Green Bay Packers: 3 First Round EDGE Draft Prospects

Two offseasons ago, the Green Bay Packers invested copious amounts of resources in the edge rusher position to be able to get to the quarterback more effectively.  Za’Darius and Preston Smith were both signed to monster contracts, and Rashan Gary was taken with the 12th pick in the draft, a move which has looked better and better as his two years have progressed.

Even with Gary’s huge potential and improvement, both Smiths regressed this year, and there is tons of speculation swirling around that Preston Smith will be cut for cap savings.  That would create a vacancy for the third EDGE spot, which is a position that sees plenty of snaps due to fatigue and the number of sub-packages the Packers play with more pass rushers in the game in obvious pass situations.

The team certainly has some more pressing needs for starting spots, but there are other possible avenues to get talented players at those positions. While EDGE probably isn’t the top of the list, the best player available philosophy is ever-present on draft night, and if there’s someone there that’s too good to resist, they could pull the trigger on a first-round edge rusher.

Gregory Rousseau – Miami

A lot of NFL minds would agree that first-round picks are meant for potential. There’s the notion around the first round that getting athletes with some specific physical traits that could develop into stars is more important than whether or not they’ll quickly adapt to the NFL game. Rousseau is a great example of just that.

His physical gifts are absolutely undeniable. You won’t find many people on earth who are 6’7″ and 265 pounds that can move like Rousseau can. Having long arms and a large frame is extremely advantageous for rushing the passer because it’s much easier to get to the chest of the offensive lineman to then move and get around him.

Rousseau used that advantage in college to stack up productive numbers, accounting for 15.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in his one full college season in 2019.

Those numbers were due to a lot of factors. One of them was that teammate Quincy Roche was on the other side of the ball that made it harder to double team Rousseau, and often made the quarterback scramble toward him for easier sacks.

Aside from his teammates, his real merits as a pass rusher did net him some of these sacks on his own. His biggest attribute right now is his quickness that he can use to beat interior offensive linemen. Miami often used him as a nose tackle on passing downs, giving him better matchups that he could exploit with quick moves. When rushing on the edge, however, he doesn’t have much for a repertoire of moves and often loses without the offensive tackle even really getting uncomfortable.

His biggest issue is in the run game because he’s so tall and hasn’t completely filled out that frame yet. His somewhat skinny stature makes him easier to be pushed back, and it’s a lot tougher to get low leverage when you’re 6’7″.

Overall, Rousseau shows flashes of excellence and sometimes a great burst, combined with a body that could be shaped into a great NFL player, but that might take a few years, and the Green Bay Packers don’t really have that time, so he’s probably not the guy they’re looking for in round one.