The reviews are glowing — all his teammates and coaches seem to speak highly of the Green Bay Packers’ new edge rusher Barryn Sorrell. And, considering how things are taking shape up front, he has a chance to get on the field immediately.
Entering offseason programs, Rashan Gary is Green Bay’s one sure thing on the edge. Granted, Gary got off to an uncharacteristically slow start in 2024, totaling just one sack in the first six games of the season. The thought was that he may have had to take some time to adjust in Year 1 of a new system under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. And Gary wasn’t the only one who saw a decline in production on the defensive line.
Kenny Clark had a quiet year, and the Packers traded Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Green Bay’s defense stepped up elsewhere, primarily in taking the ball away from the opposition. The real uncertainty concerned the defensive front, and especially on the edge, and their lack of quarterback pressure.
Green Bay didn’t address the doubt in the offseason via free agency. Instead, general manager Brian Gutekunst placed a ton of confidence in Lukas Van Ness. Still, it’s far from certain that Van Ness will deliver in 2025.
Enter Sorrell.
The rookie out of Texas wasn’t a first-round selection or even a Day 2 pick. However, Sorrell has significant polish for a rookie and is known for his reliability and high floor. He wins at the point of attack with his power and his hands. While many don’t believe Sorrell will ever reach superstar status, many draftniks profile him as someone who could become a solid, consistent starter in the league.
Just take a longer look at that position group to see why Sorrell could be such an asset.
After Gary, Green Bay’s depth chart on the edge gets really foggy. Van Ness has massively underwhelmed in his first two seasons, and Kingsley Enagbare has brought a steadying presence but in a limited role for Green Bay. He’s also entering a contract year.
Brenton Cox Jr. went from a healthy scratch early in the season to a regular on the field after the Packers traded Smith to the Steelers. Cox accumulated four sacks and seven quarterback hits in the final seven games of the season.
Is that repeatable? Will he be as big a part of the puzzle in 2025?
With an unsolved puzzle after Gary on the depth chart, Sorrell’s path will be clear to step in and step up.
In an ideal world, the Packers would like to see Van Ness take a massive leap in Year 3. So far, he’s been a wildly inconsistent presence on the field, virtually disappearing for long stretches between fits, wreaking havoc on opposing offenses.
If Green Bay isn’t using Sorrell in 2025, Gary is likely holding down things on his end while Van Ness has blossomed into a solid starter. Still, that’s a tough bet to make.
It might be a bit of a leap to suggest Sorrell could assume a starting role in 2025. Enagbare and Cox will get a crack at that assignment before Sorrell if things go south with Van Ness.
The theme is that a room cluttered with average play and inconsistency should allow Sorrell to wiggle his way into Hafley’s defense. Green Bay typically likes to ease rookies into life in the pros. However, it’s been slightly different at edge rusher, especially recently.
Van Ness didn’t play much as a rookie in 2023 but still saw the field for 33% of the defensive snaps.
Some will point out that Van Ness was a first-round pick while Sorrell went in the fourth. Then, what about Enagbare?
Enagbare was a fifth-round pick in 2022 and played in all 17 games as a rookie, including 45% of the snaps on defense. Those numbers have stayed consistent in the last two years, with Enagbare in a mostly reserve role. He played 41% of the defensive snaps in 2023 and 47% last year.
Green Bay has a lot of potential solutions in place on the defensive side of the ball. Sorrell will have a significant opportunity to claim a role on this defense in some capacity as a rookie. Like Enagbare in 2022, his consistency could be of tremendous value to a shaky position group, even if his ceiling doesn’t appear to be sky-high.