The Green Bay Packers entered the 2023 NFL draft with the interior defensive line as one of the positions they had to address, as they were short on both depth and experience. While they would add Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, there is still a question or two that remain, including how will Green Bay handle early downs or obvious running situations?
The only true run-stuffer that the Packers have is TJ Slaton. Presumably, he will be taking a large number of those early down snaps as he now enters his third NFL season. Joining him will be Kenny Clark and potentially Devonte Wyatt in some instances as well.
On Madden, that configuration works. But in real life, Clark and Wyatt can’t be playing 100% of the defensive snaps each week, either. If the Packers prioritize having them on the field on running downs, then the trickle-down effect of that is that they may be off the field on passing downs. If Green Bay wants either available for passing situations, there will be running downs where one or neither player may be on the field.
With Wooden and Brooks, the Packers won’t have the same luxury of bringing either player along slowly as they did with Wyatt. However, ideally, when it comes to maximizing what each player can do and putting them in positions to be successful, both should primarily be used on passing downs, where Brian Gutekunst and the Packers’ staff identified that Wooden and Brooks could have the greatest impact.
“Both of those guys (Brooks and Wooden) have extensive skill set to rush the passer, the production to rush the passer,” said Gutekunst after the draft. “We talk about versatility with those guys and I think they’re able to go up and down the line of scrimmage to rush the passer and that was another goal for us.”
If the Packers were going to make an outside addition to their roster via free agency, adding to the interior defensive line room would make a lot of sense. A few players that still remain unsigned include Matt Ioannidis, Akiem Hicks, Shelby Harris, and Chris Wormley.
But as we know, the Packers are limited on cap space with just $9.6 million available, according to Spotrac, and they still need about half of that to sign their draft class. On offense, the Packers are giving their young skill position players the opportunity to showcase what they can do before deciding whether or not to make another addition. Gutekunst could be taking a similar approach on the defensive side of the ball. Also, adding a sixth interior defensive lineman, when routinely only four or five see playing time each week, takes away from another position group when it comes to a roster-building standpoint.
So what is going to be the Packers’ solution to his question? As of now, and with how the position group is constructed, my guess is that we see at least one of Wyatt or Clark on the field during early downs or obvious running situations. Wooden and Brooks, each with experience as edge rushers, could line up at defensive end on rushing downs and be tasked with setting a strong edge to keep the ball carrier from bouncing outside. Lukas Van Ness could be moved inside in these situations as well. There is also the hope that either Chris Slayton or Jonathan Ford can emerge over the summer as a candidate who could take a few early down snaps when needed.
The Packers’ run defense was again porous last season, ranking 28th in yards per rush allowed at 5.0 and 31st in run defense by DVOA. However, during the final five games of the season, Green Bay was much improved in this aspect, allowing only 4.4 yards per carry, which over the course of the entire season, would have ranked 15th.
Not coincidentally, the defense as a whole was playing its best football during this stretch. When the Packers are able to contain the run, it puts the opposing offense in third-and-longs and predictable passing situations, allowing for the defensive front to pin its ears back getting after the quarterback, while the secondary can play more aggressively as well.
