9 Days Until Training Camp: Packers Outside Linebackers Preview

With Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, the Green Bay Packers have a havoc-creating tandem of outside linebackers. But where is the depth?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, the Green Bay Packers have a top-flight pair of pass rushers. Beyond them is the big question mark. With the first practice of training camp set for July 27, here is a preview of the outside linebackers.

Packers Outside Linebackers Depth Chart

Rashan Gary turned potential into production with a breakout third season that has him poised to become a star this season. Gary led the team with 9.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hits, the latter figure almost doubling up Preston Smith’s second-ranked 15. Of the 80 edge defenders with at least 214 rushes, Gary ranked third in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity. He ranked second in the NFL in pressures (81) and pass-rush win rate (26.0 percent).

Preston Smith swallowed a renegotiated contract after a dismal 2020, then bounced back with a strong 2021. Given Za’Darius Smith’s near-season-long absence, the Packers would have been up a creek without Preston Smith’s big year. Smith had nine sacks and two forced fumbles, all while playing good run defense and stepping up as a leader. He tied for ninth with a career-high 62 pressures and was 14th with a pass-rush win rate of 18.1 percent, according to PFF.

From a snaps perspective, Jonathan Garvin, a seventh-round pick in 2020, was the main beneficiary from Za’Darius Smith’s near-season-long absence. He wound up playing 395 snaps. He didn’t take advantage of the extended opportunities, though, and finished with 1.5 sacks and a pass-rush win rate of 12.1 percent. When Smith returned for the playoffs, Garvin was inactive.

Tipa Galeai went from the practice squad to key backup thanks to injuries to Za’Darius Smith, Ramsey, Chauncey Rivers and Whitney Mercilus. Playing off the bench for the final seven games, he averaged 21.7 snaps and contributed 12 tackles and one sack. In a position group filled with power players, Galeai is the guy with the quicks. His pass-rush win rate was a feeble 9.0 percent.

Randy Ramsey was in line to be a key backup at outside linebacker at this time last year. Instead, he suffered a broken ankle during training camp and missed the season. An undrafted free agent in 2019, “Rambo” had two tackles on defense and nine on special teams in 2020. He said he is healthy and will be ready for Day 1 of camp.

La’Darius Hamilton was plucked off Tampa Bay’s practice squad after Za’Darius Smith was shut down in September. An undrafted free agent in 2020 out of North Texas, he played 64 snaps on defense in six games and contributed three tackles (all against the Rams) and two quarterback hits. His pass-rush win rate in limited action was 17.1 percent; the league median was 14.2 percent.

Kingsley Enagbare, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina, had 15 sacks and 24 tackles for losses in four seasons. His draft prospects were crushed by a poor Scouting Combine (4.87 in the 40) and an even worse pro day (4.96). While he might not be fast over 40 yards, he looked pretty quick over 5 yards during the offseason practices. “Power is his game,” scout Patrick Moore said during the draft.

Kobe Jones – aka the “Mayor of Starkville” – made the roster as a tryout player at the rookie camp. He had seven sacks and 22 tackles for losses in four seasons at Mississippi State, including two sacks as a senior in 2020. Last year, he spent training camp with the Falcons and served a short stint on the Dolphins’ practice squad. “I’m really excited about having Kobe here,” new outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich said.

Chauncey Manac chose SEC powerhouse Georgia as a four-star prospect. He redshirted in 2016, transferred to Garden City Community College for 2017 and then spent his final four seasons at Louisiana. As a super-senior last season, he led the team with 10.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for losses among his 57 tackles. His 40 pressures, according to PFF, were more than Day 2 draft picks Josh Paschal and DeAngelo Malone.

Leader of the Pack

Preston Smith rose to the occasion with Za’Darius Smith missing just about all of last season with a back injury. He recorded nine sacks, the second-most of his career. While he fell short of his career-high 12 sacks posted in 2019, his pressure count was up from 55 in 2019 and 26 in 2020. It helped that defensive coordinator Joe Barry put him in attack mode. He played 133 coverage snaps in 2019 and 111 in 2020 but only 40 in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus. Moreover, the run defense was 0.40 yards better when he was on the field.

Rising Star

Rashan Gary isn’t just the rising star at the position for the Packers but he’s one of the rising stars at any position in the NFL. He went from two sacks and 15 pressures as a rookie first-round pick in 2019 to five sacks and 39 total pressures in 2020 to 9.5 sacks and 81 total pressures in 2021. In Years 1 and 2, Gary had 54 pressures in 444 pass-rushing snaps. In 2021, he had 27 more pressures in 19 more pass-rushing opportunities. Gary is so powerful and explosive. While there’s plenty of nuance to his game, his path to the quarterback is all about brute force.

The Training Camp Battle

Depth. Three players are back from last season, with Jonathan Garvin (396; pictured), Tipa Galeai (152) and La’Darius Hamilton (64) combining to play 612 snaps. For reference, that’s not too far behind the starting tandem of Preston Smith (688) and Rashan Gary (681). Gary had 47 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 81 pressures. The other three combined for 33 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 34 pressures. Obviously, the No. 3 outside linebacker can’t be expected to put up Gary-like numbers. Nonetheless, the Packers need more when Gary and Smith are off getting a breather.

The Big Question

Who will provide production behind the starters? After Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, Green Bay’s other outside linebackers combined to play 791 snaps. That’s led by Jonathan Garvin (396), who was so mediocre that he was inactive for the playoffs, and includes Whitney Mercilus (107), who retired. Can Garvin take a big step forward in Year 3? Can Kingsley Enagbare provide sudden impact as a fifth-round pick? Can Randy Ramsey (pictured) take a huge step forward after logging a mere 75 snaps in his first three seasons? Or will general manager Brian Gutekunst have to go shopping for a Mercilus-style pickup?

Best-Case Scenario

Gary turns a higher percentage of his pressures into sacks. Among all defenders, only Maxx Crosby (101) and Aaron Donald (86) had more pressures than Gary (81), and only Crosby (26.8 percent) and Micah Parsons (26.2 percent) had better pass-rush win rates than Gary (26.0 percent), according to PFF. However, while Gary had “only” 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, Parsons had 13 sacks and three forced fumbles and Donald had 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. Hurries are great – they can turn into interceptions – but sacks produce negative yardage and fumbles. They also lead to more accolades and that, in turn, would lead to a bigger payday for Gary.

Worst-Case Scenario

Preston Smith or Rashan Gary are out for an extended period and there is nobody remotely capable of picking up the slack. When Za’Darius Smith missed most of last season with a back injury, Gary was ready, willing and able to be thrust into a much bigger role. Who will serve as a capable next man up this year? Remember, Preston Smith played 63.9 percent of the defensive snaps, Gary played 63.1 percent, and Za’Darius Smith, Whitney Mercilus, Randy Ramsey and Chauncey Rivers all missed huge chunks of the season with injuries. It is a violent position and depth inevitably will be tested.

One Superb Stat

Preston Smith’s production has come on an every-other-year schedule. As a rookie with Washington in 2015, he had eight sacks and three forced fumbles. In 2016, he had 4.5 sacks and zero forced fumbles. In 2017, he had eight sacks and one forced fumble; in 2018, he had four sacks and zero forced fumbles. In 2019, Year 1 with Green Bay, he was a menace with 12 sacks and one forced fumble; in 2020, he fell back to four sacks and zero forced fumbles. In 2021, Smith rebounded with nine sacks and two forced fumbles. What will happen in 2022? In three even-year seasons, Smith has averaged 4.2 sacks and never forced a fumble.

Does Smith have an explanation for the career yo-yo?

“I do but I’m not going to tell you,” he said at the start of the offseason. “I just think this year, we’re definitely going to break that curse. We’re going to break that curse and we’re going to make sure we don’t go back down. We’re going to make sure we keep going up. … It’s a lot of factors but I just feel like this year is the year I break that curse and I don’t have that rollercoaster stats no more.”

Countdown to Packers Training Camp

Get ready for July 27, the first practice of training camp, with this unique series of features and position previews.

Part 1 (30 days): All Matt LaFleur does is win (in the regular season)

Part 2 (29 days): Dominant Rasul Douglas

Part 3 (28 days): Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon

Part 4 (27 days): 27 is the magic number

Part 5 (26 days): Rich Bisaccia’s brilliance on special teams

Part 6 (25 days): Aaron Rodgers vs. the NFC North

Part 7 (24 days): Can defensive live up to hype?

Part 8 (23 days; July 4): These players will provide the touchdown-scoring fireworks

Part 9 (22 days): Homefield dominance

Part 10 (21 days): Christian Watson and history of FCS receivers

Part 11 (20 days): 20 reasons why Packers will win Super Bowl

Part 12 (19 days): Packers excel at avoiding turnovers

Part 13 (18 days): Why Packers could lead NFL in interceptions

Part 14 (17 days): How Packers will replace No. 17

Part 15 (16 days): Mason Crosby kicking into NFL record book

Part 16 (15 days): Positional preview No. 1 – Quarterbacks

Part 17 (14 days): Positional preview No. 2 – Running backs

Part 18 (13 days): Positional preview No. 3 – Receivers

Part 19 (12 days): Positional preview No. 4 – Tight ends

Part 20 (11 days): Positional preview No. 5 – Offensive line

Part 21 (10 days): Positional preview No. 6 – Defensive line