Packers 2024 Preview: Tackles on Defense
For Devonte Wyatt and Kenny Clark’s future status in Green Bay, this season will be crucial.
This season, the Green Bay Packers want every member of their defensive line, especially the defensive tackles, to get into the backfield. This is a significant departure from the playcalling of former defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who encouraged interior linemen to hold their place on the line and slow play the run game in order to allow deep safeties to fit the play at the same time as the team’s off-ball linebackers.
The 4-3 scheme is designed to spread mayhem up front and force everything to the edges under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. This should result in more defensive lineman attempting to catch and tackle second-tier players. We’ve watched the Packers’ defense continuously provide below-average run game metrics for the better part of a decade now, so perhaps this will result in improved outcomes.
Let’s start with the big baddies: the defensive tackles, in our first positional preview on the defensive side of the ball. Our complete publishing schedule for this series is provided below:
In our first positional preview on the defensive side of the ball, let’s start with the big nasties: the defensive tackles. Below is our full publishing schedule for this series:
May 13th: Quarterbacks
Kenny Clark
Wyatt Devonte
Let’s begin with Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt, the presumed starters on the interior defensive line for the Packers. Despite the fact that nose tackle T.J. Slaton outsnapped Wyatt in just five starts last season, the switch to a penetration-oriented 4-3 defense is beneficial for Wyatt. The following is all the information you need to know regarding Wyatt’s 2023 performance; we’ll discuss Slaton a bit later. Despite playing just 49.7% of the team’s defensive snaps, he graded out quite well as a pass-rusher, demonstrating his ability to make plays in the backfield.
It will be crucial for Wyatt, a 26-year-old former first-round selection, to get off to a quick start. The Georgia graduate should be able to play in his preferred role as a three-technique tackle who is permitted to pin his ears back almost every play thanks to the scheme tweak. If the Packers decide to select Wyatt, then maybe it will enable him to take the next step that he needs to take.
Clark, meanwhile, is somewhat Wyatt’s opposite, at least in terms of output. Similar to Wyatt, Clark would be successful as a defensive lineman who could penetrate defenses, but he has also produced incredibly reliable film over time. Beginning with the 2017 campaign, he has started every game in which he has participated. Over the previous five seasons, he has dressed for at least 16 games four times. With his exceptional athleticism for the position at 6’3″ and 314 pounds, Clark is one of the nose tackles who would be most useful in the Packers’ new system.
However, Clark also has a lot to prove this season. Clark will be participating in a 4-3 defense for the first time in his NFL career. He had previously been coached by three different 3-4 defensive coordinators: Joe Barry, Mike Pettine, and Dom Capers. In addition, Clark is nearing the end of his contract, meaning that he is hoping to make a sizable payoff.
Karl Brooks
Colby Wooden
Slaton, T.J.
Though Slaton’s status is a touch more complicated, all three of the defensive tackles in this tier are anticipated to make the team. The final year of Slaton’s rookie contract, 2024, features a pay that is tripled compared to the rookie agreement he initially signed because of the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator scheme. Since none of that money is guaranteed, if he struggles to adjust to the 4-3 alignment, the Packers may decide to cut him in order to free up cap space or roll over contract space for the 2025 campaign.
Another excellent illustration of a space-eating 3–4 nose tackle is Slaton. In his three years in the NFL, the 6’4″, 330-pound player has only recorded one sack and four tackles for losses. In defense, that is more than 1,214 snaps. To put things in perspective, in just 552 snaps last season, Wyatt recorded 5.5 sacks and six tackles for losses. Slaton was not drafted to penetrate; it’s just not his style.
Of the five interior defensive linemen that will return for the Packers in 2023, if anyone’s job is on the line, it’s his. It’s also important to note that the squad will play a lot fewer three interior linemen up front as a result of switching from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense, something Green Bay did with both base and nickel players last season. As a result, there will be fewer snaps available at the position, which may result in fewer roster places.
For a late Day 3 selection in the previous season, the second-year sixth-round pick had an excellent campaign. After the Atlanta Falcons game, he not only moved up to the top of the depth chart above rookie Colby Wooden, selected in the fourth round, but he also recorded four sacks and six tackles for loss in just 380 (34 percent) defensive snaps. You would think that the Bowling Green product could only improve once he completed another year. When Devonte Wyatt leaves the game, he should be considered the first three-technique defensive lineman off the bench.
Wooden, who struggled last season, is the last player on our list. Wooden’s small recruiting class at Auburn was made evident in Week 2 as the Falcons ran the ball at him at will. His snap count started to decline after that. He should benefit from the switch to the penetration-oriented 4-3 defense as he won’t have to hang onto blocks for extended periods of time. Wooden also mentioned that he has put on a good amount of “good weight” this offseason, which could help him, during a pre-draft stream on the Packers’ YouTube channel.
Ford, Jonathan
Spencer Waege
James Ester
Linemen with a higher chance of making the practice squad than the 53-man roster are the final three players on the Packers’ defensive tackle depth chart. With a University of Miami seventh-round pick in 2022, Jonathan Ford is the most well-known player on the list. Ford was not on Green Bay’s active roster for the whole of his rookie campaign. However, he was limited to playing practice squad in 2023. He’s not much of a penetration specialist at 6’5″ and 338 pounds, so Barry’s plan worked better for him than Hafley’s. This offseason, there’s a good chance Green Bay decides to give up on the former draft pick.
After rookie minicamp, Rodney Matthews, a 2024 undrafted free agent signing, was released by the Packers after they claimed Spencer Waege off of waivers via the 49ers last week. Waege just made the switch to tackle in the NFL; he was formerly a 4-3 defensive end for the North Dakota State Bison, who won a championship. He weighed in at 285 pounds during Notre Dakota State’s pro day after graduation, although Green Bay presently lists him at 6’5″ and 295 pounds.
Since the Packers have repeatedly said that they want to model their defense after what the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans are doing—two clubs with close links to Jeff Hafley’s coaching family—Waege also has expertise in a comparable scheme. Hopefully, as a cutting three-technique, Waege can have some effect for Green Bay in the future.
James Ester of Northern Illinois, who signed with the Packers this summer as an undrafted free agent, is the final member on this list. During his tenure in college, he was recognized as an All-MAC player three times and served as the team’s uncommon four-year captain. Based on the current situation, it will be difficult for him to break into the active roster, but he has a chance to earn a spot on the practice squad with a strong preseason.