GREEN BAY, Wis. – Defensive tackle seemed like a key need for the Green Bay Packers. Instead, after losing veteran TJ Slaton in free agency, the Packers didn’t sign a free agent and didn’t draft a player until the sixth round.
Can this group power another top-10 defensive performance? Certainly, nothing will be determined during the three weeks of offseason practices that will begin on Tuesday with the start of organized team activities, but it will be the players’ first taste of new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington.
Packers Defensive Tackles Depth Chart
Veterans: Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Nesta Jade Silvera (futures contract).
Rookies/first-year: Warren Brinson (sixth round), Nazir Stackhouse (undrafted), James Ester (returning practice squad), Keith Randolph (undrafted 2024).
Big Question: How Will Packers Replace TJ Slaton?
Green Bay’s run defense had been putrid for a long time. During the first five years of coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure, the Packers were last in the NFL in yards allowed per rushing attempt. Last season, in Year 1 under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, the Packers surged to third.
The anchor of last year’s run defense was TJ Slaton, who started all 34 games the past two seasons. Listed at 340 pounds by his new team, the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay’s run defense was 0.50 yards per carry better when Slaton was on the field in 2024 and 0.32 yards better in 2023.
So, after not acquiring a true big body to replace Slaton – the only veteran addition was 304-pound Nesta Jade Silvera, a seventh-round pick by the Raiders in 2023 who has played in nine games – how will the run defense remain strong?
Hafley practically dismissed the question.
“Well, we’re pretty good in the interior,” Hafley said. “I mean Devonte (Wyatt) and Kenny (Clark), Karl (Brooks), Colby (Wooden), all those guys inside, I feel good about our interior guys.
“Even take away the addition of those guys (sixth-round pick Warren Brinson and undrafted free agent Nazir Stackhouse) – hopefully we’ll get something out of them – but we got pretty good guys on the inside of our defense that I’m confident we can continue to do that. If we have to change up and do some things different schematically with them, we will, but we got a good group in there.”
Time will tell if Hafley is correct or was simply running through the depth chart.
Clark has been a three-down standout for most of his career but is coming off statistically one of his worst years. Wyatt, a first-round pick in 2022, didn’t start any games last season. The run defense was 0.69 yards per carry worse when he was on the field.
Wooden, a fourth-round pick in 2023, opened last season as the fifth man in a four-man rotation. He didn’t play a single snap on defense until Wyatt was sidelined with an ankle injury beginning in Week 5. Brooks, a sixth-round pick in 2023, is more of a pass rusher; the run defense was 0.26 yards worse when he was on the field.
Georgia sent two defensive tackles to the NFL. The Packers grabbed them both with Brinson and Stackhouse. While the Packers drafted the 315-pound Brinson, it’s possible Stackhouse will provide the more immediate impact. For the Bulldogs, the 324-pounder was on the field more frequently in run-defending downs, which is why he started 42 games in five seasons compared to eight starts in five seasons for Brinson.
Bonus Question: Will Kenny Clark Rebound?
At the start of training camp, the three-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension. Last season, he was No. 1 at the position in salary-cap charge by about $4.6 million. This year, he’s No. 8.
Clark didn’t play up to that level in 2024. After a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2023, Clark had one sack in 2024, his fewest since his rookie season. After a career-high nine tackles for losses in 2023, he had four in 2024. After a career-high 16 quarterback hits in 2023, he had just five in 2024. He went from 61 pressures in 2023 to 33 in 2024.
A Week 1 injury contributed.
“I hurt my toe on that first tush push that we had against the Eagles. Your toe, D-lineman, it's tough,” Clark said after being nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
With his 30th birthday approaching, can he return to that level in 2025? That question won’t be answered during OTAs, but it would be encouraging to see him blow past Aaron Banks or Elgton Jenkins.