NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks, a former NFL player and scout, placed Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt on his All-Breakout Team.
There’s no denying Wyatt will be a critically important piece to Green Bay’s defense in 2023. After playing limited reps as a rookie as the fifth man in a rotation that included Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, Dean Lowry and TJ Slaton, Wyatt will be bumped into the starting lineup following the free-agent departures of the veteran stalwarts Reed and Lowry.
A breakout season would provide an enormous lift to the defense. It’s an oversimplification, but as Wyatt goes, so will Green Bay’s defense. Wyatt must play with strength, tenacity and fundamentals if the run defense is going to go from weakness to strength. And he must play with explosion to get after the quarterback on passing downs.
The second of the Packers’ first-round picks last year, Wyatt had a quiet rookie season with 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and eight pressures. Of note, all the sacks and hits and five of the eight pressures came during the final four weeks.
With additional playing time and the presumed Year 2 jump, Wyatt could “double or triple those numbers” in 2023, Brooks said.
“Devonte, Year 1 to Year 2, I expect a massive jump for him,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said at the start of OTAs. “He knows the defense much better. It allowed him to play free and fast instead of worrying about where you go and those things. As you get older in this league, especially being in the same system, the better you know it, the faster you can play.”
No Packers made Brooks’ team on offense. The Steelers’ George Pickens, the Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney and the Broncos’ Jerry Juedy were the receivers ahead of Green Bay’s Christian Watson.
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