The best NFL franchises are always looking to upgrade the talent base on their roster to give the team the best opportunity to be successful throughout the arduous 18-week regular season schedule.
Green Bay Packers fans have seen their front office do this time and time again; they have qualified for the postseason 13 times since the year 2000. That number is the most of any NFC team over that stretch. You don't enjoy sustained success like that unless the front office is pushing all the right buttons from a player personnel perspective, and Packers fans know it.
Now, with training camp on the horizon, Green Bay has the opportunity to add a veteran difference-maker on the defensive front, if they so choose.
Packers Gifted Chance to Add Vet DE Ogbo Okoronkwo Before Camp
The Packers already have a pair of former first-round picks on the end of the defensive line in Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness. However, you can never have enough talented playmakers up front to disrupt opposing offenses when you call the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field your home. This is why the Cleveland Browns' decision on Thursday to release Okoronkwo is worth monitoring.
From a depth perspective alone, Okoronkwo would provide Green Bay defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington with all sorts of options when it comes to his rotation of edge rushers. There is some elite quarterback play in the NFC North right now, and the Packers would be wise to consider all options that would make things more difficult on opposing offenses.
Over the last two seasons, Okoronkwo appeared in 30 games for Cleveland, starting five of them, and recorded 54 total tackles to go along with 7.5 quarterback sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, 14 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. There should be no doubt that he can provide something to this defensive front if Green Bay elects to pursue him.
Given the timing of his release and the fact that he is now on the wrong side of 30 years of age, the money needed to sign Okoronkwo to a contract for the 2025 campaign likely wouldn't come close to breaking the bank.