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With Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed leaving in free agency and little spending power this offseason, the Green Bay Packers will be forced to live with the mistakes that come from relying somewhat heavily on inexperienced players at the interior defensive line position.
Outside of Kenny Clark, the second- and third-most experienced players on the roster are now TJ Slaton, who is entering his third NFL season, and Devonte Wyatt, who will be entering his second, respectively. Both will be expected to take on larger roles in 2023; Slaton as primarily a run defender and Wyatt in all capacities.
“Whoever those guys are that are in those roles need to step up,” said run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery on Wednesday. “Those two starters (Lowry and Reed), we have to replace them. Those guys that left are really good players. I had really high expectations for TJ last year and I don’t think he played to those consistently but he showed flashes. My expectations for him is to be the best version of himself, so that’s what we need to get out of him. And Devonte, from year one to year two, I expect a massive jump from him. He knows the defense much better, allows him to play free and fast instead of worrying where to go and those things. As you get older in this league, especially in the same system, the better you know, the faster you can play.”
Joining Clark, Slaton, and Wyatt are rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks. Jonathan Ford, a 2022 seventh-round pick who essentially red-shirted as a rookie, will return, as will Chris Slayton, a practice squad player a season ago. Also on the roster are undrafted rookies Jason Lewan and Antonio Moultrie.
The interior defensive line is one of the more heavily rotated positions in football. Typically four or even five defenders will see steady snaps from week to week. That means that Clark can’t play every snap, and others have to step up along side him, and when he’s on the sidelines. So with this being the case, that means that the Packers will have to lean on their inexperienced interior defenders to play meaningful snaps.
“They’re going to be thrown into the fire,” said Montgomery. “So there’s going to be a lot of mistakes early, and hopefully, a lot of that happens in preseason and the practices that happen. But you’re going to have to put them in there and let them learn. We are going to have to live with those mistakes. When you have veteran guys like Dean (Lowry) and J-Reed (Jarran), you limit those opportunities for those guys to make those mistakes and hurt the defense because you have guys that know what they’re doing. But now, you have to throw them into the fire. So my job is to get them ready, so that’s what I have to do. Come season opener; they’ll be ready to go.”
With Green Bay usually having veterans along the interior to lean on, they’ve been able to bring rookie defensive tackles along slowly. Wyatt played just 224 snaps in 2022, while Ford didn’t play any. Slaton played 266 in 2021, and Kingsley Keke just 107 in 2019. Wooden and Brooks aren’t going to have that luxury. This likely means that there will be growing pains –especially against the run, which is traditionally a more difficult transition for interior defenders compared to rushing the quarterback — and potentially costly mistakes.
Step one to overcoming these inevitable mistakes that the young defenders will make begins with each player understanding and being comfortable with their responsibilities. When that happens, defenders are then thinking less and able to play much quicker, resulting in impact plays. Wyatt’s impressive play at the end of the season in 2022, where he had five pressures and two sacks in the final four games, is a prime example of this taking place and what can come from it.
“Ultimately at the end of the day, you have to know your job, and when you know, the better you know, the faster you can play,” said Montgomery. “What I mean by fast, being able to line up and look at the things you prepared for all week. Backfield sets, formations, run-pass tells. All those things allow you to play fast when you’re confident in what you’re doing. So I’m excited at what he brings to the table.”
With a young room comes a lot of competition, something that Montgomery is excited about. It’s still far too early into the offseason process to know where Wooden, Brooks, Ford, and Slayton could fit — or not fit — into this defensive front, but as Montgomery pointed out, “a couple of jobs are open.”
Brooks and Wooden bring versatility to the position group, with both able to play up and down the defensive front, and early on anyways, each could see the bulk of their snaps coming in pass-rush situations. Ford and Slayton, meanwhile, will be battling for that sixth roster spot–which isn’t guaranteed, depending on how things play out at other position groups. The key to earning a roster spot or more playing time can likely be gained through being an effective run defender, an area where snaps are up for grabs on early downs, along with it being a facet of the game where this Packers defense has to improve.
The learning curve is going to be steep, and errors will be made, but in terms of who the young defenders in this interior defensive line room have to model their games and preparation habits after, they have a terrific mentor in Clark leading the way.
“Kenny is one of the greatest leaders,” said Montgomery. “It may not always be vocally, but the guy is a pro. The guy shows up day in and day out. He knows the same defense that we’ve been in, but he still brings a notepad in there, he takes notes on every call we get. There is not better guy to learn from than him. I express that to our room all the time. Look at our walk through, this guy is going through a walk through and he is immaculate fundamentally. I go learn from him. Watch how he goes about his business. There’s a reason that he’s one of the best guys in the league at what he does. So it’s great to have that and he’s actually being a lot more vocal right now, especially in our room. The communication that he’s having, pulling other guys to the side as I’m coaching guys up, and he’s earned that respect, so he has that room. When he wants to speak, he has it.”