After ACL, Rashan Gary Has Been One-Man Pass Rush for Packers

Following last year’s ACL tear, Rashan Gary is off to a superb start for the Green Bay Packers. The same can’t be said for the rest of the outside linebackers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – So much for Rashan Gary having to work himself back into form. Also, so much for Gary’s return giving the Green Bay Packers an unstoppable march to the quarterback.

Gary has been a pass-rushing Army of One, to borrow the old U.S. Army recruiting slogan.

Officially, Gary has 4.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits. The rest of Green Bay’s outside linebackers – Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins – have three sacks and seven quarterback hits combined.

The numbers from Pro Football Focus paint an even starker picture.

In 78 pass-rushing snaps, Gary has 20 quarterback pressures. All the other outside linebackers combined have 22 pressures in 322 pass-rushing snaps.

It’s absurd how well Gary’s played when it’s been time to attack the quarterback. It’s also absurd how mediocre the other edge rushers have performed given the preseason hype.

“We’re striving to become the best we can possibly be. That’s the best thing I can give you,” outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich said this week. “Is there going to be impact plays that we’re going to continue to make on the edge? Yeah, absolutely. We have to. But numbers are numbers.”

Here are those numbers.

According to PFF, 118 edge defenders have had at least 42 opportunities to rush the passer. (That’s Hollins’ total.) By its pass rush win rate, here’s how they rank:

- Gary, second, 28.9 percent. Only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (29.8 percent) is better.

- Van Ness, 89th, 7.0 percent. Out of 11 rookies with 42 pass-rushing snaps, he’s seventh.

- Smith, 90th, 6.8 percent. His win rate was 10.1 percent last year.

- Hollins, 98th, 5.0 percent. His win rate was 8.9 percent upon joining the Packers last year.

- Enagbare, 101st, 4.7 percent. His win rate as a fifth-round draft pick last year was 11.5 percent, which ranked fourth among rookies.

Packers star Rashan Gary celebrates a sack at the Raiders :: Photo by Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports Images

The Packers have brought Gary along slowly as he nears the one-year anniversary of tearing his ACL at Detroit on Nov. 6. He played 12 snaps in Week 1 at Chicago, between 20 and 23 snaps against Atlanta, New Orleans and Detroit, and a season-high 30 against Las Vegas before the bye.

“I’m hoping we’re at the stage now, we’ve been pretty select when we’ve had to play him, and he’s proven week in and week out that he can handle more with his injury,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said.

“I’m hoping that we can get even more production out of him the more we can play him. I think that JJ [Enagbare], I think that Lukas – one guy’s in his second year, the other guy in his rookie year – I’m hoping that they’re going to just keep improving and playing more and showing that they deserve more play time, and with that play time comes production.”

Of course, Rebrovich wants more production from his players. That’s what every coach wants, whether it’s the first man or last man on the depth chart. However, he pointed to the bigger picture. For instance, the Packers rank seventh in the NFL on third down. The pass rush is a big factor in that, whether it’s getting to the quarterback or it’s on the play-caller’s mind.

“We’re probably one of the top screen teams in the National Football League right now, and that usually equates to where your pass rush is going to be,” Rebrovich said.

While the rush opposite Gary has been sporadic, the defensive tackles have been potent. Kenny Clark has three sacks, Devonte Wyatt has 2.5 and rookie Karl Brooks has 2.0. According to PFF, 95 interior rushers have had at least 75 pass-rushing opportunities. Wyatt is 16th in pressures and Clark is 24th.

“We’re getting a lot of what we call max protection,” Rebrovich added. “The Raiders had ‘21’ personnel and chipping with every back, every tight end. And they’re doing that a lot on the edge, which is allowing the interior players to actually have some impact. You know, 97 [Clark] is showing up, 94 [Brooks] is showing up.

“That pass rush has to work together. So, if someone is getting chipped or someone has been neutralized, lack of a way of saying it, in a pass-rush situation, you are going to have to have other guys to make impact plays. You are creating one-on-one opportunities.”

Those one-on-one opportunities must be won with more regularity by the rest of Green Bay’s defenders because, at this rate, Gary might not get many more.

According to PFF, there are 28 edge defenders with 20 pressures. They’ve all played at least 114 pass-rushing snaps; Gary has played 78. The Raiders’ Maxx Crosby leads the NFL with 38 pressures. Projecting Gary’s production over Crosby’s 221 pass-rushing snaps, Gary would have 57 pressures.

Still, Gary is nowhere to be found in the Comeback Player of the Year conversation; he’s +10000 at FanDuel Sportsbook, for instance. He’s also +10000 to win Defensive Player of the Year; he was +4000 before the season.

“Does it surprise me?” Rebrovich said of Gary’s production. “No, not one bit.”

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