Undrafted rookies face an uphill battle when it comes to cracking NFL rosters, which is why Green Bay Packers fans were impressed when Nazir Stackhouse made the 53-man unit out of training camp. The UDFA defensive tackle worked hard throughout the summer to impress head coach Matt LaFleur's staff, and the fan base was excited to see what Stackhouse would do when the meaningful games began.
Unfortunately, the former Georgia Bulldog's early returns haven't been great. Stackhouse's early struggles have been quite noticeable amid the Packers' early defensive success, putting LaFleur in a spot where he might have no choice but to limit the rookie's playing time after their Week 5 bye.
Packers Must Limit Rookie Nazir Stackhouse's Playing Time After Bye Week
Stackhouse was far from a reliable presence in September, and what's more concerning is that he's already barely playing to begin with. The Trenton, NJ native has only played 69 snaps (48 defensive, 21 special teams) throughout his first four NFL games (all off the bench), yet has found a way to fumble the limited opportunities given to him.
Stackhouse has only tallied two solo tackles and two assisted attempts through four games, failing to register any sort of meaningful stat beyond that. He's had issues when it comes to stopping the run, highlighted by his 32.8 run defense grade on Pro Football Focus — the ninth-worst mark among 179 eligible interior defenders.
Being a bottom-10 player in any aspect isn't a good look, let alone for an undrafted rookie. The fact that he is also the 12th-worst graded interior defender overall (38.3) further proves that he doesn't deserve much playing time, if any at all. There just isn't a good reason to justify his spot in the lineup, especially after finishing Week 4 with the worst defensive grade at his position (30.1).
With Stackhouse showing few signs of improvement, it might be time for the Packers to finally debut Warren Brinson. The sixth-round rookie, who's also a former Bulldog, didn't have the strongest preseason; however, he did generate six pressures and a 70.1 tackling grade, which stems from his non-stop motor that fans fell in love with this summer.
Whether it's replacing him with Brinson or an outside reinforcement, the Packers can't continue to play Stackhouse in his current form. Perhaps he'll come back better than ever after having the bye week to regroup.
But if not, and the same struggles persist, it will going to be time for Green Bay to shake up its DL depth charts.