The Green Bay Packers have a difficult decision to make when choosing the final linebacker on the team’s initial 53-man roster. The team is likely to keep five linebackes on the initial roster, and four spots are all but locked up if everybody stays healthy. The first two starters will be Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper. Veteran Isaiah McDuffie will make the team, and 2024 third-round pick Ty’Ron Hopper will also be on the roster to start the season. That leaves two players fighting for the final spot: Isaiah Simmons and Kristian Welch.

The two players resent a study in contrasts and give GM Brian Gutekunst some tough decisions to make. What he decides will tell us a lot about his thought process and how he goes about putting together a team.

Simmons will be entering his sixth NFL season in 2025. He was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft because of his elite speed and athleticism. The 27-year-old Clemson alum stands 6’4” and weighs 238 pounds. Prior to his draft year, he was timed at 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.

Despite his size and speed, Simmons has struggled to establish himself as a starter in the NFL. He spent his first three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played both linebacker and safety for the Cards and also contributed on special teams. But the Cardinals gave up on him after three seasons and traded him to the Giants for a seventh-round pick. The fact that the Cardinals only got that in return for Simmons speaks volumes about his play in Arizona.

In two seasons with the Giants, Simmons only started five games at safety and played mostly on special teams. He did have some success on special teams and even blocked a potential game-winning field goal against Seattle which the Giants recovered and returned for a touchdown. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for that performance.

Still, the Giants let him go and he signed as a free agent with the Packers this offseason. The Packers decided to have him work exclusively at linebacker in training camp so he could concentrate on one position.

Simmons’ performance with the Packers has been mixed. He’s made some plays in training camp that made the coaches and members of the media take notice. But in the first two preseason games, he looked tentative and unsure of his reads and assignments.

Head coach Matt LaFleur’s recent comments on Simmons reflect his inconsistent play. “He’s an unbelievable athlete. I think it’s just, again, getting more used to playing behind the ball,” LaFleur said. “It’s really, as with most players, it’s the level of consistency that you can go out there and play each play (with) because I think he’s done a lot of good things. And then there’s some things that we absolutely need to clean up.”

Welch also entered the NFL in 2020. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent the same year Simmons was a top 10 overall pick in the draft. Welch spent three seasons with the Ravens but never started a game. In fact, he played a total of 44 defensive snaps in those three years in Baltimore. He did stand out on special teams.

In 2023, Welch joined the Packers and again, became a core special teams player. He did not take a single regular season snap on defense with the Pack.

After the Packers released Welch after training camp last year, he split the season between the Broncos and Ravens. He started one game with each team; his first two NFL starts on defense. The Iola, Wisconsin native re-signed with the Packers this offseason.

During preseason games in Green Bay, Welch showed he can do a respectable job at linebacker. He knows his assignments and gets into the right position to make plays. He lacks the speed and athleticism that Simmons brings to the table, but he is more consistent and reliable.

“He’s done a lot of good things,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, his value is just his ability to go out and do a lot of things in terms of special teams. He’s a four-phase guy, and then he’s got enough experience at linebacker that if you need to fill a hole, he can fill any of those three spots.”

So, does Gutekunst choose the player with the higher upside who hasn’t figured it out so far in five NFL seasons, or the steady player with less pure athletic ability who is more consistent and reliable? In the draft, Gute tends to favor athleticism. When it comes to the roster decision, which direction will he go in? It appears Welch would be the more logical choice for this role because of his consistency. We’ll see what the Packers coaches and GM decide to do next week.