Justin Hollins brings ‘a lot of attributes’ to Packers edge rusher room

With Rashan Gary out for the season, the Green Bay Packers needed to bolster their edge rusher rotation. In late November, they would claim Justin Hollins off waivers after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams, a move that didn’t move the needle by any means but was impactful.

Hollins brought needed experience to the Packers’ edge rusher room with over 1,200 career snaps under his belt by the time he arrived in Green Bay, along with winning a Super Bowl title in Los Angeles. Without Gary, this was something that Green Bay was missing at this position group as they relied heavily on rookie JJ Enagbare, along with Jonathan Garvin, who has seen sporadic playing time, and La’Darius Hamilton, a primary practice squad player.

That experience and past production allowed Hollins to establish himself as a voice and a leader within the edge rusher room almost immediately.

"“First and foremost, he’s an unbelievable man,” said pass rush coordinator Jason Rebrovich. “You talk about a guy that came in here in the middle of the season, there’s so much unknown. It’s hard to walk into a room and that man has established himself as one of the leaders in that room. He comes to work every single day with a smile on his face and ready to work. He asks questions, he talks to the young men in that room. He has a lot of experience at the places he’s been. He knows the NFL. So he brings a lot of attributes to our room.”"

But you can’t just talk the talk; you have to walk the walk as well, and Hollins did that in Green Bay. He appeared in six games for the Packers as a rotational edge rusher and recorded nine pressures and three sacks during that span, along with six tackles and six stops–or plays that result in a “loss” for the offense, according to PFF.

He was effective as both a pass rusher and a run defender, ranking 26th out of 104 edge defenders during his time in Green Bay in pass rush win rate and 27th in PFF’s run-stop rate metric as well.

Hollins re-signed with the Packers this offseason on a one-year deal worth $1.28 million. Gary, Enagbare, Preston Smith, and Lukas Van Ness will be roster locks. Oftentimes the Packers have kept five edge rushers on the roster, which at a minimum, leaves one spot up for grabs this summer, although it could be two if Gary begins the season on the PUP list.

Hollins will be the front-runner for that potential final roster spot, but with a dead cap hit of just $155,000 if he is cut, the Packers aren’t financially tied to him either. With that said, with how often the edge rusher position is rotated throughout a game, if on the roster, you can expect to see Hollins on the field, even with the addition of Van Ness this offseason.

Also competing at the edge rusher position are the aforementioned Garvin and Hamilton, along with undrafted rookie signees Brenton Cox and Keshawn Banks. The name to watch from this group is Cox, a former five-star college recruit who possesses a ton of upside. It’s not uncommon for teams to prioritize youth and upside on the back end of their depth charts, but until we see how the summer unfolds, this is Hollins’ roster spot.