As we stand right now, Green Bay is set to start the league year on March 13^th with a grand total of three outside linebackers / edge rushers on their entire roster. Those three players are Nick Perry, Kyler Fackrell, and Kendall Donnerson. Of those three, Kyler Fackrell is coming off somewhat of a breakout season, Kendall Donnerson has yet to play an NFL snap, and Nick Perry has about a 50/50 chance of being cut prior to March 15^th when his roster bonus is due.

To say that the edge position is a need for the Packers would be a pretty significant understatement. But needing an edge rusher in 2019 doesn’t come without its costs. The top edge rusher that’s actually expected to hit the market is Trey Flowers, who Spotrac estimates will garner a deal in the realm of 5 years - $79 million.

Of course Green Bay could and almost certainly will look to fill this position via the draft but if they want an impact player at the position they’ll almost certainly need to use their number 12 pick in the draft to do so. This is also a fairly significant cost.

He's going to his 4th straight #ProBowl 

Check out @Vikings LB @AnthonyBarr's 2018 highlights!

 2019 Pro Bowl | Sunday 3pm ET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/U9NaMwfPGG

— NFL (@NFL) January 25, 2019

But what about a potential top tier edge rusher that wouldn’t demand top tier edge rusher money? Some believe that Packers’ adversary and one time collarbone breaker Anthony Barr could fit that bill quite nicely. Coming out of college Barr was expected to be one of the top edge rushers in the draft. He accumulated 23.5 sacks in his last two seasons at UCLA and was expected to be the next big pass rusher when he was selected.

There was only one issue… when the Vikings drafted him in 2014, they decided that they were going to use him as an off-ball linebacker in their 43 scheme, rather than an edge rusher as most had expected. Four Pro-Bowls later and it’s tough to argue with their line of thinking.

But now Anthony Barr is a free agent and he’s unlikely to garner interest as a top tier edge rusher. So the question becomes, could Barr become the pass rusher that he was expected to become out of college at a fraction of the cost of the top edge rushers in free agency?

In my film breakdown today, I’ll take a look at whether or not Anthony Barr could be a fit as an edge rusher in Mike Pettine’s defense and ultimately, what Barr could bring to the table should Green Bay sign him as a free agent.

Sacks

The first thing that I wanted to take a look at with Barr were his sacks. Ultimately, I wanted to see if he showed anything in his five years in Minnesota that would indicate he could be a pass rusher in Green Bay. I would assume if he had the ability be a dominant rusher off the edge that Minnesota would use him in that capacity from time to time and he’d at least have a few sacks off the edge to show for it.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Barr has accounted for 13.5 sacks in his 5 year career via 14 different plays. Of those 14 plays that he was involved in:

• 10 sacks he was either untouched or unblocked
• 2 sacks he was 1x1 with a running back
• 1 sack he was blocked but Phillip Rivers held the ball too long and basically walked into the sack
• 1 sack he split the center/guard after Jahri Evans (Saints) stumbled and Barr had a straight line to the quarterback

Judge for yourself, here are all 5 years of Anthony Barr's sacks. We know there's more to pass rushing than just sacks, and Barr wasn't asked to play 1x1 against tackles very often, but it's still telling that in 5 years he hasn't beat a lineman for a single sack. pic.twitter.com/fq18OGbaeU

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) March 1, 2019

So of his 13.5 sacks, not a single one was a one-on-one sack vs. an offensive lineman. While two of them were off the edge, one was unblocked and the other was against a running back. There was nothing here to show me that Barr would have the ability to play edge in the NFL.

Overall Pass Rush Ability

Anthony Barr’s very raw with his hand usage (obviously), but the ability to bend the arc and win the corner is already naturally there from his days at UCLA. pic.twitter.com/QqLmndDyaO

— Jordan Reid (@JReidNFL) August 1, 2018

When I watched Barr more closely on tape, I noticed some specific traits. First and foremost he’s incredibly athletic. This showed in college, in his athletic testing at the combine, and it certainly shows up on film as well.

What also showed up was that he never truly became a technician as a pass rusher, even in college. In college Barr was reliant upon his natural ability to beat tackles around the edge and ultimately beat them with his pure speed and athleticism. Barr has never had a plan to get to the quarterback, has lacked technique, and simply hasn’t been used in that role enough in Minnesota to try and master it in any meaningful way. At one point in college he was running speed rushes off the edge on every single play. He didn’t have any sort of counter to change things up.

Here's a look at Barr on the edge vs. Jason Peters. Note when Peters gets beat he gets his foot stepped on which is why he's seen limping after. It at least gives us a glimpse of what Barr looks like off the edge. pic.twitter.com/7paHfEVb3E

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) March 1, 2019

Barr also has struggled with using his hands, or more importantly, keeping the opposing player’s hands off of him. Even Jamaal Williams showed this past season that if you can get your hands on Barr, you can control him and stop his momentum. Again, Barr never learned to be a technician as a pass rusher, so slow him down, get his feet stopped, and the battle is over.

If you get your hands on Barr, you're probably going to win. Just ask @jswaggdaddy. pic.twitter.com/QLbLqVffKh

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) March 1, 2019

What stood out most here, is that while Barr absolutely has the ability to get to the quarterback, it’s not because he’s an elite pass rusher or edge player. It’s because he’s fantastic in space, super athletic, and a very good blitzer. Barr is able to use his explosiveness off the line of scrimmage, his unique agility to change directions quickly, and also use his length to disrupt the play, especially from the inside. When people talk about him being a good pass rusher, it’s because he’s a very good blitzer, not because he’s a great edge rusher.

Coverage

Peak the WR - eyes back to QB @AnthonyBarr plays his curl(2-1) knowing if someone leaves your zone someone is coming in @UCLAFootball #FEMA pic.twitter.com/mRfann5e1p

— Linebacker World (@LBworld44) June 17, 2017

While Pro Football Focus didn’t have a great coverage grade on Barr in 2018, this was mostly due to a few touchdowns that he was deemed responsible for. He also didn’t have any pass breakups or interceptions, which hurt his grade as well. But when I watched him in coverage I saw a player who was smooth in his back pedal, had great change of direction, and could come up quickly and make the play on the ball.

If you were to use Barr in a 34 outside linebacker capacity, he would be more than capable of dropping back in coverage. He even had a play this past year where he was able to cover Randall Cobb on a quick route in the slot. Barr has the ability to cover tight ends or running backs, and would be an asset in this regard, especially as an edge defender.

Setting the Edge

Barr’s athleticism once again is at play here as he’s able to successfully set the edge even though he’s a bit undersized against some of the bigger tackles in the league. Once again though, if a lineman can get his hands on Barr, they have the opportunity to control him. It didn’t show up much in Minnesota because he wasn’t used in that capacity a lot, but it’s a concern I would have with him as the years went on. If teams found they could run on Barr it would make him a lot less valuable as an edge defender.

In Space

This is the Anthony Barr fans want. Running sideline-to-sideline making plays all over the field. Great play here. pic.twitter.com/J2IxbKgDWu

— Jordan Reid (@JReidNFL) June 7, 2017

So why did Minnesota use Anthony Barr as an off the ball linebacker? Because he’s an athletic freak in space. Minnesota decided they were going to use him in that Lance Briggs or Derrick Brooks type of role and let him flow to the football without having a ton of blockers constantly surrounding him.

This allowed Barr to play freely, blitz effectively, cover as needed, and just become a really solid all-around pro. Barr’s tape is very clean. While he doesn’t always make a ton of impact, he’s solid all the way round and he helps your team win. He’s going to be a positive for your team more often than not and there’s not much to dislike out of him as an off-ball linebacker.

Anthony Barr knocked Larry Donnell into another time zone

(Video via @AlbertBreer) #NYGvsMIN pic.twitter.com/vNTXwBbHQJ

— Will Applebee (@NOTSCWill) October 4, 2016

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s really tough to say that Anthony Barr couldn’t be a successful edge defender because there’s simply not enough NFL tape of him playing the position to come to that conclusion. But what I will absolutely say is that there’s also little to show that he would be successful in the role, and I think the evidence would say that he would have a very steep learning curve should he transition to a full time edge rusher position.

I like AGGRESSIVE Anthony Barr...
Ex1) Takes Fells for a ride into the TEETH of Stafford..
Ex2) Knows play before it happens..BLOWS UP run.. pic.twitter.com/ybLan2xFQz

— Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman) November 29, 2017

I have a very, very hard time believing that Minnesota had a premier edge rusher on their defense and just decided not to use him at that position. An elite pass rusher is the most coveted asset a defense can have and if Minnesota thought for one second that he could rush the passer with any level of consistency they would have given him ample opportunities to try and do that. Instead, even when Everson Griffen was out for a significant period of time, they continued to use him as an off-ball linebacker.

My weekly "Is Anthony Barr hurt" play..
I've never seen a linebacker avoid as much contact as this guy..
Put your shoulder down and RUN THROUGH A RB!! pic.twitter.com/vSceQTsv7l

— Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman) October 23, 2018

Does that mean that Anthony Barr couldn’t have value for Green Bay? Absolutely not. As a hybrid linebacker in Mike Pettine’s defense, he could be used as both an edge defender and off ball linebacker and a super athletic chess piece for Pettine to play with in the middle of the defense. Barr is a piece of the puzzle that he doesn’t have on the team today.

There’s value in a player like that and maybe Green Bay brings him in and find’s he’s a better edge rusher than they (or I) expected. If so, amazing, but if not he has a pretty high floor as an inside linebacker teaming with Blake Martinez. It goes without saying he’d immediately be the best off-ball linebacker on the team.

Barr should have a free rush to Rodgers until the hand of Bulaga reaches out and ends that idea. pic.twitter.com/jl9VY9Qpev

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) March 1, 2019

At the end of the day, I believe Anthony Barr will sign a contract somewhere in the 4 year - $50 million range and as an off-ball linebacker that’s just too steep of a price tag for Green Bay. Barr is likely going to command a significant contract as one of the most athletic front seven defenders on the open market in an offseason where teams have a ton of money to spend. Barr isn’t the edge defender that some want him to be, but he could be an interesting piece in Green Bay. I just don’t see Green Bay paying the price for a player that doesn’t fill their need at edge rusher.

Anthony Barr is still buffering... pic.twitter.com/QfP8h0V43K

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) March 1, 2019