Packers’ extended defensive line ready to attack

GREEN BAY – Two of the strongest positions on the Packers roster were merged into one this offseason when the edge rushers and interior defensive line came under one roof in the transition to new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

With the switch to a 4-3 front, Hafley and defensive coach Jason Rebrovich are looking to make more use of the 17 players now classified as defensive players to generate the pressure needed to bolster Green Bay’s revamped defense.

In the Packers’ favor, they have virtually every player back at both positions, with Preston Smith and Rashan Gary leading the edge rush and three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark leading the interior defensive line. Together, the three veterans have discussed putting the defensive line together for workouts before training camp begins next week.

This will be the sixth season Smith and Gary have played together, as Smith was signed 12th overall in 2019, a month before Green Bay signed Gary.

Although Smith is the oldest player on the Packers’ roster at age 31, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive end shows no signs of slowing down. After missing just one game in his first nine seasons, Smith enters the 2024 season with the Packers’ sixth-most sacks (41½), tied with Ezra Johnson since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

Last season, Gary recovered from his torn ACL that ended his 2022 season and led Green Bay in both sacks (nine) and quarterback hits (22). Since becoming a full starter in 2021, the 26-year-old pass rusher has recorded 71 tackles, 62 QB hits and 24½ sacks in 42 games.

The Packers have plenty of depth behind their experienced backstops, with 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr. completing the edge-rush rotation.

Van Ness, who just turned 23 last month, has turned things around heading into the home stretch of the 2023 season. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound pass rusher, who ran more with his hands in the dirt, recorded 19 tackles, seven quarterback hits and four sacks in his last eight games (including playoffs).

Van Ness fractured the tip of his thumb during the offseason program, but is expected to be healthy after completing minicamp with a modified protective bat. Fellow rookie Cox played sparingly after being added to the initial 53-man roster as a college free agent, but Green Bay rates the former five-star college recruit’s long-term potential highly.

The Packers breathed a sigh of relief this spring when it was revealed that Enagbare had avoided a serious knee injury during the Green Bay Packers’ win over top-seeded Dallas in the NFC Wild Card playoffs. Enagbare, who has been a full-time player during the offseason program, is looking to build on his 68 tackles and five sacks from his first two NFL seasons.

The Packers are just as strong on the interior defensive line as they are on the perimeter, especially Clark. Clark is only 28 and is the longest-tenured player on the Packers’ roster, but he is coming off the best statistical season of his eight-year career with 7½ sacks and 16 quarterback hits.