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USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Reasons for optimism about Packers pass-rush entering 2025
The Green Bay Packers need to do a better job of consistently disrupting the quarterback during the 2025 season. Everyone in Green Bay knows it. Every fan of the team understands it. While the Packers didn't make significant additions along the defensive front, there are still reasons to be optimistic about the state of the pass-rushing unit entering this season. Here are a few reasons that the pass-rush could be better in 2025: Healthy Kenny Clark: The Pro Bowler injured his foot in Week 1 and then labored through one of his worst professional seasons before having surgery to fix the issue in January. Clark isn't getting any younger, and injuries are a concern for older players, but it's reasonable to think he could bounce back in a big way in 2025. Clark averaged over 50 pressures a year between 2022 and 2023; he had only 34 in 2024, and most were nothing more than hurries. Expect more pressure and disruption created by No. 97 this year. Lukas Van Ness in Year 3: The 2023 first-round pick had a mostly quiet and disappointing first two NFL seasons. But Mark Oldacres of Packers Wire did some digging and discovered that many first-round picks at edge rusher break out in a notable way in Year 3. Can Van Ness do the same? He's going to get chances to rush the quarterback from the edge and inside. If Van Ness can become a reliable disruptor from multiple alignments, the Packers' pass-rush will be in good shape. Rashan Gary in Year 2 with Hafley: Gary's production and efficiency as a rusher took a slight dip in his first year back as a 4-3 defensive end. Could he rediscover some of his past greatness as a rusher in Year 2? Prior to 2024, Gary's last two healthy seasons resulted in 66 pressures (2023) and 87 pressures (2021). There's no reason to think he can't get back to 60-70 pressures if healthy in 2025. DeMarcus Covington: Don't underestimate the power of good coaching. A former coordinator, Covington worked under Bill Belichick in New England and is well-versed in several different systems and front alignments. Will he solve all the problems up front? Maybe not, but it won't be surprising if the Packers play better under a more experienced defensive line coach. Jason Rebrovich rarely got the most out of his guys up front. Healthy Devonte Wyatt: The 2022 first-round pick was well on his way to a big-time season when he hurt his ankle in Week 4. Wyatt still ended up producing 32 pressures on 250 pass-rushing snaps. Can he avoid injury and truly break out in his fourth season? He's proven to be a hugely valuable interior disruptor when available. The Packers need (and should get) more snaps out of Wyatt in 2025. Hafley's blitzes: First-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley proved his creativity and ability to improvise when he orchestrated one of the NFL's best blitz packages in 2024. The Packers don't want to rely so much on blitzing in 2025, but having Hafley's blitzes and the athletes to execute them (see: Cooper, Edgerrin) is a nice backup plan. Expect the Packers to evolve as a blitzing defense to keep quarterbacks guessing in 2025. Rookies: Fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell was nothing if not solid as a multi-year starter at edge rusher for Texas, while fifth-round pick Collin Oliver is an exciting athlete who created a ton of disruptive production at Oklahoma State. Could one of the rookies provide immediate help? Sorrell will get opportunities to win snaps as a rotational rusher with the second unit, while Oliver could provide some much-needed juice and speed as a rotational subpackage rusher. Brenton Cox Jr. in Year 3: Cox will have to win a roster spot in camp, but his progression through two seasons is notable and suggests he could take another jump in Year 3. After a redshirt rookie season, Cox produced 4.0 sacks in just seven games down the stretch last year. He has legitimate pass-rushing talent. Unlocking more of it in 2025 could turn him into a truly useful player for the Packers defensive front. No more Slaton snaps: As great as TJ Slaton was against the run, he provided almost nothing as a pass-rusher. That's kind of a problem for a lineman who was on the field for over 200 pass-rushing snaps last season. Slaton is now in Cincinnati, and the Packers didn't do much to replace him as a true nose tackle. If more of the defensive tackle snaps go to better pass-rushers, the Packers could naturally improve their ability to disrupt the quarterback on early-down passing snaps.
USA Today
05-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jeff Hafley's Packers defense led NFL in pressure percentage on blitzes in 2024
Jeff Hafley's Packers defense led NFL in pressure percentage on blitzes in 2024 Jeff Hafley's Green Bay Packers defense had to resort to blitzing and games up front to pressure the quarterback during the 2024 season, but the first-year defensive coordinator got terrific production out of both concepts even as the Packers struggled to get home with a traditional four-man rush. According to Pro Football Focus, the Packers led the NFL in pressure percentage on blitzes and were fifth in pressure percentage on stunts in 2024. Per PFF's charting, the Packers generated pressure on an NFL-best 48.3 percent of blitz attempts and 46.7 percent of stunts. PFF pointed to linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and cornerback Keisean Nixon as successful blitzers who helped Hafley generate pressure -- both Cooper and Nixon had elite pass-rush grades over 90.0 in 2024. The Packers planned to rush four and play coverage behind the front in Hafley's scheme, but an inconsistent front four required a transition, and Hafley -- in his first season an NFL coordinator -- successfully found ways to dial up pressures. Cooper, a dynamic player moving downhill, produced 12 pressures on only 56 pass-rushing attempts. The Packers also got pass-rushing production from linebacker Quay Walker (14 pressures), Nixon (nine pressures), linebacker Eric Wilson (nine pressures) and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (eight pressures), highlighting how second-level defenders were able to help Hafley's defense speed up and disrupt quarterbacks on creative and well-timed blitzes. This offseason, Hafley admitted the Packers will need to "evolve" in their pressure packages to stay ahead of offenses entering the 2025 season. "We need to evolve," Hafley said. "We can't just do the same thing. Say here's the play book, this is what we're running. No, we're a different team. It's a different year. Offenses are going to evolve, we have to evolve." The Packers are hoping new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington will help get the most out of the defensive line in 2025, which would -- in theory -- create less pressure on Hafley to use blitzes to disrupt pockets and passing games. It's no coincidence that a few of the NFL's best defenses -- like the Eagles and Broncos -- were among the best at pressuring the quarterbacks with four or fewer rushers.
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Continuity should be an asset for Packers in 2025
Continuity should be an asset for Packers in 2025 Change is unavoidable and often necessary in the NFL year over year, but the Green Bay Packers should have the benefit of real continuity -- both in terms of players and coaches -- during the 2025 season. On the coaching side, the Packers are returning their offensive playcaller (Matt LaFleur) and all three coordinators, including defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley -- who led the Packers to top 10 finishes in several important statistical categories during his first season in Green Bay in 2024. On the player side, the Packers are dealing with a low amount of roster turnover. According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, the Packers are returning 84.5 percent of last year's roster in 2025, ranking second in the NFL behind only the Denver Broncos (86.0%). As long as the Packers retain Jaire Alexander for 2025, the key players from last season will be intact. Brian Gutekunst let center Josh Myers, defensive lineman TJ Slaton, cornerback Eric Stokes and linebacker Eric Wilson depart in free agency, but Myers (with Aaron Banks), Stokes (with Nate Hobbs) and Wilson (with Kristian Welch and Isaiah Simmons) were immediately replaced by veterans. This isn't to say the Packers' roster will be a replica of 2024. Gutekunst added an eight-player draft class that featured first-round pick Matthew Golden and offensive lineman Anthony Belton. The fringes of the roster will be turned over with young, incoming players. The Packers also signed five veterans who played with other teams last season. And it's always possible a surprise or two will emerge during training camp, altering the look of the 53-man roster come September. However, the important pieces of the foundation were carried over. On offense, LaFleur will call plays for Jordan Love, who is entering his third year as a starter and sixth season in the same offense. The team's top four running backs, top seven receivers and top four tight ends are all back. Adam Stenavich interviewed for head-coaching jobs but now returns for his fourth season as the offensive coordinator, and the Packers even brought back long-time assistant Luke Getsy to work with quarterbacks and the offense. The big turnover on the offensive coaching side was quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, who is being replaced by Sean Mannion, a former NFL quarterback who spent last season learning under the veteran quarterback coach in Green Bay. Defensively, the Packers fired defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich after a disappointing year in 2024, replacing him with former Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington -- creating a big change but also the potential for big improvement. Linebackers coach Anthony Campanile left for a defensive coordinator job in Jacksonville, but his replacement -- Sean Duggan -- spent last year as the assistant under Campanile and has a long history working with Hafley. Speaking of Hafley, his defense is entering Year 2 after a strong finish to the 2024 season. If the pass rush is better, and young players like Edgerrin Cooper, Lukas Van Ness, Evan Williams and Javon Bullard all take a step forward, this could be a very good defense in 2025. On special teams, coordinator Rich Bisaccia is back to lead what is expected to be the same three specialists -- veteran kicker Brandon McManus, ascending punter Daniel Whelan and long snapper Matt Orzech. Continuity is often important in this special teams battery, and the Packers have it entering 2025. The Packers are once again young after having the youngest team in football each of the last two seasons. But it's possible 2025 could be a sweet spot year in Green Bay, considering the continuity in the coaching staff and on the roster, and all the valuable experience gained over back-to-back playoff seasons in 2023 and 2024. This is a young but experienced team that isn't having to deal with a bunch of change entering 2025.
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper gains 10 pounds ahead of highly anticipated second season
Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper gains 10 pounds ahead of highly anticipated second season Gaining weight to help prepare physically for the grind of a 17-game NFL schedule and continuing to get the little details down are all part of what Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley says is a "locked in" and "focused" version of linebacker Edgerrin Cooper ahead of a highly anticipated second NFL season. Cooper, who was listed at 229 pounds as a rookie, is now up close to 240 pounds, per Hafley. "When you see him now, he looks different. I mean, he's bigger now," Hafley said. "He's got to be close to 240 pounds. And this Year 2 for him, he knows what it's going to take. He knows what he has to do now to stay healthy. He was injured quite a bit, where he missed a lot of time and couldn't practice and couldn't play. Now he knows what it's going to take to stay healthy in this long season. You can tell he's dedicated that time into caring for his body and changed his body and now when you sit with him in that room it's, I mean, he's locked in and he's focused. Now he knows what he's doing." A second-round pick in 2024, Cooper produced 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries during a standout rookie season that included two NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors and finished with him being named to the 2024 All-Rookie Team. How does Cooper build on his first season? Staying on the field and becoming more consistent. Understanding how to best prepare your body for the grind is part of becoming a young pro. As a rookie, Cooper missed three games to injury and was on the field for only 491 defensive snaps, so taking on a bigger role -- which means more snaps and more punishment -- required getting bigger and stronger in Year 2. He's checked that box so far this offseason. On the mental side, Hafley wants consistency -- and consistency requires getting the details right on every play, both pre-snap and post-snap. "Consistency. We talked, and sometimes joked, about he might've had that gap, but he made the play over there, right? Like there was a toss run over there that instead of going over the top of the blocker, somehow he ran underneath the blocker and still made a TFL," Hafley said. "Now it's getting the details down. Now it's lining up exactly where he needs to line up and doing it over and over and over again, because then he's gonna show up faster and he's going to make more plays and he's going to become a more consistent player." The second-year leap is such an important part of a young player's development, especially one with star power like Cooper. There is a far better understanding of what it takes both physically and mentally as a second-year player, and the comfort of knowing often allows the flashes to become more consistent and a player like Cooper to go from good to great quickly. With a body more ready for a long season and a year's worth of learning and development in Hafley's scheme, Cooper is in a prime position to take a big step forward. "He needs to be more consistent. He's got to stay healthy. And continue to improve," Hafley said. "He's a guy we're really excited about because he can do a lot of different things too."
New York Times
07-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Packers LB Isaiah McDuffie talks new deal, Jeff Hafley: ‘The place I want to be'
The Packers signed linebacker Isaiah McDuffie to a new contract on Monday. According to ESPN, the deal is for two years and $8 million with a $2.55 million signing bonus. McDuffie was the first of Green Bay's pending unrestricted free agents to ink a new contract, with kicker Brandon McManus following on Wednesday. Advertisement McDuffie, a 2021 sixth-round pick out of Boston College, was one of Green Bay's best special teams players before sacrificing part of that role to play the fifth-highest percentage of defensive snaps on the team last season. Known as a thumping tackler, McDuffie added three pass breakups, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits in 2024. 'You want to talk about tough? That guy, you've got to give him so much credit for how much he cares about this team, for how badly he wants to play football,' defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of McDuffie playing through injury in a standout performance on Thanksgiving. 'On a short week, to get his body ready to play in that game, that guy's what's right about football. That's incredible what he was able to do and then the way he played? The guy had some huge plays in the game … He played about as physical and aggressive as you can imagine and he definitely wasn't 100 percent and there's a lot of guys that might not even have played on a short week. You talk about these guys going through it, talk about what's right about the sport. I love that guy.' After committing to another two years with the Packers, McDuffie spoke with The Athletic about his new deal, playing for Hafley again after doing so in college, his new (and old) linebackers coach and more. On signing his second contract as a sixth-round pick: Yeah, it's just an awesome feeling. All the hard work getting rewarded in that way just feels awesome for me and my family. It's just a lot of excitement and it's at the place I want to be. So I'm just real happy about it. On his desire to remain in Green Bay: It's just been great. The guys in the locker room, just the organization as a whole, I feel like they do everything professionally and getting a chance to play at Lambeau Field again, I feel that's such a historic stadium and just organization in general. Again, I just love the organization and they drafted me, so just from that standpoint also, so I'm just happy everything worked out. GO DEEPER Evaluating DK Metcalf trade proposals: Could the Seahawks WR reunite with Pete Carroll? On a potential big purchase after his new contract: I'm not that kind of guy. I'm gonna try to save my money, do the right thing, maybe help my parents with something. I don't know. I'm getting married this offseason in June, so that's gonna be a purchase right there. On playing for Hafley again: It was awesome. Getting a chance to reconnect with Haf, it's been awesome. Him being in the head-coaching role and then being a defensive coordinator, it's just awesome. He's the same guy every day. He brings energy and he holds us accountable, and that's really all you can ask from a coach. At the end of the day, he loves his players and he wants what's best for us, so I know I appreciate that and I'm sure a lot of guys in that locker room appreciate that, too. Advertisement On special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia's reported contract extension: I love Rich. He's one of my favorite coaches I've ever had. Again, he's another one — he's the same person every day and he's gonna love you hard, he's gonna coach you hard and he's gonna get the best out of you. He brought a new culture to special teams for the Packers when he got here and there's a lot of pride in the special teams unit and it all starts with him, so yeah, I just love Rich and I love playing for him. On new linebackers coach Sean Duggan, whom the Packers promoted after Anthony Campanile became Jaguars defensive coordinator: Oh yeah. I know he's gonna crush it. It's funny because he was my position coach when I was at Boston College, so I have experience with him and he also was a player at Boston College, so we connect in a lot of ways. He's just a great guy. He's one of the smartest people I've ever been around and again, he's gonna coach you hard and get the best out of you and he's a young guy, too, so he's growing in this profession and at the end of the day, I think the sky's the limit for him. GO DEEPER Packers free agency: Who could Green Bay target at top positions of need? On what he'll do for his parents after his new contract: I haven't really thought about it completely, but I'm gonna get 'em something really nice for raising me the right way and all the love and support they've brought with me throughout the years. They deserve something, so I'm gonna do something really nice for 'em. On his role going forward: Whatever I'm asked to do, I'm gonna embrace the role and do it to the best of my ability. I feel like that's the kind of guy I've always been and that's the guy I'm gonna continue to be. Whatever's asked of me, I'm gonna give 110 percent and do it to the best of my ability, so that's kinda the way I see myself and the role I see. On his offseason plans: Right now, I'm back home in Buffalo, New York, just spending a lot of time with my family and just training. I've had the same trainer since, I wanna say, (I was) a sophomore in high school, so it's just awesome every offseason going back with him and training and I think he's one of the best to do it in the area and in the country. I really respect the way he works and kind of the biomechanic science that he brings to the table, so I'm just home just spending time with the fam and training. That's kind of what I love to do.
