Tag: devonte wyatt

Packers DL Devonte Wyatt already showing signs of second-year jump

The Packers are only six practices into training camp, but 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt is showing encouraging signs of development.

We’re only six days into Green Bay Packers training camp, but defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt has already started to look like a player ready for his second-year jump. Wyatt turned in another impressive performance on Tuesday, starting with one-on-ones.

Wyatt’s play strength was on full display in matchups against Josh Myers and Jean Delance, where both players ended up on their butts. His goal wasn’t necessarily to embarrass his teammates, but he wanted to send a message.

“Just trying to prove my point,” Wyatt said of the two reps. “Just letting them know I’m here this year, and I’m not here to play. I got a point to prove.”

Wyatt is a potential breakout candidate for Green Bay now that he has assumed a starting spot. Despite being a first-round pick in 2022, Wyatt had a limited role on defense. It could have been very easy to get frustrated, except he went through a similar experience upon arriving at Georgia.

“Basically, I was being patient,” he said of his first season. “I wasn’t frustrated because the same thing happened my freshman year, and it just takes time learning the playbook and getting comfortable with the scheme.”

That patience paid off for Wyatt, who averaged only about 10 snaps per game until starter Dean Lowry exited Week 16 with a calf injury. Wyatt took over for the final two and a half games, showing his progress and recording his first career sack in the season finale.

He has taken that momentum and brought it with him it to Year 2, using the offseason to focus on his conditioning while burying his head into the playbook. As a result, Wyatt is playing much faster than he was this time a year ago.

Doing it in practice is one thing, but the Packers needs to be able to count on Wyatt during the regular season. He hopes to continue his ascension past the first week of training camp.

“It feels good, but you got to keep stacking days every week and bring it to the season.”

Why Devonte Wyatt is Packers Wire’s pick for breakout player of 2023

First-round talent plus starting opportunity equals big-time breakout potential for Packers DL Devonte Wyatt in 2023.

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Christian Watson broke out as a burgeoning star for the Green Bay Packers in 2022. What were the main ingredients of his breakout? Incredible physical talent, and a big opportunity at his position.

Using the same pathway, second-year defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt was Packers Wire’s pick for breakout player of the 2023 season.

Wyatt, a first-round pick in 2022, played sparingly as a rookie but did flash disruptive abilities to finish the year, especially during the Packers’ season finale against the Detroit Lions.

The talent is there. Wyatt is an elite athlete with terrific burst, high energy levels and a long history of disruptive production from an interior defensive line position. Not many 300-pounders can move the way he moves, especially in terms of change-of-direction ability. Plus, he was a terrific run defender and a top interior pass-rusher at Georgia, so there’s reason to believe the same traits and abilities will eventually translate into production at the NFL level.

“With anybody up front, you want playmakers,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said in May. “But specifically for defensive linemen, a three-technique, you want disruption…Just to be an all-around disruptive player. He has that ability, he has that quickness, he has that athleticism. Just be a disruptive force in the passing game and the run game as well.”

And Wyatt’s opportunity on the field as a second-year player in 2023 will be huge.

Gone are Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed, who combined to play over 1,000 total snaps along the defensive line last season. Wyatt, an expected starter next to Kenny Clark, will assume many of the available snaps. The Packers need him to be a consistent run defender on early downs and a go-to pass-rusher from the inside for Barry’s defense, which is under huge pressure to improve.

The breakout addition is easy for Wyatt: First-round talent plus starting opportunity. The Packers will hope the variables add up to a big season from an important player.

Pair of Georgia Bulldogs named to all-NFL breakout team

Nakobe Dean and another former Georgia defender have made the 2023 all-NFL breakout team

Former Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean is expected to take over the starting middle linebacker role for the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks is excited about how Dean will perform.

In fact, Brooks puts Dean on his all-NFL defensive breakout team. Dean is expected to call defensive plays for the defending NFC champions.

Bucky Brooks details why Nakobe Dean will breakout:

The Eagles’ new green-dot defender could make his mark immediately as a first-time starter. The second-year pro was regarded as a high-IQ defender with excellent communication and playmaking skills at Georgia, but the league did not get a real chance to see him in action last season, as he served an apprenticeship behind veteran LBs Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards. After the free-agent departures of White and Edwards, Dean has assumed signal-calling duties. The undersized linebacker will get a chance to show out as a tackling machine playing behind a monstrous group of defensive tackles (including fellow Georgia products Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter) that will allow him to flow freely to the ball.

Nakobe Dean has a much easier path to playing time this year. He recorded just 13 total tackles as a rookie, but proved to be a great tackler in college. Dean’s experience in Philadelphia’s defensive system will help him have an easier transition to a starting role.

Philadelphia has a ton of Georgia Bulldogs and is expected to be a Super Bowl contender again in 2023.

Bucky Brooks is also expecting a breakout season from former Georgia Bulldog defender Devonte Wyatt.

Green Bay’s transformation from an offense-centric squad to a team sparked by its defense could hinge on Wyatt’s development as an interior disruptor. After contributing in Year 1 as a rotational player behind Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry, the 6-foot-3, 304-pounder should make his mark as a sturdy run stopper with pass-rushing skills. After posting eight pressures, five quarterback hurries and 1.5 sacks in a backup role, Wyatt could double or triple those numbers as a full-time starter at defensive tackle.

The Packers drafted Devonte Wyatt in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft due to his combination of run-stopping ability and pass-rushing ability. Wyatt had a relatively quiet rookie season, but should be in for a larger role in his second year in the NFL.

Devonte Wyatt and Green Bay are entering into a new era after Aaron Rodgers moved to the New York Jets this offseason. The Packers will rely on a strong running game and sound defense to win games in 2023.

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Packers hoping former Georgia DT Devonte Wyatt makes big jump in 2023

Packers DC discusses Devonte Wyatt

The Green Bay Packers selected former Georgia defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with the 28th pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

In his rookie season, Wyatt recorded 224 defensive snaps. Data produced by PFF notes that he registered eight pressures (one sack) and five stops over 113 run-defense snaps and 111 pass-defense snaps.

This season, Wyatt projects to start on the Green Bay defensive line thanks to the departure of two starters from last season.

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry is expecting big things from Wyatt in his second season:

“With anybody up front, you want playmakers,” Barry said Tuesday. “But specifically for defensive linemen, a three-technique, you want disruption…Just to be an all-around disruptive player. He has that ability, he has that quickness, he has that athleticism. Just be a disruptive force in the passing game and the run game as well.”

Wyatt, a Decatur, Georgia, native, was a force on the inside of a historic defense 2021 UGA defense. He finished with 39 stops, 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss and 27 pressures during Georgia’s 2021 national title-winning team.

Packers want Devonte Wyatt to be ‘all-around disruptive player’ in 2023

Joe Barry on what he wants from Devonte Wyatt: “Just to be an all-around disruptive player. He has that ability, he has that quickness, he has that athleticism.”

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The Green Bay Packers are expecting 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt to make a big jump in Year 2 and become one of the defensive front’s top playmakers and disruptors in 2023.

“With anybody up front, you want playmakers,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said Tuesday. “But specifically for defensive linemen, a three-technique, you want disruption…Just to be an all-around disruptive player. He has that ability, he has that quickness, he has that athleticism. Just be a disruptive force in the passing game and the run game as well.”

Wyatt, the 28th overall pick, played only 224 defensive snaps as a rookie. According to PFF, he produced eight pressures (one sack) and five stops over 113 run-defense snaps and 111 pass-defense snaps. The counting stats were limited because opportunities were limited, especially early in the season. Wyatt played 92 of his 224 snaps over the final three games of 2022.

With Jarran Reed in Seattle and Dean Lowry in Minnesota, Wyatt has an opportunity to be a full-time player in 2023. And the Packers need him to be productive; Reed and Lowry combined for 50 pressures and 46 stops last season.

Is a big leap possible?

Barry said all rookies go through the college-to-NFL transition differently, but Wyatt finished his rookie season strong and has since been in the building every day for the offseason workout program.

“He’s in great shape,” Barry said.

Wyatt, who has a 1.66-second 10-yard split at 304 pounds, has the athletic profile of a prolific interior disruptor. And over his last three seasons at Georgia, Wyatt was a consistent producer, creating 63 pressure and 37 stops while playing a little under 1,000 snaps for one of college football’s best defenses.

Now, the Packers need Wyatt to turn his athleticism and penetrating ability into disruption and production at the NFL level. Barry’s defense is light on options along the defensive line behind Kenny Clark, especially in terms of experience. For line of scrimmage players, affecting the quarterback remains the name of the game.

Opportunity won’t be an issue this season. Barring an injury, Wyatt could play 500 or more snaps during his second year in the NFL. Was his finish to 2022 a harbinger of things to come in a bigger role in 2023?

Packers need ‘huge steps’ from TJ Slaton and Devonte Wyatt

Kenny Clark knows the Packers need big jumps from TJ Slaton and Devonte Wyatt along the DL.

The Green Bay Packers don’t only hope that TJ Slaton and Devonte Wyatt take big steps in 2023; the defensive front needs them to.

With Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry heading elsewhere in free agency, Slaton and Wyatt are now the second and third most experienced players on the roster at this position group, behind only Kenny Clark, and both are going to be relied upon much more heavily this season.

“They have to take huge steps,” Clark told reporters on Wednesday. “TJ (Slaton), I love how he came in, and D-Wy (Devonte Wyatt), they’ve been doing a great job getting better every day. But we’re all expecting TJ and Dy-Wy (to make) big steps coming this year. I’m going to be there every day pushing them. I know the coaches are going to push them. We are going to make sure they’re right by week one.”

At 6-5 and 340 pounds, Slaton will be the early down run-stuffer on this Packers defensive front. In his role, he isn’t always going to fill the stat sheet, but his teammates will feel his presence. Slaton will be taking up space and running lanes and also occupying double teams, which will create opportunities for those around him.

Wyatt was averaging fewer than 15 snaps per game through the first 16 weeks but took on a larger role once Lowry was placed on IR. During those final three games, Wyatt made some noise as a pass rusher, recording five pressures and two sacks. However, this season, Wyatt is going to have to be asked to do more, specifically against the run, where he still has room to grow.

“He finished the season off really good,” said Clark about Wyatt. “That Lions’ game, he balled out, for sure, against a really good offensive line. He’s always going to be a great pass rusher as long as he keeps on developing; the biggest thing is he has to learn the technique with the run. That’s what myself and coach are trying to push each other to do. Just helping him learn the technique of how we play the run and the mentality you need to have as a three-down player.”

As I wrote recently, the Packers do not have a shortage of pass rush options within their interior defensive line room; the big question, however, is how do they go about stopping the run, an area where as a defensive unit Green Bay has to be better in 2023.

Clark can’t play 100% of the defensive snaps week in and week out, and the Packers are going to want him on the field in pass-rushing situations. This likely means – barring a free agent addition – that, along with Slaton, Wyatt be utilized more often on early downs.

Following the draft, GM Brian Gutekunst spoke highly of rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks’ abilities to get after the passer, but given the lack of depth within this room, both will likely have to see some run defense snaps out of necessity. Brooks has the size to play inside, but Wooden will likely be more of a defensive end and edge-setter in these situations. As rookies, both are going to be inconsistent, which again, puts more of the onus on Slaton and Wyatt.

Last season, the Green Bay defense allowed 5.0 yards per rush, which ranked 28th in the NFL. But during the final four games of the season, when the defense was playing its best football, the defensive front was also holding up much better against the run. In that stretch, the Packers allowed just 4.4 yards per rush, which for context, if done throughout the entire season, would have ranked 15th.

When the defense is able to contain the run game, it puts the offense in third and longs and predictable passing situations. This allows for the defensive front to get after the quarterback, which should be a strength for Green Bay, along with providing the secondary more opportunities to make plays on the ball. If the Packers’ defense is going to improve in 2023, it starts by slowing the run, and that is going to require jumps from Slaton and Wyatt.

“We definitely have to start faster,” said Clark when asked how the defense can improve in 2023. “But again, I think it starts with tackling and stopping the run. Whenever guys got in third and long situations, we usually got off the field and made plays on the ball, got sacks, or whatever the case may be. So that’s our goal, stop guys on first and second down, and get them in third and long situations. If they throw the ball short, be able to tackle the ball carrier.”

Matt LaFleur: Packers need breakout second season from Devonte Wyatt

Can DL Devonte Wyatt be a breakout candidate in 2023? “Yeah, he’s going to need to. We’re going to need that from him,” Matt LaFleur said.

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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Packers rookie review: DL Devonte Wyatt

A review of the rookie season of Devonte Wyatt, the Packers’ second of two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers made 11 picks during the 2022 NFL draft: six offensive players and five defensive players. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going through and reviewing the 2022 season for all of the Packers’ rookies.

Next up: interior defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt, the 28th overall pick and the Packers’ second of two first-round draft picks in 2022:

Packers first-round pick Devonte Wyatt to take on expanded role without Dean Lowry

Devonte Wyatt, the Packers’ first-round pick, is about to become an important player down the stretch for Green Bay.

Dean Lowry’s 2022 season came to an unfortunate end during Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins. The Green Bay Packers defensive lineman suffered a calf injury in the first half, forcing the team to put him on injured reserve on Tuesday. That means the Packers will ask more of Devonte Wyatt, who has been eagerly awaiting this opportunity since his 28th overall selection back in April.

Wyatt knows that just because you might be a first-round pick doesn’t mean you’re automatically a starter.

Much like they do with their wide receivers, Green Bay will rarely ask a defensive lineman to step in and play extensive snaps in their first season. Before he was a two-time Pro Bowler, Kenny Clark played only 32 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie. Lowry played half of that as a fourth-rounder in 2016.

Wyatt was given the same treatment despite being one of the best defensive tackles in the country during his final season at the University of Georgia. In four of his first five NFL games, Wyatt never eclipsed double-digit snaps.

That changed as the season progressed, and Wyatt’s splash plays eventually caught the attention of his coaches, leading to an uptick in snaps even before Lowry got hurt.

“He’s earned that because of the way he’s worked and improved,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said Thursday.

Now Barry expects Wyatt’s role to increase even more after playing a  career-high 24 snaps against the Dolphins.

One thing the Packers can have been able to count on regardless of playing time is Wyatt’s effort. It was on full display when he was chasing down Miami’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to force an incompletion or making a downfield tackle on tight end Durham Smythe last Sunday. Making those types of hustle plays is a large part of who Wyatt is as a player.

It definitely didn’t dwindle in the previous two games when Wyatt’s snaps dipped back down into the single digits. In week 13 against the Chicago Bears, Wyatt was the team’s top-graded defender by Pro Football Focus. Two weeks later, against the Los Angeles Rams, he received the second-highest grade and contributed to his first career sack with some help from Justin Hollins.

In both games, Wyatt played only nine snaps but still made the most of them.

“The thing that I think he’s done a great job with is he’s such a diligent worker,” Barry said. “The way he plays the game- at least once he gets out on the grass- is he plays his tail off and with unbelievable effort.”

Wyatt has only played 19 percent of the defensive snaps, but he has two regular season games and hopefully a playoff run to show he is ready to take on an expanded role in next year’s defense.

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How are Georgia’s first-round rookies performing?

How are Georgia’s five NFL first-round draft picks performing in their respective rookie seasons?

The Georgia Bulldogs had a record-setting 2022 NFL draft. Five Georgia defenders were selected in the first round of the draft, which is a NFL record (for one college in one year).

The Bulldogs set the all-time record for most players selected in a seven-round NFL draft with 15. How are Georgia’s five NFL first-round picks performing in their respective rookie seasons?