The Green Bay Packers sent Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys as part of the Micah Parsons trade, leaving their interior defensive line in a precarious position.
How are the Packers going to fill the void left by Clark, who played every game from 2022 through 2024? Will they allow Lukas Van Ness to rush more from the inside? Which rotational backup is going to step up?
All of those questions will only be answered with time, but one thing should be pretty clear heading into Week 1: It’s Devonte Wyatt’s turn to take command of Green Bay’s interior defensive line.
Wyatt was Green Bay’s first-round pick in 2022 and is now heading into his fourth year with the Packers. Still, he hasn’t managed to secure a consistent starting role. He appeared in 47 games over his first three seasons but started only five. With Clark now in Dallas, you can bet Jeff Hafley is expecting Wyatt to step up.
Green Bay is carrying five interior defensive linemen on the 53: Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Warren Brinson, and Nazir Stackhouse. Brinson and Stackhouse are rookies, and the Packers typically avoid giving first-year linemen a lot of snaps too quickly. Brooks and Wooden have flashed as rotational rushers, but neither has held down a consistent starting role.
Much like Brooks and Wooden, Wyatt has yet to secure a full-time starting role. The difference, though, is that the franchise made a significant investment in him. Brooks and Wooden are valuable complements, but Wyatt is the one who should take a real leap. At 27 and entering his fourth season, the time for that jump in production is now.
Wyatt’s best season came in 2023, when he made five starts and recorded 45 pressures, 5.5 sacks, and 24 stops. Still, his 28.9% missed-tackle rate highlighted a persistent issue with finishing plays.
Some hope was renewed when the Packers hired Hafley, and Wyatt got off to a strong start to the season before suffering an ankle injury against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4. Overall, he played 361 defensive snaps, 191 fewer than in 2023, and recorded just 1.5 sacks.
“With Jeff Hafley taking over the defense in 2024 …Wyatt appeared poised for a full-fledged breakout as a gap-shooting 3-tech,” NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice wrote. “And he was indeed a monster in the first three games of the season, racking up three sacks, five QB hits and nine pressures.”
“He appeared to get his mojo back late in the season, logging a sack in back-to-back December games, but I want to see a fully healthy season from Wyatt in Hafley’s system,” Filice added.
Wyatt has shown a lot of promise early in the offseason program, giving the Packers reason to believe he’s ready to step into a bigger role. However, 2025 will be the first time he gets consistent starting snaps, and how that increased responsibility will translate on the field remains to be seen. Even so, his natural talent is undeniable, and Matt LaFleur believes Wyatt still has untapped potential to elevate his game.
“It’s crazy how fast this goes,” LaFleur said during minicamp. “I think he’s had some moments where he’s been outstanding, and I think we can build on that. I think he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do throughout the course of the offseason. I think he’s in a much better place, and I think that he’ll be ready to go. Another guy that I expect to go out there and play his best ball going into Year 4.”
Hafley is a creative defensive mind and will find ways to have his edge rushers attack from the interior. Still, the magic of his system lies in its unpredictability – it’s not like those players can line up inside on every play. That’s where Devonte Wyatt comes in, providing a consistent presence up the middle and ensuring the Packers fill Kenny Clark’s void to the best of his ability.
