The following feature is a free preview of our IDP content. If you like it, click here to sign up for access to our Footballguys Subscription, and you'll get all of our content. We're so confident you'll love it that we offer an industry-leading 30-day Money-Back Guarantee, ensuring zero risk.
RELATED: See More Like This here.
An Overview of the Green Bay Packers Defense
When teams embark on a major defensive scheme change, it typically takes a year or two before they begin showing significant improvement. Last year's Packers were an exception. After an ugly 2023, Green Bay did a complete reboot, including a new coordinator and a completely different scheme. It had been fifteen years since Green Bay last ran an even front as their base defense.
It is not a traditional 4-3 under coordinator Jeff Hafley, who hails from the San Francisco coaching tree. Instead, it features two full-time linebackers and five defensive backs, with a single high safety. It's a look that is becoming more popular in the league. If teams continue to have success like the Packers did in 2024, it will get even more popular in the copycat NFL.
The Packers didn't just play well over their first season in the new scheme; they played championship-caliber defense. Against the run, they were seventh in yards, tied for third in yards per carry, and allowed no run plays of 40+ yards. The pass defense ranked 14th in yards allowed, but surrendered just one play of 40+ yards. The Packers got to the quarterback a solid 45 times, their 31 takeaways were the fourth most, and just four teams allowed fewer points.
The organization invested heavily in defense last offseason. Nearly all of their moves paid dividends, and many of the holdovers from the previous regime made successful transitions. That left them in great shape from a personnel perspective. The only significant change for 2025 is at corner, where oft-injured Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander are out, and veteran free agent Nate Hobbs is in. The team added depth in the draft, selecting an edge rusher, linebacker, tackle, and cornerback in rounds four through seven, respectively.
Most teams show improvement in the second season after a major overhaul. If this unit is any better and the offense carries its weight, the Packers should be a serious contender.
Green Bay Packers Defensive Linemen
The Packers have never been shy about investing in the defensive line, and they believe wholeheartedly in homegrown talent. This year's starting lineup will consist of four players who were all first-round picks by the team. In fact, there are no players in the top three on the depth chart at any defensive line position who have played for other teams in their careers.
One huge factor in the team's successful move to an even front scheme is the skillset and versatility of the roster inherited by the current coaching staff. Many 3-4 edge guys are on the small side, between 245 and 260 pounds. Green Bay's starters on the edge are 2019 first-round pick Rashan Gary, who checks in at 6-foot-5 and 277 pounds, and 2023 first-rounder Lucas Van Ness, who is 6-foot-5 and 272. Another positive factor is that they both played outside in four-man fronts in college and are not strangers to the workings.
Gary has been a good player for the Packers. Statistically speaking, he neither lived up to his first-round status nor has he been more than a marginal IDP factor thus far. Heading into his seventh season, Gary is still looking for the first double-digit sack production of his career, though he has reached nine twice. It is modest tackle totals that have held him back the most. Gary has never reached 30 solo stops in a season and set a new career mark with 47 combined in 2024.
Van Ness spent his first season and a half as the third man, behind Preston Smith. He was promoted when the team shipped Smith to Pittsburgh ahead of last year's trade deadline. Van Ness earned the nickname Hercules from his Iowa teammates for his power and prowess as a bull-rusher. Despite impressing those around him, he was not very productive statistically with the Hawkeyes. So far, that trend seems to have followed him to the NFL, but it may not be all his fault.
With the departure of Smith, everyone moves up the depth chart a slot, making fourth-year pro Kingsley Enagbare the third man. He's held a big role in each of his three seasons, but never big enough to make a splash in the IDP pool.
The inside starters are Kenny Clark, who joined the team as a first-round selection in 2016 and is the elder statesman of the group, and 2022 first-rounder Devonte Wyatt. Clark has been one of the NFL's better 3-4 nose tackles over his career. Despite the limitations of the scheme, he averaged 52 combined stops, 4.5 sacks, and 2 turnovers between 2017 and 2023, and has been a borderline second starter or quality depth for IDP managers over much of the last eight seasons. At this point last summer, I speculated that the scheme shift might be a plus for Clark. It turned out not to be. At 20-17-1, it was the least productive since he was a rookie.
Wyatt is yet another player who, despite having the talent to be a first-round pick, has failed to make the kind of impact that shows up on the stat sheet. He managed five sacks in each of the past two seasons, but has been a dud in the tackle columns. In three campaigns with the team, Wyatt is 43-31-11 for his career.
While Wyatt is widely referred to as the starter, Karl Brooks is likely to see virtually equal playing time. That brings us to the dilemma surrounding all of Green Bay's defensive linemen. There are three or four players in this group with the talent and skillset to make an IDP impact. The issue is a lack of opportunity. As mentioned in previous editions, the target number for a lineman to have useful/consistent production is 750 snaps. Last year's Packers had ten linemen with at least 187, while Clark led the way at 686, and Gary was second with 639. Unless injuries shrink the number of players in the rotations, none of these guys are likely to be more than bye week fliers or maybe matchup-based spot plays in deeper drafted leagues.
- Edge Rashan Gary – Depth with limited upside
- Edge Lukas Van Ness – worth keeping an eye on, but don't commit a roster spot
- Edge Kingsley Enagbare – Marginal impact
- Edge Barryn Sorrell – Rookie who could land in the rotation
- DT Devonte Wyatt – No expectations
- DT Kenny Clark – Pick him up if he is productive early
- DT Karl Brooks – Marginal impact
- DT Warren Brinson – Could earn a spot in the rotation
_(1000_x_500_px)_png)