Green Bay Packers: Full Position Breakdown and Depth-Chart Analysis at OLB

The group that Green Bay Packers fans are used to seeing at outside linebacker may look quite different next season, so in 2015, it's time to enjoy these high-octane pass-rushers while they remain on the team.

Clay Matthews will likely appear as the starting left inside linebacker, not the starting left outside linebacker, on the next official depth chart, moving back to the edge on passing downs.

The Packers have elected not to pick up Nick Perry's fifth-year option, making the 2015 season in effect a contract year for him. 

Julius Peppers is scheduled to have a cap hit of $10.5 million in 2016, per Spotrac.com, which means 2015 could be his last season in Green Bay regardless of how well he plays. 

And Mike Neal will become an unrestricted free agent in 2016 after signing a two-year contract in 2013. 

Given all the changes looming on the horizon, let's focus on what this group will look like in 2015, starting with the projected depth chart:

Player	Height	Weight	2014 Stats
Julius Peppers	6'7"	287 lbs	29 tot. tackles, 7 sacks, 11 PD, 4 FF
Mike Neal	6'3"	285 lbs	20 tot. tackles, 4.5 sacks, 0 PD, 0 FF
Clay Matthews (third downs)	6'3"	255 lbs	45 tot. tackles, 11 sacks, 9 PD, 2 FF
Nick Perry	6'3"	265 lbs	16 tot. tackles, 3 sacks, 1 PD, 1 FF
Jayrone Elliott	6'3"	255 lbs	13 tot. tackles, 0 sacks, 0 PD, 0 FF
Adrian Hubbard	6'6"	257 lbs	-

Looking at the stat lines in the above table, one thing becomes immediately clear: If general manager Ted Thompson had not signed Peppers as a free agent, the Packers would not be able to use Matthews at inside linebacker on rushing downs.

But Peppers (35) demonstrated with his monster performance in 2014 that included two interceptions returned for scores that he is skilled enough even at this stage in his career to lead Green Bay's pass rush. Expect him and Neal to be the two starting outside linebackers in the base defense.

Think of Matthews as more of a utility player; he'll be on the depth chart at inside linebacker, but defensive coordinator Dom Capers will still rush him off the edge situationally. 

Where the depth chart gets more interesting is in the bottom three. Perry has not developed to the level expected of him as a first-round draft pick in 2012. Part of the reason his career has been disappointing is the injury he suffered in his rookie year, which landed him on injured reserve after Week 6 with an injured wrist. 

Perry's 2013 showing was average, with 20 total tackles, four sacks, a pass defensed and three forced fumbles in 11 games. However, with the pressure placed on him to have a standout sophomore year after his disappointing rookie season, Perry didn't quite perform.

Being serviceable is not enough for a first-round draft pick. 

Last season was inconsistent for Perry, even though he showed flashes. He had games like his showing in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings, in which he had two total tackles and two sacks, but the four games prior saw him post only three total tackles and zero sacks. 

Perry earned more opportunities toward the end of the season and finished the year with four starts. However, he faces an uphill battle for snaps in 2015 behind Peppers and Neal on the depth chart. 

After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, however, it's unclear whether Perry will participate in the opening day of training camp. 

Speaking of Peppers and Neal, there's a way Perry can get on the field at the same time as them, and it's in Capers' NASCAR blitz package. The Packers used the NASCAR—which featured Matthews, Peppers, Neal and Perry as a four-linebacker front on passing downs—to great success in 2014 to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. 

After 2015, the NASCAR may not be used as prominently; Peppers was the missing piece to get it going in 2014, and he, Perry and/or Neal may be gone after this season. For now, however, expect to see Capers unleash it on opponents. 

The young outside linebacker talent concentrated at the bottom of Green Bay's depth chart could prove to be pivotal in future seasons. This projection assumes that both Jayrone Elliott and Adrian Hubbard make the team if the Packers keep four inside linebackers, including Matthews (with nine linebackers in all). 

Neither player is a safe bet to clear through waivers for Green Bay to stash him on the practice squad, and both will benefit from snaps with the defense as they are groomed to be future contributors. 

Elliott burst onto the scene last preseason, racking up more sacks in those four games than any player in the NFL with five. Four came against backups, sure, but he demonstrated he could run with the big boys too against the Kansas City Chiefs, taking down Chase Daniel through the first-team offensive line. 

He performed so well that his teammates gave him the nickname "Shakespeare" because "all he does is make plays," per Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin. 

Regular-season glory did not follow for Elliott, who was one of two undrafted rookies to make the roster last season. He only got 54 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and didn't record any sacks. 

However, don't discount his contributions on special teams. He had the second-most special teams tackles last season, per Imig, and will continue to be an important fixture there as the Packers look to improve the unit in 2015. 

Former UDFA Hubbard spent last season on the practice squad, but he will work to beat out Andy Mulumba for a spot on the 53-man roster this year. To help his cause, he spent the offseason training in Green Bay to show his commitment to the team. 

Head coach Mike McCarthy noticed. 

"He's really taken a huge step like you see from every player that's been here from Year 1 going into Year 2," McCarthy said in May, per Tyler Dunne, formerly of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I'm impressed with what Hubbard has done so far. He was here early prior to the offseason program. He's put a lot of work in."

The Packers would benefit from seeing some game action from Hubbard this season to better inform their impending decisions about Peppers, Perry and Neal come March. 

Undrafted rookie outside linebackers who could make the practice squad for Green Bay this summer include LSU's Jermauria Rasco and Stanford's James Vaughters.