Will the Green Bay Packers Roster 5 or 6 Interior Defensive Linemen?

In addition to the specific player vs. player roster battles that take place each summer, another component of roster building is, how many players at each respective position will the Green Bay Packers keep?

When it comes to the interior defensive line room, unlike in years past, there aren’t many question marks surrounding this unit. In fact, on paper anyways, this is the best group that the Green Bay Packers have had in some time.

Kenny Clark is among the best interior defenders in football. Dean Lowry is coming off a career year in terms of getting after the quarterback. Green Bay added Jarran Reed in free agency, who will bolster the rotation’s depth against both the run and the pass, while Devonte Wyatt possesses a ton of upside. TJ Slaton should also see more playing time, specifically on early downs, as a nose tackle.

So we know that those five will make up this Packers’ interior defensive line room–the question, however, is whether or not Green Bay rosters five or six players at this position.

While what happened in past years under Matt LaFleur doesn’t necessarily indicate what will take place in 2022, for what it’s worth, the Packers kept six interior defensive linemen on the initial roster in 2019, then five in 2020, and six again in 2021.

If the Green Bay Packers do keep six this season, the likely front-runners at this point are Jack Heflin and Jonathan Ford. Heflin impressed last summer and was on the roster for much of the season but played just 17 defensive snaps, according to PFF ($$). Ford was one of the Packers’ seventh-round picks this past draft.

Also on the roster are undrafted rookies Akial Byers and Hauati Pututau, along with Chris Slayton, who was claimed off waivers earlier this offseason.

Given the makeup of this year’s defensive line unit, if there are six players who earn a roster spot, I imagine that the sixth player will once again see minimal playing time defensively as long as everyone remains healthy. With Clark, Lowry, Slaton, Wyatt, and Reed, the week-to-week rotation is pretty well set.

As is the case for many of those back end of the roster openings, special teams contributions will play a big factor–although in 2021, Heflin was on the field for only 13 special teams snaps.

For interior defenders, their roles on special teams will most likely come on either the punt or field goal protection units as a big body taking up space or as someone meant to generate a push up the middle on the opponent’s field goal attempts.

When it comes to determining how many interior defensive linemen the Packers will keep — or any position for that matter — it’s not as if LaFleur has already determined how many defensive linemen he is going to roster this season.

Although the player’s performance over the summer at their respective position certainly matters, because special teams contributions are a factor, what takes place at linebacker and tight end, for example, will to some degree affect the number of interior defensive linemen kept.

At the end of the day, if LaFleur believes that there is more value in having that fifth tight end or a fifth inside linebacker, which in large part will be determined by special teams play, then the Packers may only roster five interior defenders. But if Heflin emerges again, or maybe Ford, and either can provide more value than a fifth tight end or linebacker, then Green Bay could keep six as they did in 2021.

In short, when it comes to determining who earns these final roster spots, what takes place at other positions does matter.

When it comes to the defensive line rotation, there really isn’t much competition that’s going to take place like in past years—we know who those players will be. But when it comes to the construction of this roster, how many interior defenders make this team will be worth monitoring.