Packers Training Camp Preview: Defensive Tackles

The Green Bay Packers’ new defensive approach should benefit a defensive line anchored by the team’s perennial standout, Kenny Clark, and some impressive young players.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark (97) and defensive lineman T.J. Slaton (93) combine to tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If the Green Bay Packers are going to win the defensive war, it’ll be up to the defensive line to deliver the first blow.

“I’m not trying to correlate football with war or anything like that,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said before the start of OTAs, “but we’re the Navy SEALs. We’re the first line of defense. The rest of the guys are going to sit back there and do what they need to do. We are going to work to get our forces in first.”

Here is a closer look at that first line of defense in Part 6 of our Packers training camp position previews.

Packers Defensive Line Depth Chart

Kenny Clark: Clark is coming off his third Pro Bowl season after recording career highs in sacks (7.5), tackles for losses (nine) and quarterback hits (16). He ranked seventh among interior defensive linemen with 61 pressures, according to PFF. While his tackle count was down from 2022 (53 to 44), his average tackle came 1.5 yards downfield – the best of his career. Clark, who will turn 29 on Oct. 4, is entering his final season under contract. A contract extension would take a big chunk out of his $27.49 million cap hit.

Devonte Wyatt: Wyatt was a first-round pick in 2022 because of his ability to penetrate and make plays. That skill-set should suit him well in the new defensive scheme. In PFF’s pass-rush productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, Wyatt was No. 2. No. 1 was the Chiefs’ perennial Pro Bowler, Chris Jones; No. 3 was the Rams’ perennial All-Pro, Aaron Donald. Wyatt finished with 5.5 sacks, six tackles for losses and 11 quarterback hits – huge improvements over 1.5 sacks, zero tackles for losses and three quarterback hits as a rookie.

TJ Slaton: While Wyatt had a breakout season, it was Slaton who started all 17 games. After recording 54 tackles during his first two seasons, Slaton had 50 in 2023. That was tops on the defensive line. The run defense was 0.32 yards per snap better when he was on the field. Because Slaton’s forte is stopping the run, that he finished 83rd out of 98 qualifying defensive tackles in PFF’s pass-rush productivity is practically irrelevant.

Karl Brooks: A sixth-round pick, Brooks was the second defensive lineman selected last year but clearly the best. Brooks had four sacks, as many as 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness. He had six tackles for losses, as many as 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt. He had four passes defensed, which was one less than Jaire Alexander and as many as starting safeties Jonathan Owens and Darnell Savage combined. Of the 13 rookie defensive tackles with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps, Brooks ranked third in PFF’s pass-rush productivity.

Colby Wooden: A fourth-round pick, Wooden played 72 snaps the first two games but only 183 over the final 15, including five games of less than 10. As the last man in the rotation, he also had the worst stats: 17 tackles, a half-sack, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss. Wooden rushed the passer 115 times. Of 129 defensive tackles with at least that many opportunities, he ranked a promising 35th in PFF’s pass-rush productivity. “Last year, I was about 278. Now, I’m about 290, 293. I definitely added some muscle but I still look like me and I can play anywhere on the line.”

Jonathan Ford: A seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022, Ford spent his first two seasons on the practice squad. The Packers under coach Matt LaFleur have the worst run defense in the NFL but the 338-pounder still hasn’t gotten on the field. The Packers didn’t draft a defensive tackle, so Ford will have perhaps one more shot to make an impact.

Spencer Waege: Here’s someone to watch. Signed off waivers from the 49ers in May, Waege while at North Dakota State was a Freshman All-American in 2019, a second-team All-American during the 2020-21 COVID season and a first-team All-American and finalist for the Buck Buchanan FCS Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022. He spent the second half of last year on the Niners’ practice squad, so was part of the team that knocked out the Packers on the way to the Super Bowl.

James Ester: The undrafted free agent started 43 games at Northern Illinois. In 2023, he was a second-team all-conference choice and team MVP after recording career highs of 49 tackles, four sacks and 6.5 TFLs in 2023. PFF credited him with 24 pressures in 2023 and 22 in 2022. He’s got the intangibles as a four-year team captain and semifinalist for the William Campbell Trophy, which is perhaps better known as the Academic Heisman.

Biggest Strength: Kenny Clark

Clark has been one of the best in the business for most of his eight NFL seasons. There are defensive tackles who can stop the run and defensive tackles who can rush the passer but not many who can do both with the prowess of Clark. After playing in 3-4 schemes throughout his college and professional career, he’s looking forward to his new role.

“Every offseason I would go out and train with guys,” he said during OTAs. “I’m a big fan of the game, so I trained with DeForest Buckner and (Arik) Armstead and all those guys, and they played a 4-3 their whole career. So, I would check up with them and see what it’s like playing in that. I always wondered what it was like, but now that I’m in it, I see how they made so many TFLs and all those plays they were always making. It all makes sense. They were really just cutting it loose that whole time.”

Clark is listed at 314 pounds. He said he’s working to get down to about 297 for the season.

“I was able to make some plays” in the old system, he said, “but now I’m going to make more. I’ve got to make more.”

Biggest Question: Will the “Navy SEALs” Approach Work?

It’ll be a new way of doing business for the Packers. No longer will the defensive linemen be asked to read and react. They won’t be used to take on blocks to set up the linebackers. Instead, it’s going to be attack, attack and attack some more.

“It’s about TFLs and sacks,” Rebrovich said. “We’re going to look to create havoc in the backfield. Every down, we’re looking to penetrate and make something big happen.”

Everyone loves the Packers’ new plan of attack on defense. But you remember what Mike Tyson said about plans, right?

Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face. When the Packers get punched in the face – and they will, starting in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles’ powerful offensive line – will they get up and keep fighting? Will they make enough plays and create enough third-and-longs? Or will the new style create too many easy running lanes?

“I don’t really think there’s a downside. I really don’t,” Rebrovich said. “Any scheme the way you present it, you coach it, you put it in, those guys got to understand what the process is to make those plays. I don’t think it’s a negative. I don’t think there’s a downfall. I really don’t.”

Biggest Battle: The Rotation

Clark’s workload the last seven seasons has been ridiculous. In games he’s played, his season-long snap count has ranged from 70 percent to 84 percent, including 78 percent in 2021, 78 percent in 2022 and 73 percent in 2023.

In this scheme, less will be more because of the amount of effort it will take to attack and chase.

“It’s going to be a lot different,” Clark said. “But with this system, you’ve got to play like that. You can’t be out there like six snaps in a row and exert that much energy and make an impact on this defense. With this defense, you’ve got to be able to go and really get off the ball and give that energy and that effort every single play. So, we’ll definitely be rotating a lot this season.”

What will that rotation look like? There will be a lot of snaps up for grabs if Clark isn’t going to be on the field for 810 or Slaton for 626. Wooden, in particular, must take a big step forward.

“We feel really good about the collective unit,” coach Matt LaFleur said, “and I think each one of those guys is going to get more 1-on-1 opportunities along the way because it’s hard to zero in on just one guy.”

Biggest Key: Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks

Clark would fit in any scheme. Wyatt and Brooks, however, seem like especially strong fits in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s system because attacking and penetrating is what they do best.

Wyatt’s production surged in Year 2. If not for 13 missed tackles – the most among defensive tackles, according to PFF – he might have had 10 sacks. Brooks finished a promising season with a bang with four pressures in the playoff loss to the 49ers.

“The thing about Devonte Wyatt (is) he’s quick, fast and athletic,” Rebrovich said. “So, you’re going to have to develop things around him to use those attributes. So, what a great opportunity for him and us. That’s the mindset that we’re working to develop is creating those TFLs, that mindset of getting into the backfield. And he executes every one of those. He checks all the boxes. So, we’re definitely looking for a great outcome for that young man for this upcoming season.”

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