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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.