If the Green Bay Packers don’t land an edge rusher during the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, who should Brian Gutekunst target at the premium position on Day 2?
We answered that question here at Packers Wire.
Edge rusher looks fine on paper for the Packers entering 2023, but Rashan Gary is coming off a major injury, Preston Smith turns 31 in November and Kingsley Enagbare remains mostly an unknown after playing rotational snaps as a rookie.
No team can ever have enough pass-rushers, and no team should get comfortable with the current depth chart at the position. It’s so important to disrupt the quarterback that teams must invest draft capital in pass-rushers every year.
Here are our picks for a non-first-round edge rusher for the Packers:
Zach Kruse: Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
What’s not to like? Foskey is young (22), big (6-5, 264), athletic (9.60 RAS), productive (22 sacks, 65 pressures last two seasons) and from a blue blood program. He was a disruptor for Notre Dame despite some technical flaws that will likely keep him out of the first round. Get his pass-rush plan ironed out and he could be a true difference-maker at the next level. Oh, and did I mention he blocked four punts in college? Rich Bisaccia will love him right away. More than anything, Foskey has the type of profile – especially from a size and athleticism point of view – that teams should bet on. His best RAS comparables are all players who have been disruptors in the NFL:
Foskey, if available, makes a ton of sense for the Packers at No. 45 overall (or one of the Jets’ second-round picks in the Aaron Rodgers trade). Let him learn behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith for a year or two and then unleash him as the long-term pass-rushing partner of Gary on the edge.
Paul Bretl: Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern
Standing 6-1 and weighing 282 pounds, Adebawore put up one of the highest Relative Athletic Scores amongst a very deep edge rusher class, posting an elite 9.87 out of 10.0. The bulk of his career snaps came as a traditional edge rusher, but Adebawore also had over 600 snaps lined up as an interior defender. The Packers need more depth and overall consistency at both the edge rusher and interior defensive line positions, and the addition of Adebawore could help in both areas. During the previous two seasons, he totaled 61 pressures and 11 sacks, while recording 22 run stops in 2022, which ranked 28th out of all edge rushers. Given Adebawore’s size, athleticism, and versatility, this would feel like a very Packers pick.
Top RAS performers by position from the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine
Brennen Rupp: Derick Hall, Auburn
Hall is a long-armed (34 1/2″) edge rusher. He has an explosive first step and wins with his ability to convert speed to power. Over the past two seasons the Auburn edge rusher has recorded 100 pressures to go along with his 15.5 sacks. With his length, athleticism and age (just turned 22), Hall could be a potential Day 2 target for the Packers. The name of the game is to get after the quarterback and the Auburn edge rusher did that consistently over the past two seasons.
Brandon Carwile: Isaiah McGuire, Missouri
McGuire has the necessary size and length you look for in an edge and is an impressive athlete with an RAS of 9.51. However, power is his calling call as he uses it to bull rush tackles and disrupt opposing quarterbacks. In his last three seasons at Missouri, McGuire totaled 17.5 sacks and 32.0 tackles for loss to go along with 50 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. He could be an eventual replacement for Preston Smith seeing that the two have similar builds and play styles. McGuire needs some work as a run defender and will probably need to be a situational pass rusher early in his NFL career but could develop into a future starter.
Unpacking Future Packers: No. 63, Missouri edge Isaiah McGuire
