Tell us your pick for who was the Packers’ best edge rusher of the last 25 years.
The pick for the Green Bay Packers’ best edge rusher of the last 25 years was not close. In fact, Clay Matthews won in the most lopsided voting of any position so far on the Packers All-Quarter Century Team, getting a whopping 92 percent of the votes.
In other words, there’s no question who the best edge rusher was. But now we get to a really good question: who is number two at that position?
Give us your votes for the second member of the edge group on this squad today and through the weekend and join us again on Monday, when we move our focus back to the linebackers and defensive backs.
Edge Rusher Nominees
Vonnie Holliday (2000-02)
Regular season stats: 38 games played, 35 starts; 133 total tackles (86 solo, 47 assisted), 24 TFLs, 18.0 sacks, 14 pass defenses, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions
Postseason stats: 3 games played/started; 9 total tackles (8 solo, 1 assist), 1 pass defense
The Packers’ first-round pick in 1998, Holliday was the runner-up to Charles Woodson for Defensive Rookie of the Year. But that’s before our cutoff, which comes starting in Holliday’s third season. Holliday was never a true game-wrecker as a defensive end, but he was a consistent, solid producer who you could count on for between 5 and 8 sacks a year.
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (2000-08)
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 124 games played, 74 starts; 302 total tackles (225 solo, 77 assisted), 74 TFLs, 74.5 sacks, 11 pass defenses, 17 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown)
Postseason stats: 8 games played, 4 starts; 23 total tackles (15 solo, 8 assisted), 7 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Few players in the entire NFL over the last 25 years can match the ability and production that KGB had as a pure speed rusher. The 5th-round pick out of San Diego State was a menace to tackles and quarterbacks off the edge with his incredibly quick get-off, bend, and closing ability. He recorded four straight double-digit sack seasons starting in 2001, when he was just a rotational player in his second year. He also posted multiple forced fumbles every year from 2001 to 2007 and missed only two games in that span.
Of course, Gbaja-Biamila gave up quite a bit in run defense. He was lean, measuring in at a shade under 6-foot-4 and weighing in the mid-240s for most of his career, quite undersized for a 4-3 end. Had the Packers played a 3-4 defense during his career, perhaps he could have had an even more impressive set of statistics. Instead, when his speed and elite athleticism (9.41 RAS at DE, despite his small size) started to wane, he was relegated to a situational pass-rusher role.
All told, KGB was a full-time player for the middle five years of his career, flanked by two years each of situational work on the front and back ends. But those years were still productive in the limited role, and even with places like Pro Football Reference going back to credit players for sacks prior to that statistic becoming official in 1982, he still ranks fourth on the Packers’ all-time franchise leaderboard.
Aaron Kampman (2002-09)
2x Pro Bowl, 2x second-team All-Pro
Regular season stats: 112 games played, 104 starts; 460 total tackles (322 solo, 138 assisted), 61 TFLs, 54.0 sacks, 9 pass defenses, 11 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 6 games played, 5 starts; 20 total tackles (14 solo, 6 assisted), 4 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
For many years, Kampman was KGB’s running mate, but he was the opposite type of player: a do-it-all, well-rounded defensive end, who was just as good defending the run as attacking the quarterback. He also did something that KGB never did: earn significant All-Pro consideration, as he earned second-team honors in both 2006 and 2007. In fact, the 15.5 sacks that Kampman posted in 2006 are more than KGB ever had in one season and officially rank third all-time in team history behind Tim Harris (19 in 1989) and Reggie White (16 in 1998).
Kampman was also a 5th-round draft selection, and the Iowa native and former Hawkeye moved into the starting lineup more quickly than his partner. Unfortunately, the switch to the 3-4 in 2009 did him no favors and amid injury issues (only playing 9 games that season) and the scheme change the Packers let him walk in free agency the following offseason.
Interestingly, the Vikings tried to sign Kampman to a restricted free agency offer sheet in 2005. That deal was a one-year, $1.2 million contract that the Packers elected to match. Given the success that he had over the next several years, that proved to be an extremely wise decision.
Nick Perry (2012-18)
Regular season stats: 81 games played, 48 starts; 214 total tackles (139 solo, 75 assisted), 37 TFLs, 32.0 sacks, 11 pass defenses, 7 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception
Postseason stats: 8 games played, 1 start; 28 total tackles (20 solo, 8 assisted), 8 TFLs, 7.0 sacks, 1 pass defense, 1 forced fumble
The Packers were looking for a running mate for Matthews and turned to another USC product in Perry in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, Perry never lived up to his immense potential, and at his size (6-foot-3, 271 pounds at the Combine) he may have been a bit miscast as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
He was fast and explosive, but was much more of a power rusher than Matthews. Still, he dealt with injury issues frequently during his career, never starting more than six games in his first four seasons. Perry finally broke out in 2016 with 11 sacks in a full-time starting role, but that came with him on a one-year prove-it contract. He then signed a big 5-year, $59 million deal the following season, but was released just two years later after recording just 1.5 sacks in 9 games in 2018.
Julius Peppers (2014-2016)
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 48 games played, 43 starts; 103 total tackles (69 solo, 34 assisted), 21 TFLs, 25.0 sacks, 14 pass defenses, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions (both returned for touchdowns)
Postseason stats: 7 games played/started; 21 total tackles (11 solo, 10 assisted), 5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 2 pass defenses, 2 forced fumbles
Few could have predicted after Peppers’ Hall of Fame-worthy career with the Panthers and Bears that he would sign with the Packers as a 34-year-old free agent in 2014. In fact, his arrival in Green Bay was perhaps the best-kept secret in recent Packers free agency history, with nobody knowing about it until the team posted on social media that he was at Lambeau Field signing his contract.
Peppers had never played in a 3-4 system before signing in Green Bay, and there were plenty of questions about whether he would fit at outside linebacker, but he answered them quickly. His first season saw him serve as a do-it-all player, posting 7 sacks, 11 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles, and two pick-sixes. He earned a Pro Bowl in 2015 with 10.5 sacks, then followed it up with another 7.5 in 2016 before finishing his career back in Carolina for two more seasons.
A member of the Hall of Fame class of 2004, Peppers provided the 2014 Packers with a much-needed defensive spark that nearly took them back to the Super Bowl.
Za’Darius Smith (2019-21)
2x Pro Bowl, 1x second-team All-Pro
Regular season stats: 33 games played, 32 starts; 108 total tackles (77 solo, 31 assisted), 29 TFLs, 26.0 sacks, 2 pass defenses, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 5 games played, 4 starts; 13 total tackles (9 solo, 4 assisted), 3 TFLs, 4.0 sacks
Another big free agent addition, Za’Darius Smith came over from Baltimore and ripped off two exceptional seasons in 2019 and 2020. The big edge rusher posted 26 sacks in 32 games over those two years, menacing quarterbacks from outside on base downs before shifting to an interior position in passing situations.
Smith’s tenure may be best remembered for the chaos of 2021, however, when injuries and his frustration with not being named a team captain led him to play just one game. The Packers released him the following offseason with one year left on his contract, and he signed with the Vikings seemingly to try to spite Green Bay. He finished 2024 with another NFC North team, the Lions, but currently remains a free agent.
Preston Smith (2019-24)
Regular season stats: 91 games played, 88 starts; 262 total tackles (162 solo, 100 assisted), 42 TFLs, 44.0 sacks, 14 pass defenses, 6 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries (one returned for a TD), 1 interception
Postseason stats: 7 games played/started; 22 total tackles (16 solo, 6 assisted), 2 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass defenses
The second of a four-man free agent splurge in 2019, Preston Smith was the steadier, more quietly consistent Smith Brother. He did set a career-high with 12 sacks in that 2019 season, but went about his business quietly, missing only a single game at the end of the 2021 season — to date, the only game he has ever missed in his career.
Rarely overly flashy, Smith was this generation’s answer to Kampman, a solid run defender who could also rush the passer and who was always available, even to shift into the slot to cover an All-Pro receiver on occasion.
Rashan Gary (2019-24)
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 90 games played, 59 starts; 226 total tackles (129 solo, 97 assisted), 39 TFLs, 39.0 sacks, 5 pass defenses, 6 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 8 games played, 4 starts; 19 total tackles (9 solo, 10 assisted), 5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks
Ahh, Rashan Gary, he of the immense potential and athletic ability that still has yet to be fully harnessed. Gary started his pro career behind the Smith Brothers and was expected to take a big leap in his third year — and to a point, he did, posting 9.5 sacks that season. However, a torn ACL midway through the 2022 season set him back a bit, costing him half a year and making his 2023 a bit inconsistent.
That same word can apply to his performance in 2024 amid the move to a 4-3 scheme, but really to his entire career; he’s a player who can go off for three sacks in a game and then go two months without recording one at all. With that said, after a slow start last year, he posted at least a half-sack in eight of the last 11 games (including the playoffs) and he earned his Pro Bowl nod thanks also to improved play against the run. He’ll need to be more consistent as a pass-rusher for this team to take another step forward in 2025 and beyond.