Packers Training Camp Preview: Defensive Ends

The Green Bay Packers will enter training camp with a quality trio of defensive ends with Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness. Combined, they are good. Can they become great?

Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin /

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the Green Bay Packers’ new defensive system, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness have new positions but the same job descriptions. Last year’s outside linebackers are this year’s defensive ends, but the role remains the same. Set the edge vs. the run and sack the quarterback.

Here is a closer look in Part 7 of our Packers training camp position previews.

Packers Defensive Ends Depth Chart

Rashan Gary: Gary is coming off a typical Gary season. After missing the second half of 2022 with a torn ACL, Gary played in all 17 games and recorded nine sacks and 44 tackles in 2023. In 2021, Gary’s first season as a full-time starter, he recorded 9.5 sacks and 47 tackles in 16 games. Last year, 100 edge defenders rushed the passer at least 182 times. According to PFF, Gary ranked 14th in pass-rush productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 16th in pass-rush win rate. The run defense was 0.31 yards per carry worse when he was on the field.

Preston Smith: Smith is coming off a typical Smith season. After a dismal four sacks in 2020, he responded with nine sacks in 2021, 8.5 sacks in 2022 and eight sacks in 2023. That makes him one of 11 players in the NFL with three consecutive seasons of eight-plus sacks. Smith finished 58th in pass-rush productivity and 52nd in pass-rush win rate. Tougher than that cliched $2 steak, Smith has missed one game in nine NFL seasons. “I get to get after the quarterback a lot more,” Smith said of the new defensive scheme, though that statement isn’t entirely accurate.

Lukas Van Ness: It was a tale of two seasons for Van Ness, last year’s first-round pick. After recording a sack and five pressures in his career debut at Chicago, he didn’t have a single pressure in eight of the next nine games. He finished the year with a bang, though. During the final three games of the regular season, he collected three sacks and 11 pressures. He added another sack and four pressures in the playoffs. Van Ness wasn’t dominant in those games, but he was trending the right way. Overall, the run defense was 0.41 yards per carry better when he was on the field. He probably won’t start in Week 1, but he should at least pass Kingsley Enagbare on the depth chart.

Kingsley Enagbare: Enagbare, a fifth-round pick in 2022, played 87 more snaps than Van Ness last season. He had three sacks as a rookie, his playing time boosted by Gary’s knee injury, and two sacks last year. His TFL count did increase from five to eight. He tied Smith (and Brian Burns) for 58th in pass-rush productivity and was 64th in pass-rush win rate. Enagbare tore his ACL in the playoff win at Dallas but avoided surgery and will be on the field at 100 percent for the start of camp.

Brenton Cox: Following a troubled college career, Cox made the roster as an undrafted rookie last year after ranking first on the team in pressures and second in pass-rush win rate in the preseason. He was a total nonfactor, though, once the regular season arrived. He played in four games, with four snaps on defense and nine on special teams. He did not record any statistics.

Keshawn Banks: Don’t sleep on Banks. With Enagbare inactive for the playoff game at San Francisco, the Packers could have given Cox a bigger role. Instead, Cox was a healthy scratch for the 14th of the season and Banks was elevated from the practice squad. Banks, who was a four-time all-conference selection at San Diego State, led the team in pass-rush win rate last preseason. He was ejected from the joint practice against the Patriots.

Arron Mosby: Mosby had 15.5 tackles for losses at Fresno State as a senior in 2021. He went undrafted in 2022 and spent his rookie year on the Panthers’ practice squad. He played in three games for Carolina as a rookie but was released him early in training camp last summer. The Packers claimed him, and he spent the entire season on their practice squad.

Deslin Alexandre: Alexandre had 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for losses at Pittsburgh in 2019 and added another 5.5 sacks as a fifth-year senior in 2022. He went undrafted and spent training camp with the Jets. In four preseason games, he had nine tackles, one sack and two tackles for losses. He joined the Packers on a futures deal at the end of the season.

Kenneth Odumegwu: The native of Nigeria is with the Packers as part of the NFL’s International Pathway program. His first game of organized football came in the preseason opener at Cincinnati. In two preseason games that included 15 snaps, he didn’t record a pressure or record a tackle. Said coach Matt LaFleur during minicamp: “I would say it’s exponential how much he’s improved, which is to be expected when you’ve never played football before.”

Biggest Strength: The Big Three

With Gary, Smith and Van Ness, the Packers have a strong and established trio atop the depth chart. There aren’t many teams who have a player the caliber of Van Ness as a backup. The upside is there with Gary a year removed from the knee injury and Van Ness entering Year 2.

“I’m excited about Lukas,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think a lot of times you see guys that are pass-rushers take a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2. He’s a guy that’s put in a ton of work. I think his body looks great. I think it’s unfortunate that he broke his thumb, but he’s getting more time out there and he’s somebody that we’re certainly excited about.

“I think much similar to the receiving group, we feel really good about our front. When you’ve got RG and Preston and J.J. (Enagbare) and then inside you’ve got Kenny Clark, Heavy D (Devonte Wyatt), Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden (and TJ Slaton). There’s a lot of players there.”

Biggest Question: The Big Three

While Gary, Smith and Van Ness are quality players, are they legit difference-makers? Combined, they recorded 21 sacks, 53 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for losses last year. By himself, the Steelers’ T.J. Watt had 19 sacks in 2023, Nick Bosa had 48 quarterback hits in 2022 and four individuals had 20-plus tackles for losses in 2023.

Maybe Hafley’s defense will make all the difference. Maybe Gary truly will be unleashed in the scheme. Maybe Smith will make more plays now that he won’t have to cover Davante Adams on occasion. Maybe Van Ness will take that clinched second-year jump.

Or, maybe Gary just never will be a great finisher. He’s still chasing his first 10-sack season even while ranking third in pass-rush win rate in 2021, eighth in 2022 and 14th in 2023. Maybe Smith, the oldest player on the roster, will start slowing down. Maybe Van Ness’s second-year jump won’t be quite as big as hoped.

Biggest Battle: Bottom of Depth Chart

The Packers feel good about their Top 4 of Gary, Smith, Van Ness and Enagbare. But depth will be critical for what Hafley wants to get done, and Enagbare needs to show he can play – and play well – following last year’s injury.

Including Cox, the team kept five on last year’s roster. It figures to keep five again but didn’t add anyone of note through the offseason. So, who will be that last man on the roster? Based on reps during the offseason practices, Cox is the clear front-runner.

“I really, really love those two guys,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said when asked specifically about Cox and Banks. “I think they’ve matured extremely well in their period of time being here. The depth that we have, really, talks to our personnel department was able to get those guys here. I’m really looking forward to those two guys. JJ, obviously, being here and being around is a huge plus and a bonus for us. Depth is huge. We all know that, especially in this scheme and system.”

Biggest Key: Next Steps for Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness

As first-round picks, the expectations for Gary and Van Ness to be game-changers on the edge.

Maybe Gary’s just never going to become a truly great player. At age 26 and with five seasons of NFL experience, it’s not as if he’s raw and inexperienced like Van Ness. After recording a full sack in just four of 17 games last year, it’s fair to wonder whether Gary is as good as he’s going to get. Maybe he’ll get to 10 or 12 sacks this year, but perhaps 14 sacks, a handful of forced fumbles, a bunch of tackles for losses and postseason honors will forever be out of reach.

So, perhaps Van Ness is the most important player in the group. Nobody expected him to dominate as a rookie, and he didn’t. But at least he got better as the season progressed, which was the realistic Year 1 progression. Four pressures in the playoffs, including a sack against All-Pro Tyron Smith, was a great way to end the season.

For the good of the franchise – not just this year but for many years – the Packers need Gary and Van Ness to be game-wrecking forces. Both have the physical tools and drive to get it done.

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