On the Playcallers podcast presented by The Athletic, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley discussed the importance of having versatility and movement along the defensive front within his defensive system. Adding to this skill set was an emphasis for the Green Bay Packers in this year’s draft.
As we know, one of the big reasons that Joe Barry was hired to be the defensive coordinator of the Packers was because he spent time coaching under Staley when both were with the Los Angeles Rams. Barry was tasked with implementing a version of that same defense in Green Bay.
In this year’s draft, the Packers selected three players along the defensive front in edge rusher Lukas Van Ness and interior defenders Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks. Van Ness began his career at Iowa as an interior defender and actually played more snaps from the B-gap than as a traditional edge rusher in college. GM Brian Gutekunst has already said that the team will look to utilize Van Ness in a similar capacity as Za’Darius Smith, meaning that on obvious passing downs, we could see him as a standup pass rusher from the interior. This was an element the defense did not have in 2022.
Wooden and Brooks, meanwhile, both played up and down the defensive line in college. Wooden played 668 snaps from the B-gap, according to PFF, 355 over the offensive tackle, and 642 as an edge rusher. Brooks would spend 211 in the B-gap, 718 over the offensive tackle, and 1,441 as a 300-pound edge rusher. Gutekunst said of both players following the draft that they have the ability to rush the passer from just about anywhere.
“We really value versatility in the front,” said Staley. “Where guys can play a lot of different places, and that gives you more fronts that you can play against people. That’s something that’s important to us, multiplying the amount of looks the offense would have to block both in the run game and in a pass protection standpoint.”
Players like Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster, who had seen a lot of snaps for the Packers in recent seasons, were, for the most part, strictly interior defenders and more so space eaters rather than penetrating defensive linemen, which this system requires, and is the type of player Devonte Wyatt, a 2022 draft pick, is.
If the Packers defense is going to improve, it all begins with the play of the defensive front. Of course, pressuring the quarterback is a must in today’s game as it can lead to turnover opportunities and forces the quarterback to throw on the run or with a defender in his face, which throws off timing and accuracy. Green Bay’s defense ranked 22nd in total pressures in 2022.
Slowing the opponent’s run game puts the offense in predictable passing situations, allowing the defensive front to pin its ears back and the secondary to play more aggressively. However, when the offense is picking up large chunks on the ground, it creates second and third and short situations, opening up the entire playbook for the playcaller, which puts the defense on its heels and often keeps the chains moving.
“Staley also played with lighter fronts in order to facilitate coverages that required extra defensive backs,” said host of the PlayCallers podcast Jourdan Rodrigue, “using dynamic, often rotated defensive linemen, who could play more than single gap assignments, and rangy edge players who could help defender perimeter runs.”
Needing to bolster the edge rusher depth and rebuild the interior defensive line room, Gutekunst and the Packers had a clear emphasis on adding additional versatility to those position groups in the draft. From a skill-set standpoint, these players should provide Barry with what he’s looking for in an upfront defender, but specifically referring to Wooden and Brooks along the interior defensive line where there isn’t much experience at that position, the Packers have to be prepared to “weather the storm,” as run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery said, that comes with relying heavily on rookies.
