By: Paul Bretl 7/17/2024
With Green Bay Packers training camp on the horizon, I’ll be doing a position-by-position preview. Next up is the defensive end position.
If you missed any of the previous position previews, you can find them below:
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Tight ends
Wide receivers
Offensive line
Defensive tackle
Roster: Deslin Alexandre, Keshawn Banks, Brenton Cox, Kingsley Enagbare, Rashan Gary, Arron Mosby, Kenneth Odumegwu, Lukas Van Ness, Preston Smith
On a young team, Preston Smith’s veteran leadership provides important element: Entering his 10th NFL season, Preston Smith has quickly become the veteran on this Green Bay Packers football team, which for the second year in a row, could be the youngest in the NFL. In fact, at soon-to-be 32 years old, Smith is the only player on the 91-man roster who is over 30.
“It’s always the goal of mine to make Year 10 and now that I’m here,” said Smith during minicamp, “it’s always a goal to just keep on chopping. Keep on chopping at the wood and making sure that I keep on doing what it takes to stay here and I keep on doing what it takes to reach my own personal goals and to make sure that — because I’m so close to a lot of ’em — and I got so many opportunities and I still feel like I got so much ball left in me.
“I feel like I got a lot of gas left in the tank and I still have an opportunity to make big plays and play for a long time in this league.”
During his tenure with the Packers, which is now going on Year 6, Smith’s experience, along with the example he sets day-in and day-out, has put him in a leadership role, one that he very much embraces. Following the Packers’ playoff loss to San Francisco, it was Smith, while the team was still in the 49ers’ locker room, that set the tone for the upcoming months, describing what a “championship offseason” looked like.
As he does, Smith led by example. He was a regular member of the Packers’ voluntary offseason programs, which began back in mid-April, and is something that certainly isn’t required for a player going on his 10th NFL season.
“Man, any guy in this locker room will tell you Preston is Preston,” said Rashan Gary. “Preston is the heartbeat, man. He’s going on 10 years. I’ve been with him my whole six years. Everybody feeds off him. When Preston talks, everybody be quiet and listen because when 10 years talk, he’s coming from experience and understanding. That’s what P brings, man, just a leader through in and through outs.”
“Big things” ahead for Rashan Gary: The big difference for Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary this offseason compared to last isn’t that he’s adjusting to a new defensive scheme under Jeff Hafley. It’s that he’s fully healthy and able to work on his game rather than having to rehab.
“Man, it’s a blessing,” said Rashan Gary at his locker following the Packers’ second minicamp practice. “I remember when I first got back here, and I was talking to the training staff. I’m like, ‘I miss this. I actually miss this.’ Just having the offseason to do what I need to do, I worked on parts of my game I really didn’t have time to work on last year. It’s very important and very crucial for me, so now I’m just enjoying it and thankful to God.”
Gary suffered that ACL injury during Week 9 of the 2022 season. To the surprise of many, he was available for the Packers’ Week 1 matchup against Chicago to open up the 2023 season, roughly just 10 months removed from when the injury occurred.
Easing Gary back in, he was used in a rotational capacity for the first five games of the season, averaging just 21 snaps per contest during that span. However, Gary made the most of those opportunities, totaling eight pressures and leading the NFL with a pass rush win rate of a whopping 33.3 percent, meaning that every three snaps, he was beating the offensive lineman he was lined up against.
Realistically, there was no way that pace would be maintained over the course of a season, especially as Gary’s workload returned to normal capacity. Gary finished the season with 66 pressures, which ranked 20th among edge rushers, and he was 21st in pass-rush win rate.
Oftentimes, when players are working their way back from injuries, they’re almost playing catch up to a degree throughout the offseason and even into the season–trying to work their way back to where they were rather than having the opportunity to focus on specific aspects of their game in an effort to get ahead.
A year ago, Gary was working through the former, just trying to get healthy. Now, he is living in the latter, with a full offseason to continue perfecting his craft.
“I think that’ll be great for him because he’s coming in with the right mindset,” said Preston Smith about Gary. “He’s been doing a lot of great things and of course you see what he did last season. I think this season is to realize what he needed to work on last year and to fix coming off injury.
“This year, having a chance to be healthy through a whole offseason and to get ready for the season, I think it’s gonna be big for him. I’m expecting a lot of big things out of him.”
Fully healthy, Enagbare’s continued ascension is important to DE rotation: After what was thought to be an ACL injury that Kingsley Enagbare sustained in the Green Bay Packers’ playoff win against Dallas, to the surprise of many, Enagbare was on the practice field during OTAs and minicamp.
“It was great news,” said Enagbare. “I’m on my 10 feet walking.”
During the draft, Matt LaFleur confirmed that Enagbare never had surgery on his knee and that, internally, they were optimistic about where he was at in the rehab process. Still, I’m not sure anyone outside of the building expected to see Enagbare on the practice field at this stage of the offseason, and we still don’t know exactly what the knee injury was.
For roughly half of the offseason, Enagbare was limited in what he could and couldn’t do as he went through his rehab. But for the second half, he was able to return to form.
“I was pretty limited for probably like half of it,” said Enagbare, “but the other half, I was back running, pressing, basically where I am now.”
And now? As we saw during practice with Enagbare participating in both individual and team drills, he’s a full-go.
“100% 100%,” said Enagbare when asked how he was feeling.
During the second half of the 2023 season, Enagbare’s production really began to take off. Of the 27 pressures he recorded last season, 18 of them came in Week 12 and beyond. During that span, Enagbare ranked 28th in PFF’s pass-rush win-rate metric out of 128 eligible edge rushers. He would rank 36th in run-stop rate as well.
In addition to his contributions on defense, Enagbare would also play the eighth-most special teams snaps on the Packers, routinely playing across three different units.
“He’s been outstanding,” said LaFleur about Enagbare. “You talk about a guy who comes to work with the right mentality each and every day, he’s the epitome of that. And I think we’ve seen the growth.
“We saw it last year, the growth from Year 1 to Year 2, and I think we’re still seeing that growth as he develops his body and continues to learn the game. And certainly we’re asking these guys to do a little bit different things from a front standpoint but he’s somebody that’s certainly capable of it. He just brings an edge to your defense.”
A Year 2 leap incoming for Lukas Van Ness? The potential recipe for a Year 2 jump from Van Ness is twofold for the Packers’ defensive end. For starters, the second season is where most players see the biggest developmental jump as there is the added comfortability that comes with the experience gained in the first year, along with having a full offseason to devote to their craft, rather than prepping for the draft.
“Biggest jump in my opinion in my years and time of being in the NFL is from your rookie to sophomore year,” said defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich.
“Every guy that you see that luckily I’ve been around, I say I, we, us, organization, coaches, from Year 1 to Year 2 that is when that light, that is when it clicks. Because at this level as you guys have heard me say, it’s knowing about you’re matchup. It’s knowing about protections. It’s knowing about the scheme. You’ve got to know where the fit is.”
In addition to that element, Jeff Hafley’s new defensive scheme should fit Van Ness’ skill set quite well. The defensive ends will have their hands in the dirt more often now, which is how Van Ness spent his time at Iowa. This defensive scheme also has an emphasis on attacking, or in short, get off the ball and get into the backfield.
Over the second half of last season, we started to see growth for Van Ness taking place. From Week 12 on, he had 15 pressures and five sacks during those nine games, compared to seven pressures–with five coming in one game–through Week 11. Out of 113 eligible edge rushers, Van Ness ranked 34th in PFF’s pass rush productivity metric after Week 12.
“I’m excited about Lukas,” said Matt LaFleur, “and I think a lot of times you see a lot of those guys that are pass-rushers take a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2. So he’s a guy that’s put in a ton of work. I think his body looks great. I think it’s unfortunate that he broke his thumb, but he’s getting more time out there, and we’re, he’s somebody that we’re certainly excited about.”
Brenton Cox impressed during minicamp: When it comes to evaluating the play of offensive and defensive lines, we won’t truly get a pulse on where these units stand until training camp arrives and the pads come on. But with that said, Packers’ second-year defensive end Brenton Cox impressed during minicamp.
During the second minicamp practice in particular, there were two pass-rush reps from Cox in 11-on-11 drills that stood. One came against Andre Dillard and the other against Jordan Morgan. On both reps, Cox won with power, popping both tackles in the chest, knocking them off-balanced, and then beating them around the edge to get to the quarterback.
“One thing that he could always do is he can rush the passer,” said Matt LaFleur after practice, “and I think, again, we don’t have pads on, so it will really show itself as we get into training camp. But I think, that’s why he made such a great impression on us a year ago. Certainly the scheme’s a little bit different, and we’re just letting him pin his ears back and go and he’s embraced that.”
As an undrafted rookie in 2023 out of Florida, Cox’s ability to get after the quarterback earned him a roster spot last season. As the fifth-man in the edge rusher rotation, his playing time was limited, appearing in only three games defensively, totaling five snaps.
Similarly to Van Ness, Cox should benefit from being in his second NFL season along with playing in Hafley’s attacking defensive front.
“With B, it’s his confidence, having more reps,” said Rashan Gary. “He’s the type of guy you need to put him in there so he can feel more comfortable. The more comfortable he feels, the more splashy plays he has. Just his hungry and being more comfortable. Understanding he has a group of guys that just want to see him win. It don’t matter.”
An under-the-radar name to watch–Deslin Alexandre: Everyone loves the under-the-radar player to watch for during this time of the year. So, one name I’ll put out there is defensive end Deslin Alexandre, who over the course of the OTA and minicamp practices open to the media, was able to put together some nice pass rush reps, winning with speed. During one OTA practice in particular, from my vantage point, it looked like he had a pair of “sacks,” one with the second defense and one with the third unit.
Now, I’ll add the caveat that I don’t expect him to push for a roster spot, but if he’s able to carry over his play from offseason programs, you may hear his name a bit more this summer and Alexandre could push for the practice squad.
The Packers signed Alexandre to a futures contract back in January. He went undrafted in 2023 out of Pittsburgh and initially signed with the New York Jets. He was released by the Jets following training camp and spent some time on the Chicago Bears practice squad.
Alexandre is a good athlete, posting a RAS of 8.41 during the pre-draft process. He played 1,767 snaps over five seasons at Pitt, almost all of which came lined up as a traditional edge rusher. His 2022 season was his most productive, recording 27 pressures and seven sacks. By PFF’s metrics, Alexandre was a reliable tackler throughout his career and solid against the run.
“I don’t think there are enough superlatives to describe Deslin and his achievements while at the University of Pittsburgh,” Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi said. “His impact as a student, athlete and community leader is so inspiring. He represents the absolute best of what it means to be a Pitt Panther. Deslin has given Pitt so many reasons to be proud and I know he will make the Witten family proud as the recipient of this outstanding award.”
An attacking defensive front: Under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafely, one of the more noticeable differences in his system compared to Joe Barry’s will take place along the defensive front, where the defenders will be responsible for attacking one-gap rather than trying to defend two of them.
In Barry’s two-gap defense, as the name suggests, each member of the defensive line was responsible for two gaps, tasked with reading the movements of the offensive line and the backfield, then determining which gap was the most vulnerable and trying to fill it. Interior defenders are more so space eaters in this style of defense, helping to create opportunities for the edge rushers and linebackers to make the plays.
In Hafley’s defense, however, with the defensive line responsible for only one gap, there should be a much more proactive play style instead of reactive, with the front asked to get north and south quickly, penetrating their way into the backfield, rather than reacting to what the offense is doing.
“Finally, I’m out here rushing more,” said Smith, “and I get to get after the quarterback a whole lot more. I just love the system.
“It’s definitely fine detailing in his system,” added Smith. “Everybody has a role and everybody has a responsibility. Nobody gets a pass in no way or shape or form. Everybody has a responsibility in each call and anything. You kind of know the responsibility in the run game and the pass for everybody.”
Mixing and matching: Between the defensive tackle and defensive end positions, nine different players were relied upon regularly each week last season. While the depth of the receiver room on this Packers’ team is what garners a lot of the attention – and understandably so – Matt LaFleur is quite fond of the depth in the defensive trenches as well.
“I think much similar to the receiving group, we feel really good about our front,” said LaFleur. “When you’ve got RG and Preston and J.J. and then inside you’ve got Kenny Clark, Heavy D, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, I mean, there’s a lot of players there. T.J. Slaton. Like, we feel really good about the collective unit and I think each one of those guys is going to get more 1-on-1 opportunities along the way because it’s hard to zero in on just one guy.”
With depth comes a wide variety of skill sets. From a game-planning perspective, there is a layer of unpredictability that the Packers’ front can have, allowing for Hafley to mix-and-match his rotations from week-to-week depending upon the opponent. This can even be taken a step further if there is going to be movement between the defensive end and defensive tackle position groups.
There is also the ability to maximize those individual skill sets by putting each player in specific situations where they can thrive rather than having blanket rotations that are utilized regardless of the situation.
Quick Hits:
Mosby and Banks are two other names to know: Again, if Cox continues to impress there probably isn’t a roster spot open at defensive end. But two names to know are Arron Mosby and Keshawn Banks, both of whom were on the practice squad last season. Mosby went undrafted in 2022, and played 33 special teams snaps with the Panthers that year. Banks, meanwhile, I thought really impressed during last year’s training camp, and if not for a crowded edge rusher room at that time, I believe he could have been in consideration for a roster spot. Banks was elevated from the practice squad for the playoff game against San Francisco and played nine special teams snaps.
Kenneth Odumegwu continues to develop and is doing so quickly: A native of Nigeria, Odumegwu was a part of the Packers’ practice squad last season on a roster exemption as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. He came to the NFL with almost no football experience, but his development over the last year has the attention his position group.
“Outside of football, me and Kenneth hang out a lot,” said Smith. “I beat him at FIFA a lot. Just to see a guy progress from not knowing nothing about football from last year to this year progressing so far and picking up on the game so easily, guys work a long time just to get to where he’s at. Just to have that experience and be playing at the level he’s playing at, it’s really exciting to see Kenneth out there doing a lot of good things and making a lot of good plays.”
Just like the other second year players at the defensive end position for the Packers, Odumegwu’s growth and potential will be worth watching as training camp takes place. Odumegwu will be vying for a roster spot, but if he doesn’t make it, the Packers can again keep him on the practice squad with an exemption.
“It’s incredible,” said Enagbare of Odumegwu. “Going from a guy who came from Nigeria, pretty much his only two years of playing football, to see him where he is now entering Year Two for him, this past year of OTAs, you could just see the growth in his mentality and understanding of the game.”