Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle, Kenny Clark
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Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle, Kenny Clark
The Green Bay Packers certainly bolstered the exterior of their defensive line when they traded for Micah Parsons on August 28th, last Thursday, giving up two first rounders in the process.
However, one knock-on effect from that could end up resulting from the trade is a hole in the interior of the Packers’ defense, as the team gave up former first round pick, Kenny Clark, as part of the exchange.
And Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon believes that the “biggest problem” for the Packers could end up, as a result, being their run defense, now that they are without their formerly starting nose tackle.
Packers’ Run Defense Listed As Potential Concern
Although Gagnon notes that there are not a ton of issues with Green Bay heading into the season, with him labelling the franchise relatively “problem free” ahead of the regular season’s commencement
“In this case, we’ll focus on the fact that they’ve sacrificed an experienced key cog within the defensive interior by trading Kenny Clark for Micah Parsons,” Gagnon wrote on Friday, “who could eventually become a force in the front seven but is dealing with a back injury and may need some time to acclimate in general.”
The B/R writer goes on to concede that whilst the deal for the ex-Cowboy is certainly a good move, and should have a net positive effect on the team overall, it could mean that the interior run-stopping portion of the defense suffers, even if the pass rush flourishes.
“There’s no doubt Clark for Parsons is an upgrade overall for Green Bay, but the latter’s situation could mean the move hurts the Packers in the short term. With the Lions and Commanders out of the gate, that’s a potential issue in a monster division.”
Packers Defense Balled Out In Week 1
Despite Gagnon’s understandable worries for the Packers’ defense ahead of the start of the season, the team came out in Week 1 and put in a dominant performance against division rivals, the Detroit Lions.
The Lions had the third ranked rushing offense in 2024, behind only the Ravens and Eagles – both of whom are lead by exceptionally mobile, run-heavy quarterbacks. But defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley’s defense limited the two-time reigning NFC North champions to just 46 yards on the ground.
The interior of the line held up well, now anchored by fellow ex-first round pick, Devonte Wyatt, and linebackers Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker started to look like like one of the more exciting tandems at the position in the league.
Historically, the Packers have had major problems stopping the run; fans need no reminding of the 2019 NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, where SF QB, Jimmy Garoppolo needed to throw the ball just eight times over the course of the entire game, with the Niners cantering to cool 37-20 victory to set up a Super Bowl meeting with Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV.
Now it seems like they might have turned a corner, even without Clark – but the question remains whether they will be able to keep this up over the course of the season.