself, and had his worst year in 2024.
It is easy to see how the Packers arrived at the conclusion to make a trade for Franklin, especially as they will only pay him a non-guaranteed $7 million in 2026, compared to Walker’s $13.5m AAV with the Raiders.
The risk is obvious; that Walker is still young and could improve, whereas Franklin may be trending in the wrong direction. Green Bay is gambling he will be closer to the 2024 version of himself than 2025.
Their linebacker room will mostly go as Cooper goes though, as he is the crown jewel of the group. If Franklin can even improve moderately on his 2025 performance, he will be a perfectly fine running mate.