It’s Past Time for Packers’ Touted Pass Rushers to Turn Up Heat

Not that Preston Smith was having a productive season, but the Green Bay Packers’ defensive line following the NFL trade deadline looks like a major barrier to playoff success.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary has only 2.5 sacks this season. / Wm. Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the Green Bay Packers, counting on their dormant pass rush to become dominant by replacing Preston Smith with Arron Mosby is a bold strategy.

The only move the Packers made at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline was sending Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers didn’t acquire any help and there are no blue-chip rushers waiting in the wings.

So, the fate of the season is pretty simple: If the Packers’ defense is going to go from good to great, the defensive linemen who have been playing must play better. The veteran defenders who were supposed to flourish in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s system need to start making an impact.

That’s the expectation.

“I think they’ve done a nice job so far,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the trade deadline, “and I think those guys have got to continue to work within the scheme and what we’re doing.

“This is the first year in this defense, so there’s always some kinks to work out. I expect a lot of those guys in the second half of the season. I think they’ll continue to improve, and I think allowing these two guys to get on the field a little bit and maybe some snaps to go to some other guys, too, I think will help us.”

The “kinks” in the road have been more like sinkholes.

Defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who set career highs with 7.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits last season to earn a contract extension, has zero sacks and two quarterback hits.

Defensive end Rashan Gary, who had nine sacks and 22 quarterback hits last season while coming off a torn ACL that limited his snaps early in the season, has 2.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits. He was not touched by the right tackle in his two full sacks.

Defensive end Lukas Van Ness, who had four sacks and 10 quarterback hits as a first-round pick last year, has one sack and two quarterback hits.

Defensive end Kingsley Enagbare, who had two sacks and six quarterback hits last season, has 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits. All the sack production came against Tennessee.

“I think from that entire group, we need more from those guys as we move forward into the second half of the season, and I think we’ll get that,” Gutekunst said. “I think as the last few games have trended, Lukas’ snaps have already gone up to where he’s going to be probably and J.J. (Enagbare) and those guys.

“So, I like that group. I like the way they work. They got to continue to keep pushing and I think the addition of some of these guys getting some more snaps will help that.”

While it’s true the pass-rush production was impacted by early-season games against the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Colts’ Anthony Richardson and the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray – three quarterbacks with elite running ability – that wasn’t the case against Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Detroit’s Jared Goff.

The Packers had one sack in each game.

While former first-round pick Devonte Wyatt was on his way before injuring an ankle against the Vikings, Gary, Clark and Van Ness have been colossal disappointments.

Gary has the full attention of opposing offenses. Before the Detroit game, he had the sixth-highest chip rate at 16.5 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. While it’s easy to see why that’s impacted his production, it doesn’t make production impossible.

The Steelers’ T.J. Watt is No. 1 in chip rate at 31.6 percent but has 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for losses and four forced fumbles. Myles Garrett is No. 2 in chip rate and has seven sacks and 10 tackles for losses. Maxx Crosby is No. 3 in chip rate but has 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for losses.

According to PFF, Gary is on pace for 38 pressures after recording 60 last year.

Clark is coming off his third Pro Bowl season. Against Detroit, he played 37 snaps and didn’t make a single statistical contribution. He is on pace for 30 pressures after recording 61 last year.

Van Ness had four sacks and nine quarterback hits during the final nine games last year (including playoffs), leading to high hopes for a Year 2 jump.

Instead, he has six pressures in 141 pass-rushing snaps compared to 18 in 182 last year.

Including Smith, all of Green Bay’s defensive ends have combined for 46 pressures, according to PFF. Minnesota’s Jonathan Greenard has more by himself. At defensive tackle, Green Bay’s three best rushers, Wyatt, Clark and Karl Brooks, have fewer pressures (40) than Denver’s Zach Allen (43).

It’s one thing for Enagbare, a former fifth-round pick, to not be dominating. It’s quite another for Gary, who is playing under a four-year, $96 million contract, Clark, who is playing under a three-year, $64 million contract, and Van Ness, who was last year’s first-round pick, to be providing little impact.

Who knows, maybe Mosby can provide a spark. His half-sack against the Lions? That’s more than Van Ness, Enagbare and Clark combined over the last six games.

“I think there’s always an adjustment period, but I think they’ve done some really good things,” Gutekunst said of the defensive line. “I think they’ve yet to have that real breakout game, but I think that’s coming. I like the way they’re working.

“I think they’re doing the right things, and I think it’s just a matter of time before they get there.”

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