Like every other NFL team, the Green Bay Packers and Brian Gutekunst have specific traits and thresholds that they prefer and adhere to when evaluating draft prospects. One of which is that Green Bay has traditionally acquired big-bodied edge rushers, whether that be through the draft or free agency. But could we see the Packers break that mold in this year’s draft?
At the beginning of last season, Jonathan Garvin was the lightest edge rusher on the Packers roster at 257 pounds. Preston Smith, for example, weighs 265, and Rashan Gary 277. This isn’t a new trend for the Packers and Gutekunst. For the most part, Ted Thompson preferred bigger frames at this position as well.
The Packers did, however, claim Justin Hollins off waivers last season and then re-signed him this offseason. Hollins is listed at 248 pounds, under that 255-pound mark. Green Bay would also have Iowa State’s Will McDonald, who weighs 239 pounds, in for an official pre-draft visit. Drafting McDonald would very much go against the Packers’ norm at edge rusher, but it is perhaps something they are exploring.
For what it’s worth, when defensive coordinator Joe Barry was a part of the Los Angeles Rams defense, they utilized lighter edge rushers than what the Packers do. Five of the seven edge defenders who saw snaps in 2020 were under 255 pounds, including four who were under 250. Terrell Lewis was the heaviest on that team at 262 pounds, which in Green Bay has been more of the norm than the outlier.
Barry, of course, brought over the Brandon Staley-Vic Fangio defensive model to Green Bay, which preferred lighter and faster edge defenders. Now in his third season with the Packers, Barry may want to begin adding this specific personnel to his regular edge rusher rotation.
A lighter edge rusher would provide the Packers with a change-of-pace option at the position. Presumably, with perhaps less power from a lighter edge rusher, there would be more speed, agility, and bend that would present offensive tackles with a different challenge to help keep them off-balance. On the flip side, and this doesn’t apply to all edge defenders, but these lighter rushers may not have the flexibility to play inside like we’ve seen the Packers do with Gary or Za’Darius Smith and they may not be a regular three-down defender if they struggle against the run.
As always, there is give and take. What the team gains with an added pass rush presence and different pass rush style, they perhaps lose some versatility, along with not being as well equipped to stop the run. One of the reasons that the Packers may have an interest in McDonald is that even with his lighter frame, he still took snaps lined up inside at Iowa State.
Bolstering their edge rusher rotation and creating more consistent pressure should be a high priority on the Gutekunst’s draft to-do list. Without Gary, the Packers struggled to create consistent pressure, and for the season, they ranked 23rd in pressure rate as a team while also not holding up all that well against the run.
The good news is that this is a very deep edge rusher draft class and that very likely, through the first three rounds when the Packers are on the clock, they will have options to choose from at that position. Along with McDonald, Nolan Smith, BJ Ojulari, Nick Herbig, Jose Ramirez, and Yasir Abdullah are other top edge rusher options who are below the 250-pound threshold.
We’ve seen Gutekunst break away from other thresholds recently, including last year’s draft, where the Packers selected the 24-year-old Devonte Wyatt along with linebacker Quay Walker in the first round. Wyatt’s age and Walker’s position led many to believe they wouldn’t be in play at that point of the draft for Green Bay.
Regardless of how the Packers go about addressing this position from a height and weight standpoint, what we do know is that whoever they select will, in all likelihood, be one of the better-performing athletes at that position with a Relative Athletic Score of at least 8.0 and probably 9.0. This threshold has mostly been a non-negotiable under Gutekunst.
