Green Bay Packers fans know Micah Parsons as the obvious face of the defense, but the team may have found a secret weapon in new linebacker Zaire Franklin. The veteran linebacker brings eight seasons of NFL experience and 738 career tackles to Green Bay, including a standout 2024 season with the Colts in which he earned second-team All-Pro honors. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst acquired Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts in March, sending defensive tackle Colby Wooden to Indianapolis in the deal.
Zaire Franklin: A Fiery New Leader
Franklin brings plenty of experience to Green Bay’s defense, but his value goes well beyond his résumé. In a recent interview with Packers media, Franklin spoke about his attitude on defense, “It’s called a ‘takeaway.’ You’ve got to take something from somebody, you know what I’m saying? So that’s just the energy. That’s just the mentality.”
That dominant mentality, combined with his extreme durability and hard-nosed leadership, could make him one of the most important additions to the Packers’ defense in 2026.
Jan 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Jawhar Jordan (26) is tackled by. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) during the first half at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
One Game Missed
For a player with 738 career tackles, it is hard to believe Franklin recorded just 94 in his first four NFL seasons. Like many players, he began his career on special teams and had to earn his way into the starting rotation. A seventh-round pick out of Syracuse, where he recorded 311 career tackles, Franklin spent his early years in Indianapolis behind established linebackers such as Anthony Walker and Shaquille Leonard with limited opportunities on defense.
Franklin’s real opportunity finally came in 2022, and he made the most of it. He recorded nearly 170 tackles in his first season as a full-time starter and stayed around that mark in 2023 and 2024. While his production dipped to 125 tackles last season, that still followed three remarkably productive years in which he ranked second in the NFL in total tackles in 2023 and first in 2024.
So, what helps Franklin rack up so many tackles besides his aggressive mentality? Availability. He has missed just one game in his eight-year career, sitting out of a midseason matchup in 2023 because knee swelling kept him from practice. Franklin is a true every-down player. According to PFF, he played 100% of the Colts’ defensive snaps in 2024 and remained above 95% last season.
With the physical demands placed on NFL linebackers, Franklin’s durability is nothing short of extraordinary. He plays every snap like he remembers the four years it took to earn his spot as a starter. Hopefully, his play-every-down attitude infects talented, young linebackers, Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper.
Green Bay Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) tries to knock the ball away from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) in a drill during practice on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Hard-Nosed Leadership
Franklin was elected as one of five team captains for the Packers, and he was a captain for the Colts for six seasons before his trade to Green Bay. Before that, he was a three-time captain at Syracuse. As a former seventh-round pick, he understands the grueling, consistent work ethic that is necessary to maintain success in the NFL. His new teammates clearly noticed, as he was elected captain alongside established Green Bay leaders like Jordan Love and Xavier McKinney.
But Franklin’s leadership is about more than simply showing up and putting in the work. He is an aggressive player who knows how to get in an opponent’s head, and he is not afraid to let them know it. During a 2023 joint practice with the Eagles, Franklin got into it with Jason Kelce, ending the practice early as both teams initiated a brawl. Whatever Franklin was chirping at Kelce must have gotten under the future Hall of Fame center’s skin, although Kelce spoke highly of Franklin after the scuffle, calling him a “tremendous player” and praising the intensity he brought to practice.
That intensity has followed Franklin to Green Bay. He initiated the Packers’ first in-practice skirmish of training camp this summer in a dust-up with backup running back Chris Brooks, and he has also gotten into it with tight end Tucker Kraft. Despite his intensity and aggression towards Kraft on the practice field, the pair ate breakfast together every morning of training camp. That is the kind of leadership Franklin can bring not just to a defense, but to the entire Packers organization.
The Last Word
Franklin’s value to the Packers goes beyond his tackle numbers or eight years of experience. Green Bay has a young defense with plenty of talent, but talent does not automatically create an identity, nor does it win games by itself. Franklin brings a proven mentality to the group. His mentality is built around physicality, consistency, and making life miserable for the opposition. If that mentality spreads to the rest of Green Bay’s young defenders, Franklin will have made an impact that never shows up in the stat sheet. That may ultimately be his biggest contribution to the Packers.
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