The Packers got some clarity at the game’s most important position when Aaron Rodgers agreed to a four-year extension last week. That this news was almost immediately usurped by Tom Brady’s un-retirement no doubt made Mr. Rodgers unhappy, and no doubt we’ll be hearing about that for a while. But at least for the moment, the Pack have that issue addressed.
Perhaps second on the list for general manager Brian Gutekunst was to get the team’s pass rush set for the upcoming season. On Monday, it was revealed that Green Bay set their course on this by signing Preston Smith to a four-year, $52.5 million contract extension. Smith had signed a four year, $52 million contract in 2019, so he had one year left on his initial deal with Green Bay.
It’s an interesting move in that Smith’s tenure with Green Bay has been a bit up and down. He had 15 sacks and 62 total pressures in 2019, five sacks and 29 total pressures in 2020, and he flew back into prominence last season with nine sacks and 63 total pressures. That bounceback was crucial to the Packers’ success last season, because as much as Rashan Gary had his breakout year after a couple of undefined seasons with 12 sacks and 87 total pressures, Za’Darius Smith — who had been the Packers’ dominant edge defender — missed all but 37 snaps due to injury. Za’Darius Smith was released on Monday, by the way.
So, if Preston Smith hadn’t brought his pass rush back to life, the Packers might have been in trouble.
But were the Packers wise to re-invest in Preston Smith’s potential?
The thing that pops off the tape with Smith in 2021 is his ability to get his hands on the blocker first. He’s very quick to attack and set the boundary against anybody who’s trying to protect their quarterback. Usually, the key to success in this regard is for the blocker to be aggressive with his hands, to set the defender on his heels and off his spot. But Smith negates that with his quick and heavy hands more often than not. On this sack against the Bears in Week 14, here’s Smith blowing right by the tight end and the left tackle with that estimable combination of speed to the pocket, and quick, aggressive hand use.
On this Week 11 sack against the Vikings, Smith shows that he’s quick enough to pursue that if your offensive tackle doesn’t get quickly into his pass set, it’s pretty much Game Over.
One thing I’ve always appreciated about veteran pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue is Ngakoue’s non-stop and ferocious effort to the quarterback. Even if you beat Ngakoue right off the snap with a power move, you’d better be on point with your protection until the pass is thrown, because Ngakoue was going to do everything possible to get there, whether the quarterback was in or out of the pocket. Both in his speed through the arc and in his constant effort, Smith reminds me a lot of Ngakoue, and that’s a very good thing. Russell Wilson would reluctantly agree.
Smith isn’t a perfect pass-rusher — you can eliminate him for the most part with double-teams, and power tackles who can stick with him are going to have the edge. But with this particular deal, and given what the Packers require in their pass-rush presence, and especially with Za’Darius Smith now out the door, betting on Preston Smith for a second time seems like a relatively wise move.