While most eyes were on Jordan Love in his preseason home debut on Saturday night against the New England Patriots, a defensive player made the biggest impression on the Lambeau Field crowd. Kingsley Enagbare, who goes by “JJ” as a nickname, made plenty of noise against the Patriots, giving hope to a still-unsettled position group awaiting Rashan Gary‘s return from injury.
Enagbare saw action in all 17 games as a rookie fifth-round pick. His snap count immediately rose as Joe Barry and the Green Bay Packers’ defense tried to account for the loss of Gary, who is still battling back from the ACL tear he suffered in November. Enagbare didn’t necessarily stuff the stat sheet over his seven starts to close out the season, but veterans like Preston Smith took notice of his improvements in the offseason.
“I mean his knowledge of the game is a whole lot better,” Smith said of Enagbare at training camp in July. “He knows what he’s doing. Coming in as a rookie, a lot of those guys are nervous, including myself. I was nervous as a rookie to not make those mistakes and make sure that I find a role or find something to be good at. I think this year he’s been working hard in the offseason, he’s been training really hard, he’s been doing really well.”
If Saturday’s performance was indicative of things to come, Preston Smith might have been right about the second-year jump potentially in the works for Enagbare. He had two sacks on the evening, the second being a strip sack/recovered fumble double whammy that became the defensive highlight of the night. From a non-statistical perspective, Enagbare had the juice that fans and coaches are looking for at edge rusher.
Knowing that guys like Preston Smith are getting older and that Gary’s immediate return to form isn’t guaranteed, Brian Gutekunst selected Lukas Van Ness with a premium pick in the NFL Draft at No. 13 overall. While Van Ness has showed the flashes of promise that can get you excited, he may still be a year or two away from making a real impact within the defense. With Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell anchoring the middle of the linebackers, there’s still a sizable gap opposite Smith that Enagbare could certainly fill in the early stages of the season.
“It’s not a shock that he went out there and performed like that,” Matt LaFleur said following Saturday’s game against the Patriots. “He’s had a heck of a week of practice. You saw it in the two practices verse them (New England). He had multiple sacks, or perceived sacks, but he went out there and performed just like he did in practice.”
The early production for Enagbare isn’t unexpected, as he made a few highlight-reel plays over the final month of the regular season. He’s also got a full NFL offseason under his belt for the first time, adding more physicality to the mental acuity that Smith alluded to above.
On a football team in a transitional year, having units that can overachieve will certainly be a big factor in stacking wins. Green Bay’s defense ranked as the fifth-worst unit in piling up sacks at just 34, less than half of the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles’ tally of 70. Sacks aren’t the be-all end-all statistic, but it’s indicative of being able to get to the quarterback and hopefully end drives and get the defense off the field. Finding players who can do that is of the utmost importance, and if Enagbare can make the jump into a difference-maker at edge rusher, Green Bay will be much better off.
