Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt did not participate during the team drills of Wednesday’s open OTA practice, which meant more opportunities for rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks.
Among the defensive starters during team drills was Wooden at defensive end, lining up alongside of Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton. It was a great opportunity for Wooden, who took advantage by making his way into the backfield on a few occasions.
“Colby, he’s been doing good,” said Kenny Clark after Wednesday’s practice. “From Day 1, he’s been coming in, and he learned the playbook pretty fast. He’s having a good OTAs. We just need to stay on top of him and keep going.”
Brooks also made some noise, forcing what would have been a sack of Sean Clifford with the second-team defense.
One thing that we know these two players add to the Packers’ defensive front is versatility. During each of their respective college careers, Wooden and Brooks played up and down the defensive fronts. Wooden had over 600 snaps at Auburn from the B-gap and as a traditional edge rusher, along with 355 at defensive end. Brooks, meanwhile, played over 1,400 snaps as a 300-plus pound edge rusher and over 900 from the interior.
With veterans Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry a season ago, the Packers had the luxury to bring along Wyatt slowly during his first season. However, given the current state of the interior defensive line room, which is relatively young and inexperienced, Green Bay won’t have that same ability with Wooden and Brooks — both will see playing time right away.
What remains to be seen is how these two are going to be utilized, and with it being so early in the offseason, perhaps the Packers don’t quite have that answer yet. Although both have ample edge rusher experience, run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery confirmed that neither would be lining up at edge rusher and that they’ll be interior players.
The most likely role for each player will come on third downs or obvious passing situations, where they can pin their ears back and rush the quarterback. Oftentimes, a young interior defender’s greatest impact comes as a pass rusher, whereas in the run game, the learning curve is a bit steeper given the required technique and nuance that comes with filling that role.
But, again, given the makeup of the interior defensive line position, Wooden and Brooks will likely have to take some run defense snaps as well, rather than only being utilized in passing situations. I go into greater detail here, but in short, Wyatt still has his own growing to do as a run defender, and it’s not as if he and Clark can play every run defense and pass rush snap from week to week. Meaning others — Wooden and Brooks — will also have to be relied upon to fill those early down roles. In these situations, either could line up at defensive end with their versatility and be tasked with setting a strong edge, funneling the ball carrier back inside.
If we are going to see this Packers’ defense improve in 2023, as both Montgomery and Clark have pointed out, that begins with being better against the run, which will put the opponent in predictable passing situations.
Wooden and Brooks are going to be thrown into the fire as rookies. This means that there will be mistakes, and the Packers have to be prepared to weather that storm. But hopefully, that experience shortens the inevitable learning curve and leads to a greater impact from each of them sooner.
“Great athletes, really explosive, especially when they’re playing fast,” said Clark. “The main goal is to get them to see everything, see formations so they can really use their abilities. Colby, KB, they’ve been doing a really good job, always asking questions, even when we are hard on them and pushing them, they are guys who are staying after it and got the right mentalities.”
