GREEN BAY, Wis. — Zaire Franklin wasn’t playing and didn’t feel appreciated.He was a youngster for the Indianapolis Colts, primarily a special teamer hoping to make a name for himself as a 2018 seventh-round pick out of Syracuse.Even as Franklin struggled to earn playing time on Sundays, the Colts’ defensive backs coach went out of his way to prop him up.That defensive backs coach, who wasn’t even Franklin’s position coach at linebacker, was Jonathan Gannon, the new Packers defensive coordinator who arrived in Green Bay not long before the team traded for Franklin this offseason.“He was one of the coaches, even when I wasn’t playing, that went out their way to just let me know that he believed in me and that he just appreciated how I worked and how I approached the game,” Franklin said this week. “At the time, when you a young player in a position where you may not feel like you’re appreciated, having somebody just come and tell you they recognize your work, it means a lot, and I told him that I really appreciate it.“He gave me a battery in my back when I really needed it … so it’s pretty cool that we here together.”The Packers have liked Franklin, now entering his ninth season, for quite some time. According to general manager Brian Gutekunst, they tried to acquire Franklin during his first couple of seasons with the Colts when he wasn’t starting on defense and was mainly a standout special teams player. Franklin first learned of the Packers’ interest when he hit free agency for the first time after his fourth season. His agent at the time told him the Packers had been trying to trade for him for a couple of years.The Packers finally landed Franklin in a trade this offseason that sent starting defensive tackle Colby Wooden to Indianapolis. Before finalizing the deal, the Packers asked their new defensive coordinator about Franklin from their days together with the Colts. Gannon’s description: “Team-first guy, tough as nails, very smart.”“I feel like me coming here,” Franklin said, “it was a bit of fate.”Feel-good partnerships aside, what can Franklin actually offer the Packers on the field and in the locker room as a replacement for Quay Walker, their 2022 first-round pick who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency?Franklin has been a captain in Indianapolis, and Gutekunst valued that leadership. Talking to other players and coaches this week, it’s clear that it has already rubbed off on them.Head coach Matt LaFleur: “Zaire’s been awesome. Just a real leader, an alpha. You can feel him. Does a great job communicating. He wears the green dot (he’s done that since 2022) and so naturally, you’re the quarterback of the defense and I think he holds himself to a high standard, and he holds those around him to a high standard.”Safety Xavier McKinney, who has long been friends with Franklin and trained with him: “Hell of a person, hell of a player … from the leadership standpoint, he’s really going to help us in that aspect and then obviously his play speaks for itself. He’s a guy that’s going to be around the ball all the time. He makes hella tackles. He makes a whole bunch of plays, and he’s also smart. Even now, he calls out things before a lot of us do.”Edge rusher Micah Parsons also listed a couple of teammates when discussing the importance of being a player-led group, and Franklin was the second name he said after quarterback Jordan Love.“I’m really just one of the guys,” Franklin said. “I done seen a lot. I done did a lot, from a late-round pick to a full-time special teamer to one of the highest paid at my position … I understand what it means to try and have to make a team and prove yourself in OTAs, and I also understand what it means when a team is looking for you to lead and stand out in front and be an example both in the locker room and in the community.”As for on the field, Franklin scoffed at a question about how much he has left in the tank as a player about to turn 30, a profile Gutekunst hasn’t exactly targeted in marquee offseason additions during his nine years as Packers GM.Franklin made the All-Pro Second Team and the Pro Bowl in 2024 after leading the league in tackles, forcing five fumbles, intercepting two passes and registering 3.5 sacks. Last season wasn’t as prolific, particularly in pass coverage, but Franklin clearly feels that he has plenty to offer in between the white lines even after a season with one forced fumble, no interceptions and two sacks as the Colts collapsed down the stretch.“Last year, I mean, you could call it — my career lows are some guys’ career highs,” Franklin said. “But at the same time, this a year-by-year league. It’s a week-by-week league. I gotta go out there and earn it every single year and every single week, so I’m looking forward to going out there and earning it.“On the field, I’m just a dog. I ain’t gonna lie to you. That’s just how I like to play. I like to get into issues and make plays and take the ball away.”How good can the linebacker tandem of Franklin and 24-year-old rising star Edgerrin Cooper be? That remains to be seen, but combining Franklin’s experience, tenacity and ball production with Cooper’s range, speed and playmaking ability should give Gannon plenty to work with as he and Franklin reunite to lead the Packers’ defense into a season with championship aspirations.