The Green Bay Packers will go into the 2023 NFL draft with 10 draft picks, but it’s a different kind of year in Green Bay. After winning 13 games during three straight regular seasons, the Packers finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs in 2022, and now a transition is beginning at the game’s most important position.
Instead of gearing up for another run at the Super Bowl, the Packers are likely entering a rebuild phase. And the 2023 draft is an important piece of the early rebuilding puzzle.
Packers Wire’s position-by-position draft preview continues at edge rusher:
On the roster
Preston Smith (30 years old, signed through 2026)
Rashan Gary (25 years old, signed through 2023)
Kingsley Enagbare (23 years old, signed through 2025)
Justin Hollins (27 years old, signed through 2023)
Jonathan Garvin (24 years old, signed through 2023)
Ladarius Hamilton (26 years old, signed through 2023)
All six players have played regular season snaps at outside linebacker in Green Bay.
Short-term need
Low to moderate. It’s unclear if Rashan Gary (ACL) will be back for the start of the 2023 season, but he’ll be expected to return at some point during the first two months. Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins, who played most of the snaps after Gary went down, also return. Still, the Packers could use another impactful rotational player at edge rusher, a premium position that affects the game every single week. Want to get better on defense? Disrupt the quarterback more consistently.
Long-term need
Moderate to high. Gary’s injury somewhat complicates his long-term outlook, Preston Smith turns 31 in November and Kingsley Enagbare is mostly an unknown entering his second season. The Packers could see this draft as the right opportunity to find Smith’s eventual replacement; getting a young player in the system now would provide a similar developmental pathway that Gary enjoyed before he was a full-time player.
Chances of drafting the position
Moderate to high. There’s need, opportunity and a deep class. The Packers added an additional top-50 pick in the Aaron Rodgers trade, which only increases the chances of getting an edge rusher early in the draft. There are attractive options at the position for the Packers on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.
Depth of the draft class
Good. Brian Gutekunst specifically mentioned edge rusher as a position he feels is deep in talent in this draft class. Dane Brugler of The Athletic agrees; he has 15 edge rushers in his top 100 players and 34 with draftable grades, including 23 capable of coming off the board in the first four rounds. In a deep class, the Packers can wait for the right value and not feel rushed to take one early.
Potential options, last OLB drafted
— Myles Murphy, Clemson
— Lukas Van Ness, Iowa
— Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
— Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
— Keion White, Georgia Tech
— Isaiah McGuire, Missouri
— Zach Harrison, Ohio State
— Byron Young, Tennessee
— Tyrus Wheat, Miss. State
— Robert Beal, Georgia
Last edge rusher drafted: Kingsley Enagbare, fifth round, 2022
