Gone are Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed, who played 1,187 snaps along the defensive line of the Green Bay Packers last season. Left behind is a giant roster hole that coach Matt LaFleur is hoping 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt can help fill.
Asked if Wyatt is a breakout candidate in 2023, LaFleur said the Packers can’t afford for him not to be an impactful player in Year 2.
“Yeah, he’s going to need to. We’re going to need that from him,” LaFleur told Larry McCarren of the team’s official site from the NFL Annual Meetings. “I think he’s shown flashes.”
Wyatt, the 28th overall pick last year, played only 244 snaps over 16 games as a rookie. Part of his lack of opportunity was playing behind veterans like Lowry, Reed and Kenny Clark. Another part was the sometimes arduous process of learning how to play along the defensive line at the NFL level.
“It’s going to be a big year in terms of just the understanding of the game and reading keys. That helps you play the position a lot better,” LaFleur said.
Wyatt, who turned 25 years old on Friday, played at least 15 snaps in five of the Packers’ last seven games after playing just 81 total snaps in the first 10 weeks. He produced six pressures (1.5 sacks), four defensive stops and a forced fumble between Weeks 12-18.
LaFleur pointed to a better understanding of “tips and tells” from the opposing offensive line as a vital part of Wyatt’s development in Year 2. An interior defender can play faster and be more disruptive when the player quickly and accurately processes what they are seeing pre-snap and immediately post-snap. It’s on Wyatt to prove he’s up to the task, especially as a first-rounder who is playing such an important position along the line of scrimmage.
Unless the Packers make a splash addition between now and Week 1, Wyatt will be an expected starter who could play 30 or more snaps every week.
Can he take the second-year leap that so many talented young players enjoy in the NFL?
“He’s going to have to put a lot of time and effort and work in to make sure he’s up to the standard of a guy like Kenny Clark,” LaFleur said.
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