After three offensive picks on Days 1 on 2 of the draft, the Green Bay Packers finally addressed defense. With their first selection on Saturday, the team selected Texas edge defender Barryn Sorrell.
The addition of an edge rusher is certainly not a surprise for the Packers. While depth isn’t necessarily a problem, Green Bay has invested a lot in the pass rush with below average results.
Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness are former first-round picks, and Gary has already received a big-time extension. However, the defense still needed a boost of talent after underwhelming performances last year.
“You're always looking. With pass rushers, you can never have enough,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the season. “I thought there were times this year we did that, we were able to rush with four men. Every team in the league, that's how you'd prefer to do it, rush with four and affect the quarterback with four. There were periods of times where we didn't do that well enough, everybody understands that. That affects your football team.”
The defensive end room also has Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr., Arron Mosby, Deslin Alexandre, and Jeremiah Martin.
Barryn Sorrell, Edge Defender
- From: Travis May
Height/Weight: 6-4, 260 lbs
Age: 22
College: Texas Longhorns
Pros:
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Play Strength in All Facets
Unlike many edge defenders, Barryn Sorrell actually seeks out contact in many cases. Not just in run defense, but in most forms of his pass rush technique. He does this because he can win through contact in a variety ways using his brute strength. -
Sound Gap Understanding and Leverage
Barryn Sorrell's awareness must be elite given how well he controls his engaged blocker on almost every down. If it's a run play he utilizes his strength and leverage understanding to always have the upper hand, controlling the play direction when the action comes his way. In pass rush he almost always finds a way to keep the passer contained, which is critical against more mobile quarterbacks. -
Special Pursuit Range in Pass Rush and Run Game
Even when Sorrell gets pushed beyond the quarterback or finds himself initially out of place against the run he has an incredible knack for correcting this. And for his size he's able to accelerate incredibly well, leading to some impressive pursuit highlights and finishes.
Cons
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Inconsistent Pass Rush Rate Stats
Barryn Sorrell has never been a top tier pass rusher, but he does well with a large volume of work thanks to his high motor. He finished his final season barely above positional averages in pass rush win rate and pressure rate. Not ideal for teams looking for game-changing pass rush. -
Final Season Tackle Discipline Struggles
For a player of his strength level and discipline it was a bit odd to see him finish so poorly tackling this past season. Depending on the charting service you trust he missed somewhere between six and eight tackles over the last five games of the 2024 season alone. Fixable, but concerning. -
Less Than Ideal Flexibility for an Edge Defender
Most prospects can't have every single trait going for them and flexibility is likely Sorrell's one significant flaw. His play strength is phenomenal, so he hides this well, but if Sorrell could add some bend to his burst he might find more consistent pass rush success.
Player Evaluation:
Barryn Sorrell is a pro-ready athlete with the strength to hold his own against the toughest offensive lineman in the NFL when it comes to the run game and pushing the pile in pass rush. However, he needs to develop his pass rush move arsenal and work on flexibility if he wants to be an every-down difference maker with a long professional career ahead of him.
Player Comparison:
Jonathan Greenard
Barryn Sorrell was forced into.a role where he would slide over the tackle and even shift inside a bit this past year due to his strength and personnel changes up front for Texas, but that won't be the case in the pros. Outside of those instances he looks and plays like Jonathan Greenard. They're both high volume pass rushers who win with strength and leverage, but don't always have the most elite rate stats given their imperfect flexibility and bend to help them win like the best in the game.
A to Z Rankings:
A to Z Big Board Ranking: 148
A to Z Draft Grade: 5.81 (out of 10)
Draft projection: Mid Day Three (5.01-6.00)
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