When Brian Gutekunst traded veteran edge rusher Preston Smith at the deadline, it was a curious move for the contending Packers. However, it became clear in the days following that Smith had sought the trade in response to new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s new scheme that did not fit his skillset. Hafley transitioned Green Bay from the 3-4 defense that his predecessor Joe Barry employed to a 4-3. As a result, he changed Smith’s position and opted to find a way out and seek a new role in the scheme he operated in for the first nine years of his career.
That move had interesting implications for Green Bay’s roster. The most significant was an increased role for 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness. After a quiet start to the season, cornerstone piece Rashan Gary has begun to heat up. Gary takes care of one edge. However, it’s up to a relatively inexperienced group, headlined by Van Ness, to hold down the other side. We know Kingsley Enagbare, who’s made some splash plays in his time here, but a new name emerged during Green Bay’s 34-0 win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday.
Brenton Cox Jr. isn’t your typical undrafted free agent. He’s a former five-star recruit who started for Georgia in the Sugar Bowl before transferring to another SEC juggernaut, Florida. His road to the NFL became complicated by a series of off-field incidents involving marijuana and conflicts with coaches and training staff.
That stuff is concerning on paper, but the Packers are traditionally diligent about off-field issues. An example of a success story would be Brandon McManus, who swiftly silenced a lot of discourse regarding the kicker position. McManus was investigated by the NFL after an incident on a team plane when he was on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Still, Gutekunst affirmed that they were comfortable based on their evaluation of the facts.
On Monday, Cox led the team with six pressures and has recorded a sack in three of the team’s last four games. He has all the physical tools and appears to be putting that together as the opportunity to contribute to a contending defense has arrived in his lap.
Down the stretch and into the postseason, the pass rush will become a point of emphasis in making quarterbacks like Jared Goff and Jalen Hurts, who are dangerous with time in the pocket, as uncomfortable as possible. Cox has emerged as a legitimate contributor to that objective. It will be interesting to see if a true breakout could happen as the lights get brighter come January.
Hafley has been a breath of fresh air for a Green Bay defense with elite talent every year but continued to fall short of expectations. His unit has been markedly more aggressive with blitz calls and creativity, as well as turnover creation. While the latter can be a fluky metric, the level of physicality and speed the defense has played with certainly passes the eye test. The shutout on Monday, which was the first all season in the NFL, simply let the nation know what Packers fans have been seeing all year.
The significant improvement is also a feather in Xavier McKinney‘s cap, Gutekunst’s big-ticket acquisition alongside running back Josh Jacobs. The Packers spent a lot of money to fix a safety position that has been a problem for years, and McKinney has delivered emphatically.
It’s also worth noting that health issues have begun to come for Hafley’s unit. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander, Mike linebacker Quay Walker, and electric rookie safeties Evan Williams and Javon Bullard missed Monday’s game. Alexander is the most important of the bunch, and he isn’t likely to be healthy for the Vikings game on Sunday, either. The Packers can only hope they’ll have No. 23 out there sheathing swords come playoff time.
As the Packers complete another successful regular season and prepare for the playoffs, the elephant in the room remains the string of misfortune and heartbreak that dates back to the 2010 Super Bowl – the last time they were able to get over the hump. They are bonafide contenders in Jordan Love’s second season at the helm but far from the top of anyone’s list outside of Wisconsin.
The sudden and thorough parity in the NFC North has rendered 12 wins insufficient even for second in what has become the league’s top division. As a result, road games are on the menu for Green Bay. A strong pass rush will be crucial to silencing the stadium pulse and creating timing issues for these strong NFC quarterbacks. Brenton Cox’s emergence will play a huge role in orchestrating that strategy and getting pressure opposite Gary.
