Packers draft history at IDL provides little clarity following NFL Combine
By Paul Bretl
The interior defensive line position certainly isn’t the most pressing need that the Green Bay Packers have. But with that said, they could use more depth and overall more consistent play from this unit in 2023.
Typically when looking at draft prospects that the Packers might be interested in, a good starting place is with their Relative Athletic Score (RAS). Nearly 75% of Brian Gutekunst’s draft selections have scored at least an 8.0, while less than 20% have scored below 7.0.
However, to a degree, that gets thrown out the window a bit when discussing the interior defensive line. Gutekunst has made five defensive tackle selections as GM, with James Looney and Devonte Wyatt both scoring well over 9.0. However, Kingsley Keke and TJ Slaton were both below 8.0, while Jonathan Ford didn’t even score above 4.0.
There really aren’t even any well-defined individual drills that the Packers seem to prioritize with this position to help players stand out. As Daire Carragher of Packer Report noted in a recent article, all five defensive linemen have vertical jumps of at least 29,” but it’s not as if that figure is elite by any means, ranking above average in the 60th percentile. With so many body and play styles that can find success in the trenches, it’s difficult to find many connections between the athletic testing numbers and what Green Bay is specifically looking for.
In this year’s draft class, PFF has only eight interior linemen in their top 100–a relatively low number. Of the 18 prospects to record a RAS, eight scored above 8.0, with Bresee and Benton being the only ones from PFF’s top 100 rankings. Four of those eight prospects scored higher than 9.0.
Jalen Redmond, Oklahoma
Gervon Dexter, Florida
Bryan Bresee, Clemson
Colby Wooden, Auburn
Zacch Pickens, South Carolina
Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin
Moro Ojomo, Texas
Dante Stills, West Virginia
Three more players, Mike Morris from Michigan, Tyler Lacy out of Oklahoma State, and Nesta Jade Silvera of Arizona State, finished in the 6.0-7.9 range, as Slaton and Keke did in past years. Eight others would finish with what are considered below-average scores on the RAS scale.
The Packers again had one of the worst run defenses in football last season, and as a unit, they struggled to generate regular pressure, especially without Rashan Gary. However, a big part of the defense’s late-season surge was the improved play in the trenches.
During the final five games, Green Bay didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher and held opponents to 4.4 yards per rush, which over the course of the season would have ranked 15th in the NFL–a far cry from ranking 28th where they actually finished. This provided Joe Barry more flexibility to play with extra defenders in coverage, which helped limit some of the game’s most explosive wide receivers.
On top of that, the pass rush improved as well, with Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, and Devonte Wyatt all ranking in the top-35 out of 120 defensive tackles in pass-rush productivity, an efficiency metric from PFF. The best and quickest way to wreck a play for an offense is with pressure up the middle.
Although a promising finish to the season, as alluded to, that wasn’t the norm. If this Green Bay defense is going to improve in 2023, it begins with more consistency up front.
The Packers’ current interior defensive line room is made up of Clark, Wyatt, Slaton, Ford, and Chris Slayton. At a minimum, they need a fourth member of the rotation to join Clark, Wyatt, and Slaton. But with neither Wyatt nor Slaton having over 400 career snaps, perhaps the Packers choose to address that need in free agency by signing a veteran to an inexpensive deal rather than adding another young player through the draft.