As the 2025 NFL Draft entered Day 3, Green Bay Packers fans worldwide were getting a little nervous about the team’s haul. After spending two of their first three selections on wide receivers and another on an interior offensive lineman, fans felt that last year’s edge rusher group must really be enough, just as general manager Brian Gutekunst alluded to during his press conferences.
Just when disappointment and frustration seemed to be settling in, the Packers selected a new weapon along the defensive front with the 124th pick in the fourth round – the first of five Day 3 selections for Green Bay. He has the potential to quell Packers fans’ concerns about their pass rush, steal their hearts, and become an instant fan favorite.
Barryn Sorrell enters the NFL after a productive four-year career at the University of Texas. After a quiet freshman year in 2021, he became a valuable member of the Longhorns’ defense over the next three seasons. In 49 career games, Sorrell recorded 80 total tackles (52 solo), 25.5 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. According to Pro Football Focus, he registered 124 pressures during his college career, 49 of them coming during his standout 2024 season. He also posted a career-high six sacks that year.
The Packers are getting a young player at the perfect time, right as he’s trending upward.
Beyond his on-field production, Sorrell possesses the physical tools the Packers covet in their edge defenders. He tested extremely well at the NFL Scouting Combine, earning a 9.31 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), and ranked among the top 10 edge rushers athletically in this year’s class. If there’s one thing we know about the Packers, they love elite athletes.
Sorrell fits the mold of a prototypical Packers edge rusher, measuring just over 6’3” and weighing 256 lbs. He ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash, bringing speed and explosiveness off the edge to a Green Bay unit that could use both.
He also stood out during Senior Bowl week, an event Green Bay historically values. This year alone, Green Bay drafted four Senior Bowl participants. During practice, opposing offensive linemen voted Sorrell “Player of the Week.”
Jack Gilmore, director of football operations for the Senior Bowl, had high praise for Sorrell:
First of all, he was the only Texas player to play in our game, and we invited at least five. So, while it wasn’t the popular thing to do in Austin to come to Mobile, Barryn Sorrell didn’t care. He came, he competed, and he stayed throughout the whole week. I think that shows how competitive Barryn is.
So why did a player with this profile fall to the fourth round?
According to pre-draft scouting reports, Sorrell’s biggest issue is his run defense and ability to counter when his initial pass-rush move doesn’t win. Dane Brugler of The Athletic noted that while Sorrell is “relentless” in the run game, he too easily loses contain on cutback runs and needs to improve his pursuit technique to eliminate missed tackles.
The Draft Network echoed these concerns, saying Sorrell “is a high-collision player who engages offensive linemen to set the edge, but there are reps where he takes too long to disengage, leaving him out of the play.”
Like many college pass rushers, Sorrell relied heavily on his athleticism, instinct, and a limited move set to win. At the NFL level, a more refined pass-rush plan is necessary. Like Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, Sorrell will need time to develop that aspect of his game.
The Draft Network added that he “appears to have all the physical tools to be a plus-level pass rusher in the NFL, but he needs to add more moves to his pass-rush package to consistently beat offensive linemen.”
With NFL-level coaching and the opportunity to practice against pro-caliber offensive linemen, that development should come with time.
By all accounts, the Packers landed a promising player on the field and a high-character addition to the locker room. One viral moment during the draft captured the hearts of fans when Roger Goodell announced the pick and revealed that Sorrell was in the green room. He had paid his own way to attend the draft, wanting to experience it in person, and was selected by the host team in a moment of pure, organic joy.
Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski also had glowing praise:
Awesome, awesome young man. When all the scouts and coaches and personnel people asked about him, it’s easy to talk about him because there’s no red flags. Great guy, hard worker, smart, conscientious, accountable, good leader – you know, every year he’s gotten better.
College teammate and Packers first-round pick Matthew Golden tweeted his support for his fellow Longhorn after the selection:
Sorrell should be able to contribute immediately as a rookie and rotational edge rusher under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. There will be snaps up for grabs after last year’s uneven performance from the edge group, and a strong summer could put him right in the mix early on.
After Rashan Gary, there is no other clear-cut starter on the opposite side. It’s safe to assume that LVN will get the first crack at that job, with Kingsley Enagbare right behind him. However, neither’s status is so locked in that Sorrell couldn’t push them out.
Regardless of how quickly Sorrell makes an impact, Brian Gutekunst and Green Bay’s scouting department may have found a gem in the middle rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
