Packers: 5 most important defensive players heading into offseason workouts
The Green Bay Packers have a lot of work to do with their young team this offseason. With Aaron Rodgers traded, they’ll be looking for the defensive side of the ball to carry the burden, meaning that the unit will need to get off to a fast start.
Green Bay is in the middle of working through offseason phases. Phase 1 is meetings and strength-and-conditioning work, phase 2 is on-field group work and phase 3 is organized team activities (OTAs). OTAs begin May 22nd and will conclude in mid-June (they won’t be practicing every date during that period, only select ones). They have a mandatory minicamp from June 13-15 to finish their off-season workouts.
With the Packers’ defense collecting first-round draft picks like a hobby, it’s time for this side of the ball to step up. Here are five important defensive players heading into the offseason workouts.
The Green Bay Packers are looking for several players to step up on defense and the offseason workouts will be critical for these five players.
Eric Stokes
Stokes had a solid rookie year before imploding in his second season. I’ll call it a sophomore slump. He was targeted time and time again in 2022 and gave up yards in chunks. Mercifully, a season-ending injury ended the onslaught and sent him to the rehab room. Stokes should be ready in time for training camp as he enters a critical third year. He needs to show his true colors early on.
Quay Walker
Walker has all the physical skills in the world. He’s fast, can cover sideline to sideline, is strong and has tremendous size for his position. What he lacks is on the mental side; play recognition, discipline, and football I.Q. He struggled mightily to diagnose plays in his rookie year and was often out of position. He was also ejected twice for pushing the opposing team’s training staff. That’s unacceptable. With a year under his belt, it’s time for him to show improved play recognition and discipline across the spectrum.
Devonte Wyatt
Despite being one of the oldest rookies in the NFL last year (he’s already 25 years old), Wyatt failed to make an immediate impact on the defensive line. He got more opportunities at the end of the season, showing some promising signs he hopes to carry over into Year 2. With Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed gone, Green Bay is looking to Wyatt to earn a starting spot alongside Kenny Clark.
Lukas Van Ness
Van Ness might not have the luxury to be brought along slowly, depending on how Rashan Gary’s recovery progresses. He’ll be asked to do many things in Green Bay, but they’ll all have the same goal; get after the quarterback. Van Ness will probably line up all over the field to keep offenses off balance and unsure where the pass-rushing weapon will attack from.
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Darnell Savage
Savage’s career quickly took a turn for the worse and now he’s facing a crossroads in his career. He’s an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and will be fighting for an opportunity to play again in the NFL. We’ve already seen his counterpart Adrian Amos go unsigned in free agency and Savage could face the same fate with another poor season. His redemption arc begins with the offseason workouts.