The depth of the Green Bay Packers edge rusher room last season was one of the concerns heading into the year, but now, with nine players on the roster between the 53-man and practice squad, it must be considered a strength.
Green Bay went heavy on the 53-man, rostering six players, which include Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, JJ Enagbare, Justin Hollins, and Brenton Cox. On the practice squad are Keshawn Banks, Arron Mosby, and Kenneth Odumegwu. All edge rushers from the Packers’ final 90-man roster made the team in some capacity.
Buy Packers Tickets“That’s a very loaded room right now,” said Matt LaFleur on Wednesday, “which is a great problem to have. We’ve all been in situations where we didn’t have many guys who could rush the passer, and now we’ve got I feel pretty confident a room full of guys that can do that.”
Throughout training camp practices, the edge rusher group did well at getting after the quarterback, whether it was the first team, second team, or third team, and they held their own against the run, able to limit ball carriers from getting outside and forcing them back towards the middle of the field.
The unit’s best performance came in Green Bay’s first joint practice with New England, where the edge rushers, along with the interior defensive linemen, dominated the day, recording 13 would-be sacks on Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe, according to Andrew Callahan, over the two-plus hour practice.
Along with the return of Gary and Smith’s veteran presence, Enagbare has made a huge jump in his second NFL offseason. Hollins provides a steady presence against both the run and the pass, while Cox led the team in pressures during the preseason. Van Ness’ speed, power, and upside are evident as well.
In 2022, this was a unit that did not hold well against the run consistently, with ball carriers able to get around the corner too often, and as a defense, the Packers ranked 22nd in total pressures generated.
“The room has grown,” said Hollins about the edge rusher room. “I feel like we are on the right track right now. Guys are making plays. We are playing with that mentality that you love to see. That dog mentality. And I feel like it’s transferring over pretty well right now. We are just continuously getting better each day as a room.”
How LaFleur and Joe Barry go about divvying up snaps amongst this group remains to be seen. We know that Gary and Smith will be the starters and see the most playing time, however, LaFleur did say that early on, Gary would be on a “pitch count” as he continues to work his way back from injury.
It would appear that Enagbare, with his play this summer, could be the third member of that rotation, but how snaps are divided between Hollins, Van Ness, and Cox is unknown. It’s possible that Hollins could see more early down snaps to help against the run while Van Ness is on the field in obvious passing situations. Cox’s role, meanwhile, could be small as a rookie, largely due to the depth of this unit.
The name of the game in football is pressuring the quarterback. When done consistently, every player on the defense benefits, and good things happen. But that right has to be earned, as LaFleur said on Wednesday, by stopping the run on early downs. Doing so puts the offense in predictable passing situations, allowing the edge rushers to really pin their ears back and go.
“It’s a great luxury,” added LaFleur, “and it’s going to be a very competitive situation throughout the course of the season to earn snaps to get out there to earn the right to go rush the passer. In order to even earn the right to rush the passer, you’ve got to play great run defense on first and second downs to get the offenses in those situations where you’re going to drop back and pass.”
Edge rusher is one of the premier positions in football because of the massive impact, whether it’s in the run game or getting after the quarterback, that these players can have on a game. And right now, the Packers have an abundance of depth at it, which should set this defense up for success.
