Green Bay Packers’ defense could be special in 2019

While for the better part of the last decade the Green Bay Packers’ defense has been the Achilles heel of this team, the group that they’ve put together for the 2019 season could be quite special.

As many exciting moments as there have been during the Aaron Rodgers era with the Green Bay Packers, there are a number of painful ones that come to mind as well. And many of those are due to defensive miscues.

Whether it was not being able to make that final stop, allowing a big play at an inopportune time, or a failure to create pressure and turnovers, the defense has been the weak spot of this team for the better part of the last decade.

However, things slowly began to change during the 2018 offseason. GM Brian Gutekunst made the long-overdue decision to move on from defensive coordinator Dom Capers in favor for Mike Pettine. Then in the draft, the Packers would select Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson, and Oren Burks with their first three selections.

Fast forward from that point to the 2019 offseason and Green Bay went all-in on the defensive side of the ball.

In free agency, they would spend big bucks on safety Adrian Amos and EDGE rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. A little later on during the draft, Gute would use both first-round selections on defense – taking EDGE rusher Rashan Gary at 12th overall and trading up to grab safety Darnell Savage.

Now with Pettine in his second season as defensive coordinator along with a number of new, athletic, and versatile playmakers, this Green Bay Packers’ defense is in position to be a special unit this season.

The defensive front is likely the deepest group on the team and could be one of the best in football. Led by Kenny Clark who is already one of the best interior defensive linemen in the game, alongside of him are Dean Lowry and Montravius Adams who Pettine called his most improved player from a year ago and added: “he’s already shown flashes of starting ability.”

As for depth on the interior, the Packers have Kingsley Keke, Tyler Lancaster, and Fadol Brown as potential rotational players and each have shown flashes of being impactful NFL players during their short times in Green Bay.

Along the EDGE the Green Bay Packers moved on from Clay Matthews and Nick Perry who combined had 43 total quarterback pressures in 2018 and have replaced them with Za’Darius and Preston who combined had 114 pressures last year. That is a HUGE jump in production that this defense will be getting this season and it is going to benefit all positions.

We also have to mention Gary who is an incredible athlete and may have the highest ceiling of any player taken in this year’s draft. So far through Training Camp, Gary has been played at a number of positions including outside linebacker and on the interior line. He’s also battled against David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga in which he has won a few of those reps.

And not to be forgotten with all of these offseason additions is Kyler Fackrell who led the team with 10.5 sacks last season.

At cornerback, Jaire Alexander has the makings of being a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro during his career. Last season he displayed that he could do it all, covering in the slot, on the outside and following some the game’s top receivers. Not to mention he brings that swagger that every defense needs.

On the opposite side of Alexander will be Kevin King who has fought through injuries but did show improvement when he was on the field last season. King is at his best when playing man coverage which is a staple of Pettine’s defense.

Matt LaFleur had this to say about what he has seen from King up to this point:

"“He’s a real talented player. We’ve just got to keep him healthy and have him progress each day and he’s done a good job of that. I like his approach, he’s a great person, and I think it’s starting to show out there, his talent.”"

This season it would appear that Tramon Williams will be holding down the slot corner position where Pettine feels that Williams’ experience will make him a very productive player:

"“The elite nickels, slot corners in the league are the ones that have a high football intellect, they have some savvy there.” Pettine would add, “There’s a lot more thinking involved in nickel than there is playing outside, and this is a guy who’s seen it all. He understands how to play with leverage, he understands how to disguise. He just has that wealth of experience.”"

As far as depth at the cornerback position goes, Green Bay will have second-year players Tony Brown and Josh Jackson, along with rookie Ka’dar Hollman who as already caught the eyes of Pettine:

"“I like Ka’dar. He’s intense, you can tell he loves football. He’s a guy that’s been real good at the press man aspect of it,” Pettine said. “He’s had practices where you really have to go back and look to see if a ball got caught on him. He’s done a good job.”"

Now as we transition to the back end of the defense, the safety position is one that has given the Packers fits for a number of years now. With that said, the additions of Amos and Savage make it appear that what was once a weakness has now become a strength.

Amos greatest attribute that he brings to the table is his consistency. Just about every play he is going to be in the correct position which will have a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the secondary. This may sound simple but it has been lacking in Green Bay.

On the other hand, Savage brings the big play potential that reminds us of the days when Nick Collins was patrolling the secondary. During his time at Maryland, Savage would haul in eight interceptions, including two for touchdowns.

Turnovers have been lacking in recent seasons and this duo will play a big role in turning that around this year.

Lastly, we have to touch on the inside linebacker group which many may consider one of the weaker position groups on this team and perhaps that’s true given the inexperience there. However, given Blake Martinez and Oren Burks’ diverse skill sets, it could also turn into a very good one-two punch at the position.

Martinez is one of the more reliable players on this Packers team. In each of the last two seasons, he has totaled over 140 tackles along with six combined sacks. He is at his best in the box as a run-stopper but did see an improvement in his coverage skills last season according to Pro Football Focus.

Meanwhile, Burks still has to become more consistent overall but his athleticism makes him an asset in coverage by being able to take on running backs and tight ends. We know he has the ability, he just needs to sharpen the cerebral aspect of his game.

So far through Training Camp, we have seen Burks lockdown Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones in coverage which forced an interception, as well as make his way into the backfield by beating Jimmy Graham and clogging the hole on a few running plays.

Time will tell and some development is still needed, but we should be encouraged about what we have seen and what the combination of Martinez and Burks can bring to this defense.

With all of the offseason additions that have been made, Gutekunst has given Pettine the players that he needs to be successful – which are long, athletic and versatile players.

With those New York Jets teams that had Pettine as a defensive coordinator, we saw how dominant they were once he had the right players for his system. Even as a head coach in Cleveland, he turned that defense around in just one season.

As we find ourselves in the midst of Training Camp, the defensive side of the ball has dominated. Of course, the offense is learning a new system but it is still worth mentioning given the play on the field. The secondary is blanketing receivers while the defensive front is living in the backfield.

Having watched a few of these practices live, it is quite impressive and the overall performance is something that I surely haven’t witnessed in pass Camps. Yes, it is still early, but the pieces are in place for this Green Bay Packers’ defense to be quite special in 2019.