Of the many takeaways from the Green Bay Packers’ first training camp practice, one of the more interesting notes was that edge rusher Jonathan Garvin was going through individual drills with the interior defensive linemen, according to Ryan Wood.
For what it’s worth, Garvin is still listed as an outside linebacker on the Packers team site, so no official position change has been made.
Garvin was a 2020 seventh-round pick by the Packers out of Miami and has been a regular member of their 53-man roster during his career, specifically as a back end of the rotation edge rusher. Garvin recorded 25 pressures in 2021, although he ranked 91st among all edge rushers in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric.
Garvin, however, struggled to see playing time last season and was on the field for just 83 pass rush snaps. At times, he was listed as a healthy scratch on game days, even with the Packers short on depth without Rashan Gary. Garvin totaled just seven pressures and ranked 169th in pass rush win rate.
This offseason, Garvin appears to be closer to the bottom of the edge rusher depth chart than at the top. Based on rotations and playing time during OTAs and minicamp, Garvin was behind Preston Smith, Justin Hollins, JJ Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness, Brenton Cox, and I would even put La’Darius Hamilton ahead of him. Add Gary back to that mix, and Garvin very well could be the eighth option in what has become a deep edge rusher room for the Packers.
So a move to the interior defensive line makes sense from a roster construction standpoint. Garvin’s path to the 53-man as an edge rusher feels almost nonexistent right now. But along the interior defensive line, if the Packers keep six defenders, which they have done in the past, that final spot is up for grabs, with Jonathan Ford and Chris Slayton the front-runners for that role.
As Brian Gutekunst said on Tuesday when meeting with the media, the Packers do not have a shortage of pass rush options along the interior. So if Garvin, Ford, or Slayton want to really separate themselves from the pack, being a consistently sound run defender is the best way to do so. For Garvin, that was not an area where he thrived out on the edge. PFF grades are not the be-all-end-all by any means, but they do help provide context around those who are playing really well and those who are not. Garvin’s run defense grade in 2022 ranked 104th at the edge rusher position, and in general, is an aspect where this unit as a whole has to be better.
While the interior defensive line depth could use an experienced presence, with Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, and TJ Slaton being the only players at the position with NFL experience, Garvin’s move to this group may be one of those instances where the coaching staff is simply trying to find some sort of role for him. A somewhat recent example of this is with former Packer Kamal Martin, who was listed as a linebacker, was suddenly taking snaps at edge rusher during a few practices but then never made the initial roster after being on it the season before.
There is a greater opportunity for Garvin to make an impact along the interior defensive line than at edge rusher, given the makeup of each position group, but a position change — if that is in fact what is happening — isn’t an easy task either.
