Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Barnes was one of 15 undrafted rookies the Packers signed back in April but he didn't come to Green Bay lacking credentials. A former high school teammate of Packers' first-round pick Jordan Love, Barnes was a highly touted, four-star recruit when he committed to play at UCLA in 2016.
A productive three-year starter for the Bruins, Barnes recorded 212 tackles (21 for a loss), five sacks and two interceptions in 43 games. Still, he was relatively unheralded in the pre-draft process.
Barnes aimed to make a run at a spot on Green Bay's 53-man roster despite the absence of a physical offseason program due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made a good account of himself during an abbreviated training camp.
The rookie linebacker made a positive first impression on inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti, who praised Barnes for his ability to already play four different positions in the defense.
"Krys is a really serious guy that takes football very serious and I think takes life very serious," said Olivadotti recently. "He is a guy that his questions are not typical rookie questions. They're not the basic questions that sometimes get asked. He is a very thoughtful guy. He really has done a nice job. We've asked him to do a lot.
"When he's on the practice field … there's going to be a Packer jersey where a Packer jersey is supposed to be."
With NFL teams not having any film of each other's rookie classes without a preseason, the Packers opted to not keep any undrafted rookies on their initial 53 during cut-down weekend. After starting the week on the practice squad, Barnes received the late call-up to the 53 last Saturday en route to having quite the memorable NFL debut against the Vikings.
By being on the active roster against Minnesota, Barnes extended the Packers' streak of having at least one undrafted rookie on their Week 1 53-man roster to 16 years.
"You know a ballplayer when you see him," Kirksey said. "He (made) plays throughout camp. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was going to do what he did coming into the Minnesota game. I'm just excited that he had his first game and his rookie debut, and it was good."