Ranking the Packers (No. 10): Rick Wagner

Bryan Bulaga thrived against a gauntlet of top pass rushers last season. Rick Wagner faces a similar challenge this season.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a tradition that stretches more than a decade, here is our annual ranking of the 90 players on the Green Bay Packers’ roster. This isn’t merely a look at the best players. Rather, it’s a formula that combines talent, salary, importance of the position, depth at the position and, for young players, draft positioning. More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about every player on the roster.

No. 10: RT Rick Wagner (6-6, 315, eighth season, Wisconsin)

Wagner has huge shoes to fill.

Last year, standout right tackle Bryan Bulaga stayed mostly healthy and turned in a critically important season. Facing the likes of Chicago’s Khalil Mack, Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter, Denver’s Von Miller, Philadelphia’s Brandon Graham and Dallas’ DeMarcus Lawrence – and that was just the first five weeks of the season – Bulaga allowed only four sacks.

Once upon a time, the No. 1 pass rusher generally rushed from the defense’s right side and against the offense’s left tackle. That would allow him to attack a right-handed quarterback’s blind side. Times have changed, in a way. The left tackle is still deemed the most important position on the offensive line and one of the most important in the game, even though the No. 1 pass rusher is now as likely to line up on the defense’s left side as the defense’s right.

Bulaga’s gauntlet was the perfect illustration. The stats provide further evidence. Last season, 17 edge rushers collected at least 10 sacks. Of that group, six rushed from the defense’s left (or against the right tackle) at least two-thirds of the time and three others rushed from the left at least half the time. That’s nine of 17 – or more than half. In all, 12 of the 17 rushed from the defense’s left at least 40 percent of the time.

Sacks aren’t everything, of course. Green Bay’s schedule features 13 edge defenders who ranked in the top 30 in ProFootballFocus.com’s pass-rushing productivity, a metric that measures sacks, quarterback hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. Of that group, six rushed at least 60 percent of the time from the left side of the defense (or the right side of the offense) and another three were essentially a 50/50 split.

RELATED: Here’s how it lines up, week by week, for Wagner

“What we like about Rick is he’s played a lot of football and he’s a veteran presence,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the draft. “The game’s not too big for him. He’s going to come in and he will compete. That’s the thing about everybody. We’re going to make everybody compete and earn their positions but definitely excited about the player, the person. Everything I’ve heard about him is that he is just such a team guy. He’ll be great in the locker room. So can’t wait for him to come in here and compete for that spot.”

Wagner will be tested right out of the gate with early-season road games against Minnesota’s Hunter, New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan and Tampa Bay’s Shaq Barrett. Barrett led the NFL in sacks, Jordan was third and Hunter was fourth.

Will Wagner be up to the task? Last season, 58 offensive tackles played at least 50 percent of the passing-game snaps. Bulaga finished 17th in ProFootballFocus.com’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hit and hurries per pass-protecting snap. Wagner, on the other hand, finished 42nd. In three seasons in Detroit, Wagner allowed 16 sacks, 11 stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line on a running play) and was flagged for holding seven times in 40 games. In 35 games over that same span, Bulaga allowed 10 sacks, one stuff and was flagged for holding seven times.

Wagner, who had inked a five-year, $47.5 million deal with the Lions in March 2017, signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Packers. His cap charge is $4.81 million for 2020 and $6.0 million for 2021, according to OverTheCap.com. Bulaga’s three-year, $30 million contract with the Chargers has a Year 1 cap charge of $4.83 million before swelling to $11.1 million in 2021 and $14.1 million in 2022.

Why he’s so important: Beyond the obvious – the competition laid out earlier in this story – it’s the lack of depth. For all the consternation over Bulaga’s injury history, Wagner missed eight games in three seasons with the Lions, including four games last year. Will Alex Light or Yosh Nijman emerge as a competent backup tackle, or would an injury require right guard Billy Turner to move tackle?

“Unless Rick’s changed and kind of gotten too caught up in the limelight, he was a sweetheart when I met him back in 2013 and the few encounters that we’ve had together throughout our careers in the NFL,” left tackle David Bakhtiari said. “He’s always more of the soft spoken, sweet side. Of course, his game kind of reflects differently.”

PACKERS ROSTER COUNTDOWN

Part 1 (87 to 90): FB Elijah Wellman, FB Jordan Jones, G Zack Johnson, S Henry Black

Part 2 (83 to 86): CBs DaShaun Amos, Will Sunderland, Stanford Samuels, Marc-Antoine Dequoy

Part 3 (80 to 82): DT Willington Previlon, RB Damarea Crockett, S Frankie Griffin

Part 4 (77 to 79): G Simon Stepaniak, G Cole Madison, T Cody Conway

Part 5 (76): QB Jalen Morton can throw a football 100 yards

Part 6 (73 to 75) TE James Looney, TE Evan Baylis, RB Patrick Taylor

Part 7 (70 to 72) OLBs Jamal Davis, Randy Ramsey, Greg Roberts

Part 8 (67 to 69) LBs Krys Barnes, Delontae Scott, Tipa Galeai

No. 66: Well-rounded OT Travis Bruffy

No. 65: WR Malik Taylor

No. 64: WR Darrius Shepherd

No. 63: RB Dexter Williams

No. 62: DT Gerald Willis (Note: Released on July 26)

No. 61: ILB Curtis Bolton

No. 60: CB Kabion Ento

No. 59: C Jake Hanson

No. 58: OLB Jonathan Garvin

No. 57: OT John Leglue

No. 56: DT Treyvon Hester

No. 55: WR Darrell Stewart

No. 54: WR Reggie Begelton

No. 53: S Vernon Scott

No. 52: OLB Tim Williams

No. 51: Ka’darHollman

No. 50: G/T Jon Runyan

No. 49: WR Jake Kumerow

No. 48: OT Alex Light

No. 47: TE Robert Tonyan

No. 46: LS Hunter Bradley

No. 45: DT Montravius Adams

No. 44: ILB Kamal Martin

No. 43: OT Yosh Nijman

No. 42: S Will Redmond

No. 41: G/C Lucas Patrick

No. 40: ILB Ty Summers

No. 39: WR Equanimeous St. Brown

No. 38: TE Josiah Deguara

No. 37: RB Tyler Ervin

No. 36: Lane Taylor

No. 35: RB AJ Dillon

No. 34: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

No. 33: DT Tyler Lancaster

No. 32: CB Josh Jackson

No. 31: WR Devin Funchess

No. 30: S Raven Greene

No. 29: TE Marcedes Lewis

No. 28: DT Kingsley Keke

No. 27: ILB Oren Burks

No. 26: P JK Scott

No. 25: QB Tim Boyle

No. 24: OLB Rashan Gary

No. 23: RB Jamaal Williams

No. 22: RG Billy Turner

No. 21: QB Jordan Love

No. 20: TE Jace Sternberger

No. 19: DT Dean Lowry

No. 18: G Elgton Jenkins

No. 17: CB Chandon Sullivan

No. 16: WR Allen Lazard

No. 15: C Corey Linsley

No. 14: K Mason Crosby

No. 13: S Adrian Amos

No. 12: CB Kevin King

No. 11: S Darnell Savage