The Green Bay Packers have multiple positions on their roster that come with some question marks heading into the 2023 season. One area that the team has very few established players is their pass rush.
Preston Smith returns after leading the team with 8.5 sacks last season, but they did very little to address their need there this offseason. Lukas Van Ness was selected with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but could need some time to develop a repertoire at the next level. He won’t consistently win with brute strength in the NFL as he did at Iowa.
But, outside of Smith, there isn’t an established pass rusher that will be ready to go for Week 1 of the season. That is because the success of this unit hinges on the availability of Rashan Gary, who is rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered in Week 9 last season.
Gary being on the field makes all of the difference for the Packers in the pass-rushing department. That is why Rob Demovsky of ESPN believes that this unit will be worse in 2023, at least out of the gate. He doesn’t believe we will see Gary in Week 1 and the longer he is out, the more this unit will struggle to produce.
“They’ll be better when Gary returns from the torn right ACL he suffered in November, but it seems unlikely he’ll be ready for the season opener. The Packers’ pass rush was much less effective after Gary went out in early November. It had a 40% pressure rate when Gary was on the field, but that dropped to 32% without Gary, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Van Ness, the 12th defensive player taken in the Packers’ past 13 first-round picks, will need to contribute immediately.”
The pressure rate difference with and without Gary is a staggering amount. But, it isn’t too surprising given the fact that he finished second on the team with 6.0 sacks during the 2022 season despite playing in only nine games.
If Van Ness can develop quicker than anticipated, this unit will be able to survive Gary’s absence as he can be the bookend to Smith. That is a big ask, even for a first-round pick, as Van Ness didn’t start a single game at Iowa and needs some time to fine-tune his craft.
What Green Bay would truly benefit from is someone such as Justin Hollins or Kingsley Enagbare having a breakout campaign. That would help ease the pressure off of Smith and Van Ness to carry the unit for however long Gary is sidelined if he cannot get in the lineup in Week 1.