Packers All-Quarter Century Team: The 2nd-best linebacker of the 2000s so far

Packers All-Quarter Century Team: The 2nd-best linebacker of the 2000s so far
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Who gets your vote as LB2?

In an impressively close vote, APC readers chose Nick Barnett as the Green Bay Packers' best linebacker of the 2000s. Now we move on to a second linebacker spot, which should be an intriguing vote given some brief tenures by the better players at the position over the last 25 years.

Who’s your choice for the second-best linebacker of the 2000s so far? Will you vote for longevity or a brief but productive run? We look forward to seeing the results!

The linebacker nominees

Na’il Diggs (2000-05)

390 tackles (49 for loss), seven sacks, four interceptions

84 games played (80 starts)

A fourth round pick in 2000, Diggs was a starter essentially from the get-go and would go on to start virtually every game for which he was healthy until injuries piled up in the 2005 season. Diggs was never a Pro Bowler or All-Pro in Green Bay, but he was a very solid player, recording four interceptions and seven sacks to go with a boatload of tackles across his Packers career. His best season came in 2002, when he logged three sacks and two interceptions to go with his 85 total tackles, which included 12 tackles for loss, the second-most on the team.

A.J. Hawk (2006-14)

1x Pro Bowl

922 tackles (55 for loss), 19 sacks, nine interceptions

142 games played, 136 starts

Before A.J. Hawk was a stoic, cigar-smoking TV show cohost, the 2006 fifth overall pick was a long-tenured member of the Green Bay Packers. Though he’s probably mostly remembered for rarely keeping his helmet on, giving his own sideline the finger, and being victimized on a crucial fake field goal in the 2014 NFC Championship game (I’ll spare you the link on that one), Hawk also was a solid, durable linebacker for most of his tenure. He missed just two games in his Packers’ career, breaking the 100-tackle threshold six times. His 19 sacks are the most of any linebacker on this list.

De’Vondre Campbell (2021-23)

1x All-Pro

317 tackles (15 for loss), two sacks, four interceptions

40 games played (40 starts)

The very definition of lightning in a bottle, De’Vondre Campbell was marvelous in 2021. He was everywhere in first-year defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s defense, earning first-team All-Pro honors while helming a unit that was stronger than just about anyone could have anticipated. But, like Barry, Campbell’s contributions in Green Bay waned. Despite signing a lucrative contract in the 2022 offseason, Campbell would play fewer and fewer games each of the next two seasons as injuries mounted. The Packers moved on after the 2023 season, and Campbell did a speedrun of the same arc in San Francisco, earning a late-season dismissal after holding down the fort for Dre Greenlaw. His pick-6 against Washington in 2022 was pretty neat, though.

Desmond Bishop (2007-12)

294 tackles (16 for loss), nine sacks, one interception

69 games played (26 starts)

Dubbed Mr. August early in his career for...