GB Green Bay Packers · LB· #44

Zaire Franklin

Age
30
Height
6'0"
Weight
236 lbs
College
Syracuse
Drafted
2018, No. 235 overall (IND)
Experience
9th NFL season

43

Overall grade

60th of 65 linebackers

Among the weakest

below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

The number holding him back is tackles per 100 snaps: 10.6, 51st of 63.

Lately he is playing better. Tackles per 100 snaps is 13.4 over the last 2 games (134 snaps), against 7.9 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the linebackers in the league.

  • Tackles for loss per 100 snaps0.450th of 63
  • Missed tackles12%52nd of 65small sample
  • Tackles per 100 snaps10.651st of 63

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying linebackers. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among linebackers after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 16th percentileWeek 3: 13th percentileWeek 4: 19th percentile19th

Season rank holding near the 19th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Missed tackles game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametackle chancesSeason rank after
1vs MIN20%5–
2vs NYJ13%816th pct
3vs ATL17%1213th pct
4vs TB0%819th pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 8 tackle chances can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every linebacker with at least 10 tackle chances. Right on the strip is better.

Missed tackles

Well below typical

12%lower is better

52nd of 65 linebackers · bottom 22%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 212 games league-wide, a good or bad game on missed tackles from a linebacker has not lined up much with his team winning (53% wins in the best third, 47% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 10% (20) vs 15% before+4.5grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 33 tackle chances · true level likely 2% to 22%

Tackles per 100 snaps

Well below typical

10.6

51st of 63 linebackers · bottom 21%

Tackles for every 100 snaps he plays. It shows how often the ball is finding him, which is partly the scheme.

The box score: A tackle total ignores snaps.

Does it show up in winning? Across 213 games league-wide, a good or bad game on tackles per 100 snaps from a linebacker has not lined up much with his team winning (51% wins in the best third, 44% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 13.4 (134) vs 7.9 before+12.9grade points upLeaning that way

Sample still growing · 273 snaps · true level likely 7.4 to 13.9

Tackles for loss per 100 snaps

Well below typical

0.4

50th of 63 linebackers · bottom 23%

Plays he ends behind the line of scrimmage, for every 100 snaps.

The box score: Tackles for loss are counted, but never against the snaps he played.

Does it show up in winning? Across 213 games league-wide, a good or bad game on tackles for loss per 100 snaps from a linebacker has not lined up much with his team winning (48% wins in the best third, 52% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 0.7 (134) vs 0.0 before+7.8grade points upWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 273 snaps · true level likely -0.2 to 1.0

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the linebackers around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Pressures per 100 snaps

Style

0.4

Stays home, more than most linebackers. A typical one is 0.8.

How often he gets after the quarterback, for every 100 snaps. For a linebacker it describes his job more than his quality, so it is shown, not graded.

Sample still growing · 273 snaps

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 100% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Zaire Franklin game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedMissedTackles/100TFL/100
Wk 1 vs MINL 22–39100%42200100120%6.20.0
Wk 2 vs NYJW 20–17100%72500000113%9.50.0
Wk 3 vs ATLL 14–35100%103710000217%14.11.4
Wk 4 vs TBW 17–14100%8350000000%12.70.0
Wk 5 vs CHIW 31–7–963100100–––

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among linebackers. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Zaire Franklin box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles3818th of 65
Solo tackles1629th of 65
Assisted tackles2210th of 65
Tackles for loss226th of 65
Sacks029th of 65
Pressures135th of 65
Passes defended119th of 65
Interceptions017th of 65
Missed tackles49th of 65

Players with a similar profile

The linebackers whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.