Devonte Wyatt is not exactly the kind of prospect the Green Bay Packers generally look for during the draft process, especially in the early rounds. He is 24 years old and doesn’t play at a premium position. So the fact that general manager Brian Gutekunst decided to take him with the 28th-overall pick shows how much the front office likes the player and thinks he could contribute immediately. That hasn’t happened yet, though.
Wyatt has played well when given the opportunity. He has the highest PFF grade among Packers defensive linemen this season — even ahead of Kenny Clark.
- Devonte Wyatt 65.8
- Kenny Clark 61.0
- Dean Lowry 59.3
- Jarran Reed 57.5
- T.J. Slaton 57.5
The Packers have limited his snap count, though. He is just the fifth lineman in the rotation, behind Clark, Jarran Reed, Dean Lowry, and T.J. Slaton.
- Kenny Clark 78.45%
- Jarran Reed 68.25%
- Dean Lowry 55.04%
- T.J. Slaton 29.78%
- Devonte Wyatt 15.53%
And there is another factor. The Packers are ninth in EPA/play allowed on third down. But they are 31st on first and second downs. According to Packers’ defensive line coach and running game coordinator Jerry Montgomery, Wyatt can be helpful on those early downs.
“He can be really good on first and second down, and he’s an inside guy that has some unique traits as a pass rusher,” Montgomery said after the draft. “Some things you can’t teach, you just naturally have. He’s got twitch. I’d like to call it awkward movements, some movements he can be out in that other guys can’t be and he can recover from those things. And he’s got a high motor, just a naturally high motor. So, really, really good defensive line traits.”
So if Wyatt is playing well and could be an important piece for the defense, why doesn’t he play more? There isn’t a clear explanation, but the most accepted reason is that the Packers don’t like to hurry the development of young players. For instance, Quay Walker has been a starter since the beginning of the season, but he’s an exception.
“I think he’s done a nice job,” said head coach Matt LaFleur. “It’s been a bit of a learning curve for him, but he shows improvement each and every week, and I can tell he’s into it.”
Against the Los Angeles Rams, there were more clear signs that Wyatt may be a difference-maker for a unit that has been a problem for the Packers. He was effective stopping the run:
And pressuring Baker Mayfield:
However, he was on the field for only nine defensive snaps.
When the Packers drafted him last April, some outlets highlighted three misdemeanor charges after an arrest in 2020 — family violence, criminal trespass, and property damage. However, Gutekunst said the team had done the homework, and there was no concern about getting him. All charges were dismissed.
“We didn’t expect him to be there at 28,” Gutekunst said right after the first round. “When we passed him at 22 to take Quay, we thought we lost our opportunity.
“We brought him in, spent a lot of time with him, really did kind of a deep dive into the human being to make sure he’d fit our culture here. We wouldn’t have brought him here if we didn’t feel good about the person.”
Gutekunst also mentioned a winning culture at Georgia.
If Devonte Wyatt is better than his fellow position players and is a good person, it’s time for him to get more playing time.
The Packers have more than just performance reasons to play Wyatt. He may or may not be the best option for now, but he certainly is the best alternative moving forward. Two of the three starters on the defensive line, Reed and Lowry, will be unrestricted free agents next March, so there is a strong possibility that Wyatt will be forced into the starting lineup in 2023. If that’s the case, giving Wyatt more snaps is even more important. He’ll grow and learn from possible mistakes while on the field, which will be extremely valuable to his development. At the same time, his ceiling is already much higher than Reed’s and Lowry’s, and the veterans haven’t been as reliable as the Packers expected.
During the first round of the draft, the Green Bay Packers focused on improving the defensive front. Quay Walker has already been established as a starter, and even with eventual mistakes, it’s clear that he has impressive athleticism and a high ceiling. That could also be the case for Devonte Wyatt. Given that the defensive line is a weak link for the Packers’ defense, it’s difficult to understand why he doesn’t get more opportunities throughout the games. There are three more weeks this season to make it happen.
