Sixth in a series.
GREEN BAY — Kenny Clark wanted no part of the question.
The Green Bay Packers veteran Pro Bowl defensive tackle had been asked if he and the rest of the defensive linemen bore any sort of responsibility for head coach Matt LaFleur firing their position coach, Jason Rebrovich, after the 2024 season — and whether Rebrovich’s dismissal motivated him and his linemates.
“Uh,” Clark replied hesitantly. “I ain’t going to answer that question.”
Clark, a two-time Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy award winner for his professionalism in his interactions with the media, doesn’t normally duck questions. In the same conversation last month, he took ownership of his performance last season, when he finished only 37 tackles (the second-fewest of his career), only four tackles for loss (also the second-fewest of his career) and only one sack (after recording a career-high 7.5 the previous year).
But he wasn’t going near the subject of Rebrovich’s firing, instead opting only to praise his new position coach, ex-New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
“DC’s been great. He’s really hands on with us, just really teaching us the techniques, the formations, how to play faster within that,” Clark explained. “It’s back to more, I would say, our old stuff. Last year we pretty much were going up the field — like jetting up the field, stopping the run on the way to the quarterback. This year, [we’re] playing more technique.”
Having chosen not to sign any defensive linemen in free agency, and having waited until the fourth (Barryn Sorrell) and fifth (Collin Oliver) to select edge rushers in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Packers are clearly banking on the coaching change and the players being in Year 2 of coordinator Jeff Hafley’s system will allow the first-round pick-laden unit to finally play at a high level and generate pressure on quarterbacks with only their front four.
“I think that’s one area we need to coach better and I think we need to see that translate to the field,” said Hafley, who had to resort to simulated pressures and blitzes to generate a pass rush when the defensive line couldn’t do it on its own. “There ware a lot of things that we thought would go differently.”
Now, the hope is that it goes differently in Year 2.
“It was on and off. Honestly, not good enough. Not good enough,” Clark said of the defensive line’s pass-rush work. “Not good enough to win a championship. So we’ve got to be better.”
Here’s a closer look at the defensive line as the Packers prepare for training camp, which kicks off with its first practice on Wednesday morning:
Depth chart
No.
Name
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.
Age
Exp.
College
52
Rashan Gary
DE
6-5
277
27
7
Michigan
97
Kenny Clark
DT
6-3
314
29
10
UCLA
95
Devonte Wyatt
DT
6-3
304
27
4
Georgia
90
Lukas Van Ness
DE
6-5
272
24
3
Iowa
55
Kingsley Enagbare
DE
6-4
258
25
4
South Carolina
57
Brenton Cox
DE
6-4
250
25
3
Florida
99
Barryn Sorrell
DE
6-3
256
22
R
Texas
45
Collin Oliver
DE
6-2
240
22
R
Oklahoma State
53
Arron Mosby
DE
6-3
250
26
3
Fresno State
49
Deslin Alexandre
DE
6-3
264
27
1
Pittsburgh
94
Karl Brooks
DT
6-3
296
25
3
Bowling Green
96
Colby Wooden
DT
6-4
273
24
3
Auburn
91
Warren Brinson
DT
6-5
315
23
R
Georgia
78
Cameron Young
DT
6-3
304
25
3
Mississippi State
93
Nazir Stackhouse
DT
6-4
327
23
R
Georgia
60
Keith Randolph
DT
6-4
296
23
R
Illinois
69
Nesta Jade Silvera
DT
6-2
304
25
3
Arizona State
98
James Ester
DT
6-3
289
23
1
Northern Illinois
Burning Question | Will this group make an enormous collective jump in Year 2 of the system?
Give Hafley credit. The hallmark of a good coach is not what he draws up in his best-laid-plans game-plans. It’s what he can conjure up when things aren’t going well or a group isn’t performing as expected, and Hafley did just that with the pass rush.
The hope now is that Hafley can sprinkle in those pressures and blitzes along a strong front-four pass rush that gives him more options to deploy players in the back end.
“We were kind of going into this thinking we’re going to rush four and play a lot of zone coverage,” head coach Matt LaFleur explained. “A lot of the coverage principles were similar, but just how we generated pressure was different. And I think in today’s world of football, the more versatility you show, it’s harder [for the offense] to prepare for.”
On the rise | Devonte Wyatt.
Although Wyatt received the fifth-year option for 2026 from the Packers while fellow 2022 first-round pick Quay Walker did not, it’s time for Wyatt to put together a big season from wire to wire.
Wyatt is coming off his most productive NFL season with five sacks and nine tackles for loss last year, but it’s hard not to wonder what he might’ve done if he hadn’t suffered an ankle injury against Minnesota on Sept. 29.
Heading into that game, Wyatt had registered three sacks, five tackles for loss and five QB hits in the first three games. If he plays like that all season, the Packers will be so much better off.
“I think he’s had some moments where he’s been outstanding, and I think we can build on that,” LaFleur said. “I think he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, throughout the course of the offseason. I think he’s in a much better place, and I think that he’ll be ready to go. [He’s] another guy that I expect to go out there and play his best ball going into Year 4.”
Player to watch | Van Ness.
It’s Year 3 for the 2023 first-round draft pick, and it’s time his production matched his lofty draft status as the No. 13 overall pick.
Although Van Ness was limited by a broken right thumb that he suffered during the 2024 offseason program and never fully healed, forcing him to line up exclusively on the right side, his pass-rush numbers through two seasons — seven sacks and 38 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus — have been disappointing.
“I have very high expectations for myself and what I think I’m capable of, what I can do,” Van Ness said. “I push myself very hard, and I’ve got to be stronger, faster, more sound with my fundamentals, and ultimately impact the game as much as possible.”
Key competition | Van Ness vs. Enagbare, edge rushers.
While Van Ness’ first-round draft status certainly matters, that’ll only take you so far. And if some of the Packers younger edge rushers show a knack for getting pressure, It would not be a surprise if Van Ness, who finished with three sacks last year, ceded playing time to other alternatives.
Those options include Enagbare (4.5 sacks last season) or Cox (four sacks in 2024) — both of whom had better sack numbers than Van Ness — or Sorrell and Oliver, both of whom were Day 3 picks in April.
Bold prediction | Gary will finally have his first career double-digit sack season.
The 2019 first-round pick (No. 12 overall) managed to get a Pro Bowl nod last season and land in the NFL Network’s Top 100 players countdown at No. 80. But his reputation is clearly greater than his production.
Gary, who signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension in October 2023, went from nine sacks and 60 pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) in 2023 to 7.5 sacks and 47 pressures last year. As the legendary Kevin Greene said to Clay Matthews on the sideline during Super Bowl XLV: “It … is … time.”
Next: Linebackers.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.