Green Bay Packers: Za’Darius Smith has been an Incredible Addition

Whether we are discussing his play on the field or his leadership off of it, Za’Darius Smith has been a home run free agent signing for the Green Bay Packers.

Entering the 2019 offseason it was quite obvious that the Green Bay Packers needed help at the edge rusher position in a very bad way. Last season especially, they really struggled to put consistent pressure on the quarterback without blitzing. Which is how Green Bay would record many of their sacks and that is more of a credit to Mike Pettine than anything else.

So as a result, GM Brian Gutekunst set out to overhaul the position and the biggest contract that he would hand out was a four year, $66 million deal with $20 million guaranteed to free agent Za’Darius Smith. There were many out there who thought this was the Packers overpaying because they were desperate to solve their edge rushing need.

Sure Smith put together a nice 2018 season with 8.5 sacks and 61 total pressures, but he also had just 16 starts in his first four NFL seasons and from a production standpoint, he didn’t have a long track record of success.

So this past offseason the question was, could Smith live up to such a lucrative contract?

But now with just three games left in the regular season, it is clear that he’s been worth every single penny.

I just referenced his sack and pressure totals from 2018 above, and this season through 13 games Smith already blown past those numbers with 73 total pressures and 10 sacks. For some context on how much of an upgrade he has been for the Green Bay Packers, last season the combination of Nick Perry and Clay Matthews totaled 43 pressures and only six sacks for the entire year.

In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Smith has the highest pressure rate of all edge defenders this season, getting to the quarterback 18.2 percent of the time. Not to mention that he is being this disruptive while being double-teamed the most of any edge rusher in football, as illustrated by Seth Walder of ESPN’s analytics department:

While his play on the field has been spectacular and he could very well be on his way to an All-Pro selection, it’s also what Smith has provided to this Packers team off the field that has helped make him such a special acquisition.

It’s no secret that in addition to having their on field issues in 2018, the Green Bay Packers needed a shakeup in the locker room as well with a bit of a culture change as things had grown stale in recent years. And from the moment he stepped foot in Green Bay, Smith – along with Preston Smith – has been a leader and the catalyst behind this positive change.

From the joint interviews with Preston, to the regular dinners with the defense, along with some trips to Milwaukee to see the Bucks play, and of course, team celebrations after a turnover or a sack, all of this has helped create a more enjoyable environment within 1265 Lombardi Avenue and a team that is much closer than they have been in the past.

We are only 13 games into Za’Darius Smith’s Green Bay Packers career, however, with his dominant play on the field and his role as a leader off of it, he is already looking like one of the best free agent signings this team has ever had.

All stats via Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, and Spotrac