It’s still too early to know exactly when Rashan Gary will be back from his knee injury and when he will be able to play most of a game’s snaps. Therefore, the Green Bay Packers won’t likely use first-round pick Lukas Van Ness opposite Preston Smith to start the season as a primary option. That’s generally something the Packers coaching staff doesn’t love to do, and especially for raw, developmental players, the plan involves a gradual introduction to the team, in situations that favor the best performance, without exposing the weaknesses of the young player.
That’s why second-year player Kingsley Enagbare might still be a valuable asset to start the season.
Experts viewed Enagbare as a second- or third-round pick in last year’s draft process, but he ended up falling to the fifth because of suboptimal testing numbers. However, his performance hewed much closer to pre-draft expectations throughout his rookie year. He established himself as Green Bay’s third-best edge rusher, behind Gary and Smith, and became the starter when Gary went down. More importantly, he lived up to what was expected from him and more, even though he is obviously not as explosive and efficient as Gary.
PFF grade among Packers edge players last season:
- Rashan Gary 82.9
- Preston Smith 66.4
- Kingsley Enagbare 61.4
- Justin Hollins 54.0
- Jonathan Garvin 50.6
In his second year, it’s fair to expect an even better performance.
“You can see it on the field,” Packers outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich said when Enagbare had an increased role last season. “He is reflecting a lot of the things that we’re asking him to do from college and breaking some things that maybe he did there or adding some things that he did very well there. [Enagbare is] getting better, and his confidence level is going up. You can see that the forming of this player is coming along.”
Enagbare finished the season starting seven games. He appeared in every game, getting 45% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps, plus 20% of the special teams snaps. He had three sacks, eight quarterback hits, four hurries, five tackles for loss, and 25 QB pressures.
Those are not spectacular numbers, but Enagbare was Green Bay’s player with the most pressures between Weeks 10 and 18, even more than Preston Smith. He was first among rookie edge rushers in pass rush win rate, ahead of top picks like Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Travon Walker. And he was a valuable piece against the run.
Top 5 in pass rush win rate among rookies (per PFF):
- 1. Kingsley Enagbare, Packers, 16.1
- 2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants, 13.1
- 3. George Karlaftis, Chiefs, 12.9
- 4. Arnold Ebiketie, Falcons, 12.6
- 5. Aidan Hutchinson, Lions, 11.2
Lukas Van Ness played most of his college snaps as an interior defensive lineman. As he develops more techniques beyond the bullrush and gets used to playing on the edge in the NFL, it makes sense to ease him in and let Enagbare eat meaningful snaps to start the season.
When everyone is healthy again, the Packers will have a promising rotation to affect the opposing passer. Rashan Gary was on track to be an All-Pro last year, and Preston Smith is a solid presence. Enagbare, Van Ness, and Justin Hollins will be the backups. The situation is much better than it was nine months ago when Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai made Green Bay’s initial 53-man roster.
