Green Bay Packers Run-D Better Be Ready for Tough Slate of RBs in 2020

The Green Bay Packers run defense had their troubles in 2019, and it isn’t going to get any easier with the slate of RBs that they have to face this year.

As we continue to look ahead to the 2020 season, perhaps one of, if not the biggest concern for the Green Bay Packers is going to be their ability to stop the run. Of course, we all remember the NFC Championship Game, where the San Francisco 49ers ran wild on this Packers’ defense, and while that was undoubtedly their worst performance of the season, defending the run was also an issue for much of it.

Green Bay’s 120.1 rushing yards per game that they’d give up ranked 23rd in the NFL, and believe it or not, that’s actually better than where they ranked for much of the season. Some solid late-season performances against Minnesota and Chicago provided them with a boost.

In an offseason where Green Bay’s most significant addition to the interior defensive line was Treyvon Hester, they are going to be relying heavily on the development of players like Kingsley Keke, Tyler Lancaster, and Montravius Adams to help this unit take a step forward in 2020.

That, of course, comes with some risk since this year the Packers will be rolling out primarily the same players along the interior defensive line as they did in 2019, and we all saw how that turned out. It also doesn’t help that with their schedule, they’ll be facing some of the league’s top rushing offenses and running backs from the 2019 season.

Of the NFL teams that finished in the top-17 of the league in rushing yards per game in 2019, the Green Bay Packers will be facing nine of them. This group includes San Francisco, Tennessee, Minnesota twice, Indianapolis, Houston, Philadelphia, Carolina, New Orleans, and Jacksonville.

On top of that, five of those teams – San Francisco, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indianapolis, and Houston – finished in the top-10 in rushing yards per game.

In terms of the individual runners that Green Bay will be up against, Derrick Henry led the league in rushing last season, Christian McCaffrey was 3rd, Leonard Fournette was 7th, Dalvin Cook was 10th, and Marlon Mack was 11th.

This isn’t exactly good news for a team that was run off the field – literally – in the NFC Championship Game.

As I said, internal development is going to be crucial, and if healthy, the addition of Christian Kirksey could very well be an upgrade over Blake Martinez. Not to mention that Raven Greene will be back, and Mike Pettine mentioned using Rashan Gary inside more often as well. With all of these factors combined, we will hopefully see an improved run defense this season.

While overall we saw the defensive side of the ball make some big improvements last season, if the Green Bay Packers are going to get over that Super Bowl hump, their run defense has to improve. In fact, it’s a must. But that certainly isn’t going to be an easy task with the schedule that they have to endure this season.