Zaire Barnes: LB · Western Michigan · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zaire Barnes
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Fourth year in the Western Michigan linebacker corps. That makes two straight seasons on the honors list: All-MAC again in 2022. One game to point at: 13 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Ohio — Week 7, 2022.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
94 tackles. 8 passes defended. 1 interception. 5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Western Michigan | 94 | 60 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 8 | 1 |
| 2021 | Western Michigan | 68 | 45 | 7.0 | 2.5 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Western Michigan | 29 | 16 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2018 | Western Michigan | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 206 | 128 | 15.5 | 4.0 | 9 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-35@ No. 15 Michigan State | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 37-30@ Ball State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-34vs No. 23 Pittsburgh | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 6-34@ San José State | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-7vs New Hampshire | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 23-45vs Eastern Michigan | 11 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 14-33vs Ohio | 13 | 10 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 16-10@ Miami (OH) | 8 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 10 | L 9-13@ Bowling Green | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-24vs Northern Illinois | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 12-10@ Central Michigan | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 20-14vs Toledo | 9 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 94 | 60 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 1 | 8 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
94tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%5 TFLSack rate
2%2 sacksPD rate
9%8 pass breakups94 tackles · 5 for loss · 1.5 sacks · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Tim Lester — 27-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 9.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Road6g | 6.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 9.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 5.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
42.2%
335 pass / 458 run
Plays / game
66.1
12 games
Team sack rate
11.8%
356 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #69 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Western Michigan, 206 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — drafted at #184 overall by the New York Jets.
A stat line in 42 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
1 coachPlayed every college season under Tim Lester.
Next stop · NFL
New York JetsEntering 4th NFL season
New York JetsEntering 4th NFL season
