It’s not only on the offensive side of the ball where the Green Bay Packers are seeing growth from their young players, but on defense as well, specifically along the interior defensive line with rookie Karl Brooks.
Over the last two games, despite ranking 44th out of 88 eligible interior defensive linemen league-wide in total pass rush snaps during that span, Brooks ranks 14th in total pressures with seven and is tied for ninth in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric. For some context, Brooks totaled 11 pressures in Green Bay’s first nine games of the season, illustrating the growth that he’s experienced over the course of the year.
“For me, it’s a little bit just recognizing formations,” said Brooks when asked where he’s made the biggest jump from Week 1 to now. “Understanding the down and distance. Knowing how the offense is trying to attack you. I feel like little things like that. Communicating on the plays. I know my playbook a little bit better than I did at the beginning. I would say a lot of things like that.
“I would just say simple things,” added Brooks. “Little techniques. Having your hands in the right spot, having your eyes where they’re supposed to be. Not looking into the backfield and playing a complete game.”
Brooks, along with the play of Kenny Clark, has helped lead the Packers’ pass rush charge in recent weeks. Against Los Angeles and Detroit, Green Bay logged their second and third-highest quarterback pressure games of the season. Overall, this Packers defense has been inconsistent at times in terms of creating pressure, but when the interior defensive front specifically is able to generate push, every other player – the edge rushers, linebackers, and defensive backs – all benefit.
Karl Brooks has some serious juice at the 3-tech pic.twitter.com/K9e5Rpvxg4
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) November 20, 2023
As is the case for any young player, consistency is key, as is continuing to build upon the recent performances so what we’ve seen from Brooks as of late is more the norm rather than the outlier. The Pittsburgh game, not only for Brooks but for many of the Packers’ young defenders, is a prime example of the work that still has to be done.
In that game, missed tackles, missed assignments, and an inability to shed blocks were all too common. As run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery pointed out during his last media availability, when an error is made by one player, the Packers haven’t had enough cohesiveness in the front seven for someone else to pick up the slack on that given play, which has then resulted in the play for the offense being much greater than what it should have been.
Brooks has primarily been utilized on passing downs this season, and there have been instances where late in games he’s been the one lined up next to Clark along the interior. As is the case for many young defenders, run defense is an area of improvement for the rookie. He currently ranks 133rd out of 143 eligible interior defenders in PFF’s run-stop rate metric.
“We look different than we have in the past, obviously, with the group of guys that we have,” said Montgomery. “We’re super athletic but these kids can play the game. There’s some growing pains with the younger guys but more importantly we are asking a lot of them. They’re playing anywhere from 18 to 25 snaps per game as rookies. If you go back since I’ve been here, it’s been rare that a rookie has played that much, even high draft picks.
”Normally you have guys in front of them that have been the guys, have the experience and things like that. These guys have to go in there and get their feet wet. They’re doing that. They are getting better each week and they are growing. Like I said, I like my group. It’s a good enough group to win at a high level, we’ve just got to be consistent and be consistent as a defense.”
ANOTHER @packers FUMBLE RECOVERY ‼️
📺: #GBvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/N5H8NbZZUE pic.twitter.com/1BpX78ElOB— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2023
Similarly, to the Packers rookie receivers and tight ends on offense, Brooks is getting his NFL education on the fly, being asked to take on a much larger role than what rookies in past years have been asked to do. Just look at Devonte Wyatt, a 2022 first-round pick, as an example of this, with him playing just 224 snaps as a rookie.
However, with more reps, we are seeing a more productive version of Brooks, especially over the last two weeks, and not coincidentally, with the defensive front playing better, so has the defense has a whole.
“The kid has always been around the ball,” added Montgomery. “He’s got a knack for it.”
