The Green Bay Packers lost a key member of their defensive front this offseason when T.J. Slaton signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals in March. Throughout his four-year career with the Packers, Slaton was solid, if unspectacular. However, Green Bay could always count on his durability; Slaton has never missed a game due to injury in his NFL career.
With Slaton in Cincinnati, the Packers appear poised to move Kenny Clark back to nose tackle and hope he can enjoy a career resurgence after what was his worst year as a professional in 2024.
There’s no doubt that Clark is the best option to fill the full-time nose tackle position moving forward. He has primarily played there since entering the NFL in 2016, and some of his best seasons came at nose.
The depth behind Clark is the issue heading into 2025. While he’s only turning 30 in October, he has a ton of mileage on him. The 2025 season will be his 10th as a pro. Clark has been durable throughout his career. Still, players over age 30 tend to break down at a higher rate.
If that mileage starts to catch up with him and he needs to miss time this year, who’s the best option to replace him? As the roster is currently constructed, there are three clear candidates.
Warren Brinson
The 2025 sixth-round pick out of Georgia brings a lot of college experience to Green Bay’s defensive line. The 6’5”, 315 lb. former Bulldog played five seasons in college and was part of two national championship teams.
Drafted as a likely replacement for Slaton, Brinson isn’t as big as Slaton (315 lbs. vs. 330 lbs.), but he should offer more as a pass rusher. As a rotational player on the 2022 national champion team, Brinson logged 14 total QB hits. As a part-time starter his last two seasons in Athens, he logged four sacks and nine tackles for loss.
While on the smaller end for a nose tackle, Brinson possesses good athleticism for the position and can quickly get into gaps and work upfield to be disruptive. At Georgia, he used a two-handed swipe move to shed offensive linemen quickly off the snap and get into the backfield. His skill set is reminiscent of Clark’s. Sharing a room with Clark should greatly benefit Brinson’s development.
Several draft analysts lauded his NFL-ready pass-rush skills, noting that with some added size, he could hold up better in the run game. While he might not possess the size and strength to be a great nose tackle immediately, his athleticism and explosiveness should help him mold into a solid starter down the road, with some added bulk to support his run defense.
Nazir Stackhouse
Stackhouse was teammates with Brinson at the University of Georgia for five seasons. However, Stackhouse was a full-time starter, and Brinson was a part-time contributor. Stackhouse parlayed back-to-back strong seasons in 2022 and 2023 into Second-Team All-SEC selections.
Where Brinson shines as a pass rusher, Stackhouse excels as a run defender. At 6’4”, 327 lbs., he projects as a backup nose in the NFL, given the strong run-defending skills he displayed at Georgia.
He’s stout at the point of attack, capable of gaining control of blocks, and is hard to move one-on-one. While he brings virtually no pass rush – only three sacks in five college seasons – his ability to eat up double teams is reminiscent of Slaton and will help free others along the line to get to the quarterback.
One of the most interesting aspects of Stackhouse is that an extremely talented Georgia defensive front overshadowed him. Jalen Carter, Mykel Williams, Jordan Davis, and Devonte Wyatt are just a few of the first-rounders he played alongside. His lack of statistical production is the main reason he went undrafted, but he’s very much a player who does the dirty work that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet.
Brinson likely has the better long-term future, but Stackhouse is probably the best option in 2025 to play snaps at nose tackle.
Colby Wooden
I’m far more skeptical about Wooden anchoring the middle of Green Bay’s defensive line. According to Clark, Wooden has been “learning how to play more nose” this offseason. The former 2023 fourth-round pick from Auburn has played primarily as a defensive end during his time in Green Bay.
Wooden doesn’t have the frame to play nose tackle, even though he reportedly put on some weight this offseason. He entered the NFL at 273 lbs., which was very light for a defensive tackle, let alone a nose.
However, Wooden bulked up between his rookie and second seasons, weighing in last year at 290. But to be a legitimate option at nose tackle, he’d realistically need to get up to the 315 lb. range.
Can he perform effectively at that weight, especially considering he’s never played above 300? That’s a big question mark.
It’s usually not a good sign when players are making positional switches this early in their careers. I thought he was entering camp on the roster bubble after the Packers took Brinson and the addition of Stackhouse. While this isn’t as dramatic a switch as Bo Melton trying to go from wide receiver to cornerback, it’s clear that Wooden hasn’t made the impact the Packers likely expected when they used a fourth-round pick on him.
Wooden struggled as a run defender, ranking in the 30th percentile in missed tackle rate against the run and just the 17th percentile in average depth of tackle (AVDT), which suggests he’s rarely making plays near the line of scrimmage. If he doesn’t stick at nose, this could be his final camp in Green Bay.
When all is said and done, I think Nazir Stackhouse is the best option for backup nose tackle in 2025. His combination of size, experience, and run-stuffing ability makes him the easiest plug-and-play option in the event something unfortunate happens to Kenny Clark.
I still believe Brinson has the best long-term outlook as a contributor for this defense. He probably has a leg up on a roster spot due to being a draft pick. His college teammate has the inside track to early playing time if he can secure his role during training camp.