Position Evaluation: Defensive Line

Under former Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s coaching mentor Dom Capers the defensive line was the red-headed step child of his defense. While he was officially listed as running a 3-4 scheme in practical terms he really had only two defensive linemen on the field most of the snaps.

There is only one defensive end listed on the official Packers.Com roster and that is former 2016 No. 4 draft pick Dean Lowry. He was officially listed as a starter and finished the season with 32 tackles (18 solo) and two sacks. I thought he played well enough considering, but he is no future All-Pro and I think a Super Bowl contending team needs to only keep future All-Pros, so he can be improved upon.

Speaking of improvement new General Manager Ted Thompson, Jr. (I mean Brian Gutekunst, but more on that slap later) signed street free agent and former Jets 2011 No. 1 pick Muhammad Wilkerson, who was released with 3 years left on a 5-year, $86,000,000 contact during the off-season after being benched for being a malcontent and missing team meetings. He signed that contract after posting a 12 sack season, but since then he’s had 4.5 in 2016 and only 3.5 last year since. He is a project, but “Gute” signed him to just a 1-year deal for $5.000,000 and since the 1st year with a new team usually means extra effort I will say this is probably a good signing.

Wilkerson was a defensive end, but on the Packers roster he is listed as a defensive lineman and that means he will play both end and tackle. I think he should be an end, but what do I know.

There are only three defensive tackles listed leaving just five defensive linemen on the entire roster. Seems Dom Capers is still in the building just like Ted Thompson is, but more on this travesty later, too.

Heading the list at tackle is perennial future All-Pro Mike Daniels, who is coming off a 5 sack and 49 tackles (34 solo) season and earned a Pro Bowl berth after being a Pro Bowl alternate the previous 3 seasons. He signed a big contract 2 years ago (4 years, $42,000,000), so he is locked up. Last year he missed 2 games because of a hip injury. I think he hit a plateau last year. I hope he really becomes an All-Pro under the new defensive coordinator.

Next up is future All-Pro Kenny Clark. He seemed to be making a big jump in production going from 21 tackles (13 solo) and no sacks in 2 starts as a rookie No. 1 pick to 55 tackles (22 solo) and 4.5 sacks in 15 starts last year. By the end of the year he was the best defensive lineman on the field. He was Ted Thompson’s best No. 1 pick, albeit a year late, since Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (2014) and Bryan Bulaga (2010). Let’s hope he continues to improve.

Finally there is 2017 No. 3 pick Montravius Adams. He began the season with a foot injury and was only active for 9 games with 2 tackles. He is a totally unknown. Maybe he will live up to his draft status or not?

The defensive line has been an after-thought for a long time. It needs to be a contributor to the pass rush and to stopping the run to make a serious run to the Super Bowl this season. The signing of Wilkerson was a start, but no further signing was forthcoming, so this position gets a C from me at best. A new scheme and some legitimate players need to be added for it to jump to the “A” it needs to be.