Coming into training camp, there were a lot of people questioning if the Green Bay Packers had done enough this offseason when it came to their pass rush. Last season, their ability to get after the quarterback fell off a cliff when Rashan Gary suffered his knee injury.
Without Gary, the Packers’ only consistent pass-rushing threat was Preston Smith, who led the team with 8.5 sacks. To hammer home how poor the pass rush was, Gary finished second on the team with 6.0 sacks despite playing in only nine games.
Alas, this offseason and into training camp, the pass rush has come alive for the Packers. Against the New England Patriots this week in joint practices, Green Bay’s defense had Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe under siege.
According to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Globe, the Packers racked up 13 “sacks” during Tuesday’s practice alone. Since there isn’t full contact, scoring sacks is an inexact science, but the pressure Green Bay created was legitimate.
“The room has grown,” said Justin Hollins after practice about the edge rusher room. “I feel like we are on the right track right now. Guys are making plays. We are playing with that mentality that you love to see. That dog mentality. And I feel like it’s transferring over pretty well right now. We are just continuously getting better each day as a room.”
Hollins spent time in the Patriots’ backfield during practice along with Smith, rookie Lukas Van Ness and JJ Enagbare. Even end-of-the-roster hopefuls such as Brenton Cox Jr., Keshawn Banks and Arron Mosby were making plays.
The sack numbers weren’t as high on Thursday, with only three, but that is still a good showing for this unit. What makes this group for the Packers unique is that each player wins in their own way. Whether it is with finesse, speed or power, Green Bay’s depth chart features a little bit of everything.
“We were causing havoc,” said Hollins. “We were causing havoc in the backfield. It looked like on film, every other play (and) across the whole front it was a sack, whether it was the D-tackle, end, outside linebacker. We were there almost every other player.”
Pass-rushing depth is key for any team and the Packers look to now have some. After a slow start for some in training camp, the battle for roster spots here is beginning to ramp up.
Just like with the wide receivers, players presumed to be cut candidates are playing well enough to garner attention for a spot on the 53-man roster.
