By: Marques Eversoll

Of the Packers’ 2015 rookie class, fourth-round pick Jake Ryan seems to have the best chance to earn a starting job. In the Packers’ base 3-4 defense, three spots are all but spoken for. Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers will start, and Sam Barrington will likely join them, considering he helped improve the run defense in making nine starts last season.

The question then becomes: Does Matthews “start” on the inside or outside?

If Matthews is outside, then Ryan enters training camp locked in a battle with second-year linebackers Carl Bradford (who didn’t play a snap last season after converting from outside linebacker) and Joe Thomas (who also didn’t play a snap, and went undrafted last year).

But if Matthews “starts” on the inside, then it’ll be Nick Perry or Mike Neal on the outside. Peppers and Perry/Neal on the outside, Matthews and Barrington on the inside certainly give the Packers’ their most experienced group. But is that what wins out?

Josh Francis, who played at West Virginia for two years, was signed in March after stints in the Canadian Football League and the Indoor Football League. The Packers also signed Tavarus Dantzler, a linebacker from Bethune-Cookman, after the draft. The possibility that an rookie free agent could get into the mix for playing time can’t be overlooked, as such players have played more snaps for the Packers than any other team in the NFL over the past 10 seasons.

Best guess: OLB Peppers – ILB Matthews – ILB Barrington – OLB Perry

Matthews gets the “start” on the inside alongside Barrington, while Peppers and Perry hold the edge on the outside. Regardless, Matthews’ versatility will allow several players (inside and outside) to have an opportunity to see the field. Ryan seems like a good bet to be a core special-teams player, and probably has a good shot at leading the 2015 rookie class in snaps played.

The Packers play more sub-packages defensively than any team in football, constantly rotating defensive backs throughout the game. But with Matthews’ versatility, and frankly, a lack of top-end talent on the inside, that rotation may very well extend to the linebackers. Matthews, Peppers, Barrington, Ryan, Perry and Neal will all play. It’s just a question of who gets credit for the “Game Started” because we like that kind of thing.

Side note: I’m sorry if you already saw my Tweet – this one – then I’m double dipping here, but Ryan definitely fits the Packers’ mold at linebacker. How do I know this? Because he wore No. 47 in college and has (had?) long hair. So did Clay Matthews at USC. So did A.J. Hawk at Ohio State. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

Marques Eversoll is on-air on SportsLine every weekday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 PM on The Fan, and he hosts the Saturday Morning Showcase every weekend 8:00-10:00 AM. Follow him on Twitter @MarquesEversoll.