In signing edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst delivered what has to be considered a free-agent unicorn. The Packers signed Smith to a top of the market deal after a breakout season, and Smith actually got significantly better during his first season in Green Bay. This kind of home-run acquisition rarely happens in free agency.
How much did Smith improve during the 2019 season with the Packers?
Enough for Pro Football Focus to label Smith as the team’s most improved player.
After raising his overall grade at PFF significantly during his final season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018, Smith emerged as a game-wrecking force for the Packers in 2019, earning the fourth-highest grade among all edge rushers. In fact, his overall grade actually improved more from 2018 to 2019 than it did from 2017 to 2018.
Smith led the NFL in total pressures (93) and pressure rate (18.1). He also finished with a career-high 13.5 sacks and 37 quarterback hits during the regular season and eventually made the Pro Bowl.
In the span of two short years, Smith transformed completely as a player, beginning as an ineffective role player in Baltimore before evolving into one of the NFL’s best edge rushers.
Gutekunst really did hit the grand slam of free-agent additions. He spent big money on an emerging player, but the player both out-performed the value of the deal and improved at a rapid rate that no one really saw coming. Also, Smith achieved the hardest part of development in 2019: transitioning from a good player into a great one. He played more snaps and handled far more attention from opponents, but he still managed to emerge as a star. Impressive.
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