Green Bay Packers: More Reps on Early Downs & Inside for Rashan Gary

We know that Rashan Gary will see more playing time in 2020 with the Green Bay Packers but Mike Pettine gave us some insight into what that could look like.

After spending big free-agent dollars on edge-rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith last offseason, I’m guessing that just about everyone assumed that the Green Bay Packers were going to use the 12th overall selection on a different position.

However, to the dismay of many at that time, Green Bay would select Rashan Gary from Michigan.

While many were frustrated with how little the 12th overall pick played in 2019 – just 23.46 percent of all defensive snaps to be exact – and I can certainly understand why, with The Smiths ahead of him on the depth chart it gave Gary the opportunity to get his feet wet, which is a luxury most teams don’t have. And as a result, we saw him make a much larger impact as the season went on.

In fact according to Pro Football Focus, from Weeks 14 through 16, Gary recorded one sack and five total pressures in only 27 pass-rush attempts. That’s an excellent pressure rate of nearly 19 percent.

But now that Kyler Fackrell is in New York and of course with Gary being a top-15 overall pick, it’s simply time for more responsibilities in 2020. And by no means should that be meant as ground-breaking news.

So although we know that Gary will see more of the field this upcoming season, in a recent Zoom call with reporters, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine gave us some insight into what more of those responsibilities could be.

"“I do see Rashan taking a significantly increased role,” Pettine said. “I do think at times Preston and Z probably played a little too much, we want to take some off their plate. Rashan is certainly built to handle giving those guys a break.”"

While we want to see The Smiths on the field as much as possible, both did play over 83 percent of the Packers’ defensive snaps last season, so any additional breaks could prove beneficial. Especially in the fourth quarter.

This past season Gary was primarily used on third downs or obvious pass-rushing situations. But in order to get him on the field more which will also provide more rest opportunities for Za’Darius and Preston, Pettine mentioned getting Gary out there on first and second downs more often. Noting how well Gary did setting the edge against the run in 2019.

As we all remember, the Green Bay Packers had trouble stopping the run last season. So whether it be Gary or another player, any sort of additional help that they can get against the run is going to be needed.

Later on in the interview, Pettine would add that on third downs they’d like to move Gary inside, similar to what they did with Za’Darius:

"“I think because of his skillset, we can use him more like we’ve used Z, on third down especially, where he can move down and rush from the tackle spot, as opposed to only on the edge,”"

This gives the Packers another athletic pass-rusher coming up the middle and all of a sudden gaining a first down with Gary, The Smiths, and Kenny Clark coming at you is going to be a daunting task for any opposing offense.

Over the course of the interview, Gary was one of the players that Pettine mentioned when he was discussing those who will make a “big jump” in 2020. And for this defense to improve upon last year’s performance, he is going to have to.

As I said above, it’s no secret that Gary was going to have a bigger role this season, but now we have an idea of what that looks like. More snaps on first and second downs to help against the run and more opportunities to rush the quarterback in between the tackles.