Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt was one of the most dominant players on the field during the team’s Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears. Wyatt logged a team-high six pressures and totaled three tackles, two tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.
Sunday’s performance was precisely what the Packers had in mind when they drafted him in the first round of last year’s draft. As a rookie, Wyatt had a limited role on defense but has experienced a ton of improvement over the past year. He appeared to be a much more polished and confident player in the season opener and could be the perfect complement to Pro Bowler Kenny Clark.
Buy Packers TicketsHowever, despite coming off his most impactful game as a pro, Wyatt still wants to see what he can improve upon. The best way to do that, he says, is to watch the film.
“Watch the tape, see what you did, and see what you can get better at because you always have room for improvement,” Wyatt said. “That’s my goal. Just watch this film and see what I can improve at because I’ll say I started off kind of slow for me, but I want to watch film so I can start off fast and not have a slow start.”
Coincidentally, we are also going to review Wyatt’s tape from the Bears game to break down what went into his impressive pass-rushing performance.
Let’s begin.
This first play perfectly encapsulates Wyatt as your prototypical three-tech. When he puts it all together, he has the necessary explosiveness, play strength, and technique to quickly beat the man across from him. After a good initial punch, Wyatt uses a jerk move into a club arm-over to gain a clear path to the quarterback. Unfortunately, Justin Fields is one of the best running quarterbacks in the league, so Wyatt can’t get the sack, but it was still a great rep.
Another near-sack for Wyatt, but on a different type of rush. Green Bay used a ton of stunts to generate pressure against Fields and this was one of them. Here, we see Wyatt as the penetrator using speed and effective hand usage to get around the edge. Even though Wyatt doesn’t quite get to Fields, he does his job to force an inaccurate throw that falls incomplete.
The game is slowing down for Wyatt and his knowledge of opposing schemes is also improving. He might be unblocked on this play, but it is still an excellent read to not fall for the play-action. Wyatt never takes his eyes off the ball and shows good closing speed to get there before Fields can finish carrying out the fake. Well done.
The Packers run a three-man stunt, but Wyatt doesn’t have a clear path to the quarterback as the looper. Meanwhile, Fields can’t find an open receiver and decides to run. Wyatt shows good awareness and effort to get back into the play and help with the tackle. However, he takes it a step further and helps turn this into a turnover for the defense. You can see Wyatt’s right hand help punch the ball out for a fumble that Green Bay recovers. Clark was officially credited with the forced fumble, but Wyatt had a hand in it as well.
Bonus Clip
Wyatt wasn’t just disruptive as a pass rusher against the Bears. He also flashed as a run defender in this rep of him knocking the right guard back into the path of the ball carrier for a stop in the backfield. If Wyatt can also become a force in the run game, he will be on his way to becoming one of the defense’s better all-around players.
Conclusion
Throughout training camp, there was talk of Wyatt making a second-year jump and we saw it come to fruition in Week 1. Wyatt showed why he was a first-round pick with his strength and explosiveness while topping it off with good technique. These traits could turn him into not just a productive pass rusher for Green Bay’s defense but potentially a dominant one. Wyatt still needs to keep working on his craft and prove he can do it consistently, but there is reason to be excited about his future after this performance.
