Taking a closer look at Dean Lowry’s struggles against Vikings

Breaking down the struggles of Packers DL Dean Lowry against the Vikings.

Since signing an extension, the returns on Dean Lowry have not been stellar. Lowry failed to record a single sack last season, and he saw his playing time taper off a bit as the season wore on. Through the first seven games of 2020, the Green Bay Packers are still waiting for Lowry to live up to his contract.

Despite having a year left on his rookie contract, the Packers extended Lowry for three years worth upwards of $20 million in July 2019. At the time, the deal looked like a sound decision as Lowry had benefited from somewhat of a breakout year in 2018. He posted career-highs of 47 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and 5.0 tackles for loss. Not Pro Bowl numbers by any means, but the team certainly thought he could continue his ascent.

If you were wondering how confident Green Bay was that Lowry would continue to grow as a player, the day after he officially signed his new deal, they released defensive end, Mike Daniels. Daniels was a legitimate Pro-Bowl caliber presence on the Packers’ defensive line before suffering a severe foot injury during the 2018 season. Daniels was on the brink of turning 30 and the injury gave them an easier reason to part ways.

When the extension was made official, general manager Brian Gutekunst even used the word “excited” to describe the decision to retain Lowry. Well, there hasn’t been much to get excited about in regards to Lowry’s play over the last 1.5 seasons.

With nose tackle Kenny Clark commanding constant double teams, defensive end is an advantageous spot in Green Bay. However, Lowry hasn’t transcended as the team hoped for. According to Pro Football Focus, Lowry had career-low grades in all major categories, including defense, run defense, tackling, and pass rush in 2019.

To add insult to injury, a new year hasn’t been kinder to Lowry. In 2020, the former fourth-round pick is on pace to have the lowest defensive grade of his career. Also, PFF ranks Lowry 128th among qualifying defensive linemen.  At his current pace, he’s expected to finish the year with 30 tackles and 2.0 sacks. These would be his lowest totals since his rookie year.

While Lowry has experienced his fair share of struggles this season, so has Green Bay’s defense. A deficient run defense led to their downfall in last year’s NFC Championship Game. It happened again in Week 8, as Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook had a field day of 226 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns against the Packers.

Obviously, it was a team effort to surrender such a dominating performance, but it also highlighted the team’s failure to add enough talent to stop the very thing that ended last season.

Lowry wasn’t the sole reason Cook essentially beat Green Bay single-handedly, although, he didn’t do much in the way of stopping him either.

On the surface, Cook was held to a marginal gain. However, if you look at Minnesota right tackle Brian O’Neill, you’ll see him taking Lowry where ever he pleases. Slow off the ball, Lowry is unable to even attempt to get off the block and is driven a solid two yards off his spot. Run defense is supposed to be one of his strengths, but the Packers have seen way too many plays like this from Lowry dating back to last season.

Asking Lowry to fill in for Clark at nose tackle is imprudent. Those reps are probably better served for Montravious Adams, Tyler Lancaster, or Kingsley Keke. Lowry simply isn’t explosive enough to reset the line of scrimmage and combo blocks are going to wipe him out of plays completely. Green Bay is trying to turn Lowry into something he isn’t here. On a good day, he’s a solid rotational three-technique, four-technique, or five-technique linemen.

This is a clinical rep by Dakota Dozier. He’s able to flip his hips and completely open the hole for Cook. Dozier isn’t known for his run blocking, but on this play, it looks like he’s made a career of it. If Lowry had more control over his blocker using better hand technique and play strength, Dozier wouldn’t have been able to transition his body so smoothly.

Here’s a nice play by Lowry, who consistently showcases solid mental processing. He doesn’t take on a block here, but usually, Lowry does a good job of keeping his eyes on the ball.

Lowry is lined up over left tackle Riley Reiff. Initially, it looks like Lowry is going to get some push and hold his gap, but Reiff recovers. Given what the team is paying him, this is a play in which Lowry should be getting off the block and making a play on the ball carrier. Right now, he’s consistently struggling to get off blocks.

Against a tight end, Lowry can make something happen. However, the Packers are paying him to win against offensive linemen.

This is good hand placement for good leverage and good mental processing to track the ball. Lowry is even able to show solid play strength to keep moving in the direction he wants to go, but again, he can’t get off the block.

The season is almost halfway over and Green Bay is getting very little from a guy they put a decent amount of faith into. Since 2019, Lowry has been in good positions to succeed, but he keeps coming up short. If performances like the one against the Vikings continue for the rest of the season, the Packers will have very good reason to cut bait.

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