Packers’ Deeper Defensive Line Rotation Provides ‘Relentless Pressure’

On the Packers’ defensive line, the starters are playing less and the backups are playing more. The “fresh legs” are obvious to the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator.

Bill Huber | Oct 25, 2024

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark (97) pressures Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. / Tork Mason/Green Bay Press-Gazette via the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – To make his new, attacking scheme go, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley knew he’d have to rely on a strength-in-numbers approach on the defensive line.

Seven games into the season, that’s what jumps off the film for Jacksonville offensive coordinator Press Taylor ahead of Sunday’s Packers-Jaguars matchup.

“It feels like the defensive line is just a whole new wave every single play,” Taylor told reporters on Thursday. “You watch the Houston game, and they just got after [quarterback C.J. Stroud] with relentless pressure. Not even always bringing extra people, just fresh legs, guys flying off the football, attacking.

“It just jumps off the tape. They were able to just kind of overwhelm Houston, even if there weren’t free runners. Just a lot of high energy, a lot of really good players, just a wave of pass-rushers rolling through, and everybody firing off the ball.”

The approach is evident in comparing the snap percentages from 2023 to 2024.

DT Kenny Clark: 72.9 percent in 2023; 70.9 percent in 2024

DT Devonte Wyatt: 49.7 percent in 2023; 45.6 percent in his four games in 2024

DT TJ Slaton: 56.4 percent in 2023; 40.1 percent in 2024

DT Karl Brooks: 34.2 percent in 2023; 42.5 percent in 2024

Edge: Rashan Gary: 52.8 percent in 2023 (60.8 percent when he returned to the starting lineup); 64.5 percent in 2024

Edge: Preston Smith: 65.9 percent in 2023; 56.4 percent in 2024

Edge: Kingsley Enagbare: 40.7 percent in 2023; 43.4 percent in 2024

Edge: Lukas Van Ness: 32.9 percent in 2023; 41.4 percent in 2024

“Philosophically, I think a lot of coaches would like to have fresh D-linemen because the same O-linemen are in for every play,” Hafley said on Thursday. “If you can overwhelm them and wear them out, I think when you get late into games, it’s an advantage to the defense. Imagine your left tackle or right tackle are in for 65 snaps but your defensive ends, you have four guys who have played between 28 and 45 plays.

“We’re going to be a lot fresher at the end of the game when 2-minute is the most important part or there’s a key third down in the game. I think we’re in a situation where we have a lot of guys who can do it, and we trust them. Because you can’t just say, ‘We’re going to rotate no matter what.’ You’ve got to trust the guys, know what they’re doing and they’re good enough to play. So, we’ve been fortunate to do that.”

The only real workhorse of the group has been Clark. While his snap count is down only slightly, he played 80-plus percent of the snaps in seven of 17 games last season compared to one this year.

“Fourth quarter, that’s as fresh as I’ve been in a minute,” Clark said. “Just going into the fourth, I’m used to playing damn near 60 snaps a game. I think this is the lowest I’ve been playing as far as snap-wise. It’s definitely been helping me out, especially later in the games and in the second half of games.”

Last week against the Texans, there were 64 defensive snaps. Clark was the only defensive tackle to play more than half the snaps (47). At defensive end, Gary (38), Enagbare (36) and Van Ness (35) played a little more than half the snaps and Smith (28) played a little less than half.

“I definitely notice it myself like, ‘Dang, I could still go play another half of a game’ or something like that,” Enagbare said. “It’s definitely beneficial for us knowing you can go hard for four plays knowing you’re about to be out and catch your breath for the next series. Whenever the next time is you come in, you’re going to be fresh.”

The sheer number of bodies the Packers will throw at the Jaguars is a concern for Taylor, especially if his team is forced to throw the ball late in the game. His offensive line has been decent, with the Jaguars ranking 15th in sack percentage. In the five losses, the Jaguars have allowed 17 sacks. In the two wins, they’ve allowed zero.

“It was impressive (but) not fun to watch as you’re getting ready for it,” Taylor said of the film. “But, at the same time, you respect good football. They played good football, and they did a great job making life hard for Houston. Not just third-down situations, but really all situations throughout the course of that game.

“It’s a very high-energy group. They seem to have a lot of fun doing what they’re doing. They seem to really know what they’re being asked to do within the scheme, and they’re playing really good football right now.”

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 25, 2024

Published Oct 25, 2024

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.