A combination of scheme change, hard work, special teams ability and preseason production combined to push Green Bay Packers defensive end Arron Mosby from long shot to the 53-man roster to start the 2024 season.
General manager Brian Gutekunst said Mosby — who was claimed last August and switched between inside and outside linebacker for the Packers last season — worked diligently to play defensive end in the new 4-3 base defense, and it all paid off this summer.
“Really proud of the way he’s progressed,” Gutekunst said. “When we first got him, he’s a little bit of a tweener, is he an inside backer, is he an outside backer in our old scheme? As we moved into this 4-3, we put his hand down and he really took off. You have to give him a lot of credit, he’s put a lot of work into it.”
Mosby made a flash play almost every day at training camp and was productive in all three preseason games. He had a quarterback hit and deflected a pass on fourth down in the opener, produced a pair of hurries in Denver and then really broke out in the finale, tallying a strip-sack and an interception. At Pro Football Focus, Mosby graded out as the defense’s third-best player.
He also played snaps on four different special teams groups: kick return, punt return, punt coverage and field goal block.
“Really, not only as an edge rusher and his ability to rush the passer and do all the things we’re asking him to do on the defensive line, but on special teams as well, his ability to play multiple spots there and play it well,” Gutekunst said. “And then he produced. He did a really nice job producing. Kept getting better each week. It was showing up in practice, it showed up in games. Excited for what he was able to accomplish this camp.”
Mosby spent the entire 2023 season on the Packers’ practice squad. A year later, he’s on the 53.
The Packers ended up keeping six defensive ends. Mosby’s ability to play special teams will be vital considering he’s behind Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare at edge rusher and unlikely to see much of the field on defense barring injuries to the top four.
“Try my best to make that impact on special teams, that’s the No. 1 thing how you make a team,” Mosby said.
Still only 25, Mosby said he cut some weight — almost 10 pounds — and added speed this offseason to help transition to the 4-3. He went from high school receiver to college defensive back and linebacker and now to NFL defensive end.
Hear more from Mosby, who was all smiles at his locker on Wednesday, below: