9 Big Things from the Green Bay Packers 2021 Season
By Paul Bretl
Following each Green Bay Packers game this season, I would rewatch the matchup and discuss my three or four big things from their performance. Now with the offseason, unfortunately, here, I thought I would take that same concept and look back at Green Bay’s season as a whole.
I will say, trying to keep this list from getting completely out of control was a bit challenging — there’s a lot to talk about — but my goal was to hit the big-ticket items from this past year.
Green Bay Packers Rashan Gary has become one of the game’s most productive edge rushers
Without Za’Darius Smith for most of the year, the Green Bay Packers defense was going to need much more from Rashan Gary than perhaps what they anticipated prior to Week 1–and Gary sure did deliver.
Gary finished the season with 81 pressures, which was the second-most among all edge rushers, as well as 10 sacks, the most on the Green Bay Packers team. PFF also has a metric that measures a pass-rusher’s efficiency, and Gary once again was among the best, ranking sixth.
"“Rashan is a great player,” Preston Smith said via Packers News. “He’s a hell of a guy, and he’s a hell of a player. He works hard. He’s willing to come in and learn each and every day. He’s always receptive to information, and he’s always willing to do whatever it takes to get an edge or get better.”"
Along with steady contributions from Preston Smith as well as Kenny Clark, the Packers were one of the best teams in football at pressuring the quarterback this past season. When it comes to Gary, specifically, he didn’t just make the Year 3 leap as so many successful NFL players do; he became one of the game’s most productive pass rushers.