
Even with the ups and downs from the Green Bay Packers defense this season, one area that they’ve been consistently good at has been pressuring the quarterback–ranking top-5 in total pressures generated.
Kenny Clark posted 64 pressures along the interior, the fourth-most among interior defensive linemen and the second-most of his career. Dean Lowry, who typically isn’t someone to show up on the stat sheet, logged 42 pressures–the most of his career.
On the outside, Rashan Gary and Preston Smith were two of the most productive edge rushers in the NFL. Gary’s 81 pressures were the second-most while Smith’s 62 pressures were tied for 10th.
However, despite the overall success that this defensive unit has had getting after the quarterback, when looking at the edge rusher position specifically, the production has been very top-heavy, and the depth of the unit is a real concern entering the playoffs.
Without Za’Darius Smith for much of the season and Whitney Mercilus sidelined since Week 10 vs. Seattle, Green Bay has had to rely heavily on the inexperienced Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai, and La’Darius Hamilton–unfortunately, it’s not as if Gary and Smith can play every snap.
While there is certainly upside, all three are only in their second seasons, with Garvin being a seventh-round pick and both Hamilton and Galeai going undrafted in 2020. So in short, there was a very noticeable difference when Smith and Gary were on the field compared to when they weren’t.
Hamilton would play just 64 total snaps and tally three pressures; Garvin, meanwhile, was on the field for 224 pass-rush snaps and generated 25 pressures with two sacks. Galeai would record six pressures and a sack in his 82 pass-rush reps, according to PFF. Not to mention that their play against the run hasn’t been that great either.
Andy Herman of Packer Report, who grades every play for every player over the course of the entire Packers season, has Garvin as his lowest graded defender through Week 17, while Galeai is the fifth-lowest graded Green Bay defender.
The Packers have still been able to thrive from a pass rush standpoint, even with the opponent being able to take advantage of Gary and Smith being on the sidelines. But in the playoffs, where everything is magnified, particularly a team’s weaknesses, and the competition level is kicked up several notches, Green Bay’s lack of edge rusher depth was certainly a cause for concern.
However, just like several other positions on this Packers team, the edge rusher position has received a shot in the arm with both Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus — who saw that one coming? — returning to practice and being designated for return from IR.
Smith was on the field for only 18 snaps Week 1, but in his previous two seasons, he would total 164 pressures, 32 sacks, and was named a second-team All-Pro. With the Packers, Mercilus was used specifically on third downs and in obvious passing situations, logging 10 pressures, a sack, and from Weeks 7 through 9, he ranked 32nd out of 105 eligible edge rushers in PFF’s pass-rush productivity metric–which measures efficiency as a pass-rusher.
During the 16 games that Garvin played in this season, he averaged about 25 snaps per contest, with Galeai averaging about 22 in his seven games. If Z. Smith and Mercilus can come in give the Green Bay defense roughly 25 snaps per game each, it will be a massive upgrade for this defensive unit.
As impressive as Z. Smith’s first two seasons have been, he has missed pretty much the entire season and is working his way back from injury, while P. Smith and Gary have been two of the most productive edge rushers in football. My guess is that they continue to take a majority of the snaps, and Mercilus was always destined for a rotational role.
Regardless of how the playing time shakes out, one of the very few concerns surrounding this Green Bay Packers team entering the playoffs, the edge rusher depth, all of a sudden may have become a strength. As we all know, the name of the game in football is pressuring the quarterback, and Green Bay’s already stout pass-rush just became much deeper.
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Born and raised in Green Bay, WI and I still call it home. After my family, watching the Packers, sharing my opinions on the team through my writing and interacting with other fans is my greatest passion. You can find me on Twitter at @Paul_Bretl.
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