The Green Bay Packers made 11 picks during the 2022 NFL draft: six offensive players and five defensive players. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going through and reviewing the 2022 season for all of the Packers’ rookies.
Next up: outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare, the Packers’ fifth-round selection taken 179th overall.
Snap counts
Enagbare was on the field for 465 defensive snaps (45%) over 17 games and seven starts. He started the year as a rotational player until a season-ending ACL injury sidelined Rashan Gary in Week 9. The following week, Enagbare played a season-high 62 snaps in an overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. He went on to start in six of the seven remaining games and played over half of the defensive snaps in each game except the regular season finale. Enagbare also played 86 snaps on special teams (20%).
Season stats
Enagbare finished the season with 31 total tackles, five tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, and eight quarterback hits.
Despite Enagbare’s less-than-stellar sack numbers, he was still a disruptive pass rusher. According to Pro Football Focus, he was first in pass rush win rate among rookies with at least 150 defensive snaps, and his 25 QB pressures placed him sixth among rookie edge rushers. From Weeks 10-18, Enagbare had more pressures than any Packers player with 18. PFF ranked him seventh among rookie edge rushers with 18 “stops”, which is a metric they use to track tackles constituting a failure by the offense. As a run defender, his average tackle came 1.4 yards downfield, which was 11th-best in the league, per SI.com’s Bill Huber.
Enagbare also dropped back in coverage 13 times in 2022, allowing two receptions for only two yards.
PFF grade
61.4. Enagbare’s grade ranked 12th compared to the 26 rookie outside linebackers in his class with at least 50 snaps. Among all edge rushers with at least 450 snaps, he finished 59th out of 80. His run defense grade ranked 67th, while his tackling and pass rush grades were 44th and 53rd, respectively. Although, he did have the best coverage grade.
Best game
It’s hard to distinguish just one because Enagbare put together some solid performances. He logged four pressures in Weeks 12 and 17, and his best PFF grade came in Week 6 against the New York Jets when he recorded his first career sack. However, he only played 11 snaps in the Jets game, so I’ll go with his Week 11 performance against the Tennessee Titans when he received his second-best grade in 36 snaps. Enagbare was Green Bay’s second highest-rated defensive player thanks to a team-high three pressures. He also forced three hurried throws and had two “stops” to warrant a negative play for the offense. The Packers ended up losing, but Enagbare was one of the best defensive players on the field that night.
Season recap, future outlook
Enagbare had a poor showing at the NFL combine, but Green Bay saw potential in his tape at South Carolina and pulled the trigger in the fifth round. Now, it looks like they may have gotten a steal. Enagbare was able to pick up some of the slack after Gary’s injury, thanks to his steady play over the final eight games. For the most part, he looked solid as both a run defender and a pass rusher. He can get off blocks and set the edge while employing a decent arsenal of pass-rush moves. That said, I am cautiously optimistic about his future. There’s a chance his lack of athleticism may limit his overall production in the league and make him nothing more than a rotational player. That’s not to say Enagbare isn’t a really good third edge rusher with an outside chance to grow into a full-time starter.
Season grade
Close followers of the draft, including myself, were excited about this pick. Enagbare showed a lot of promise during his college career, but I thought it would take some time for him to make an impact. However, his game actually translated better than expected. Ideally, Enagbare wouldn’t have been thrust into a starting role in his first year, but Gary’s injury gave them no choice. Overall, I’d say he handled it pretty well. There is obviously room to develop, but the tools are there for Enagbare to have a long career.
Grade: B
