Packers’ Improved Run Defense Faces Another Huge Test

The Atlanta Falcons had one of the NFL’s top running games last year. And that was before adding Bijan Robinson. Can the Green Bay Packers repeat what they did last week at the Bears?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Atlanta Falcons used their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on tight end Kyle Pitts, who had 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie. The Falcons used their first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on receiver Drake London, who had 866 yards as a rookie. The Falcons used their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on running back Bijan Robinson, who had 83 yards and one touchdown in his NFL debut.

That’s a powerhouse trio surrounding second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder, but it’s the offensive line that drives the engine.

“Their O-line is really good,” outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich said on Wednesday, the tone in his voice being void of any sort of coach-speak nonsense.

The Falcons have invested heavily in the unit. Jake Matthews, the first-round pick in 2014 who is a former Pro Bowler and counts former Packers star Clay Matthews among his cousins, ranks sixth among left tackles in average salary. Right tackle Kaleb McGary and right guard Chris Lindstrom were first-round picks in 2019. Left guard Matthew Bergeron was selected 38th overall in this year’s draft. Drew Dalman, a fourth-round pick in 2021, is the least-heralded of the group but was a 17-game starter last year.

“They’ve been all drafted in that scheme,” Rebrovich continued. “Every single one of those guys has been there and drafted to do the things that they’re asked to do. They’re a heavy zone team and they run it extremely well. We’ll have our hands full. That’s just talking up front. That’s not talking about the two running backs, the first-round receiver, the first-round tight end. The list goes on.”

The Falcons ran over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Tyler Allgeier, who topped 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie last year, carried 15 times for 75 yards (5.0 average) and two touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson, the eighth pick of this year’s draft, carried 10 times for 56 yards (5.6 average). Led by a 22-yard run by Allgeier and a 21-yard run by Robinson, they combined for five runs of 10-plus yards.

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry, having watched Robinson while studying NFL Draft prospects, called him “great” after having played just one game.

“He’s not a good back,” Barry said. “He’s an elite back.”

Rasul Douglas and Rudy Ford stop D'Onta Foreman (Jamie Sabau/USA Today Sports Images)

Green Bay’s run defense has been a perennial bottom-feeder under coach Matt LaFleur. Last year, even with a veteran defensive line, the Packers ranked 28th with 4.95 yards allowed per carry.

With 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt and third-year player T.J. Slaton elevated into the starting lineup and Day 3 draft picks Colby Wooden (36 snaps) and Karl Brooks (29 snaps) playing big roles as rookies, the Bears averaged only 3.15 yards on runs that didn’t involve quarterback Justin Fields.

“Ultimately, the guys as a group played hard, played fast, played physical,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. “We’ve got to stop the run. If we can do that, we’ve got a chance of getting after the quarterback with the guys we’ve got. So, good start, but it’s Week 1. We’re playing a totally different team, totally different style of play and they also run the ball quite a bit.”

What his unit lacks in experience, it makes up for in athleticism. With Wyatt, Wooden and Brooks, the Packers have three athletic linemen who can get in the backfield through penetration rather than brute force.

That style worked against the Bears. Now, they’ll have to do it again against a polished group of offensive linemen as the Packers seek their first 2-0 start since 2020. Even with Robinson starring at Texas, where he won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back in 2022, the Falcons last year finished third in rushing and fourth in yards per carry.

Will Montgomery’s group, so young beyond Kenny Clark, be ready for the challenge?

“Hey,” Montgomery said with a laugh, “it is what it is. This is my group. I love having them. They’re fun to coach. I’ve got a really good leader in the room in 97 [Clark] that leads by example.

“He shows them how to work, he shows them how it’s supposed to be done, so it’s really easy when you have a veteran like that. Ultimately, when those guys see him work and how he goes about his business, makes it a little bit easier for those younger guys to be able to be, ‘All right, this is how it’s supposed to go. We’ve got to grow up fast and quick.’ It’s been a fun little process.”

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