Grading the 2023 Packers: Rashan Gary and Outside Linebackers

The Green Bay Packers got quality play from their outside linebackers in 2023, but changes are coming in 2024.

First, with new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, they’re likely to become defensive ends in a 4-3 scheme, though their job responsibilities likely won’t change much, if at all. Second, Rashan Gary will be another year past the ACL tear that ruined his 2022 season. Third, valuable backup Kingsley Enagbare might not return to the lineup until deep into the season following his torn ACL. Fourth, Lukas Van Ness will be entering Year 2 after a solid rookie year.

Here are our unit grades. As always, they are based on impact relative to the salary cap. All advanced stats are from Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.

Rashan Gary

2023 cap: $11,823,163. Position rank: 12th among edge defenders, according to OverTheCap.com.

Coming off a torn ACL, Gary played in all 17 games and finished with 44 tackles, nine sacks, seven tackles for losses, 22 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed.

According to PFF, 100 edge defenders had at least 164 pass-rushing snaps. With 60 total pressures, he finished 15th in its pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. He was 16th with a pass-rush win rate of 17.2 percent. Including the playoffs, he had zero sacks in the final seven games. PFF credited him eight pressures in Week 17 at Minnesota, so it’s not like he completely disappeared, but he’s now 0-for-5 in his quest for a 10-sacks season.

The run defense goes hot and cold, though it was hotter down the stretch. He averaged a tackle for every 13.3 snaps. His average tackle on a running play came 0.7 yards downfield – by far the best on the unit (Lukas Van Ness, 2.4 yards) and seventh among all NFL edge defenders. However, the run defense was 0.31 yards worse per snap when Gary was on the field, according to league data. He missed 11 tackles (20.0 percent) and was guilty of five penalties (the other outside linebackers were guilty of three combined).

All credit to Gary for working himself back onto the field following the knee injury. He played in all 19 games, including playoffs, which is remarkable. However, of his nine sacks, he had two games of three sacks apiece but 13 games with zero. Yeah, he gets double-teamed and chipped. So does T.J. Watt (19 sacks), Trey Hendrickson (17.5), Maxx Crosby (14.5 sacks) and so many others.

Our grades have never been about injuries or comebacks or toughness. You either produce or you don’t. By total money of his contract extension, Gary is the ninth-most expensive edge defender in the NFL.

Grade: C.

Preston Smith

2023 cap: $6,372,000. Position rank: 30th, according to OverTheCap.com.

Preston Smith was the “other” half of the so-called Smith Brothers combo with Za’Darius Smith. For the past couple years, he’s played second fiddle to Rashan Gary.

The reality is Smith has been the team’s most consistent outside linebacker.

Starting his customary 17 games, Smith registered 48 tackles, eight sacks, four tackles for losses, 21 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and four passes defensed. According to PFF, 100 edge defenders had at least 164 pass-rushing snaps. With 44 total pressures, Smith ranked 60th in its pass-rushing productivity and was 52nd with a pass-rushing win rate of 11.5 percent. Over the final five games (including playoffs), he had at least a half-sack in four games for a total of 4.5.

Smith averaged one tackle for every 15.3 snaps. He missed seven tackles (12.7 percent), which was infinitely better than his 18 misses in 2022. The run defense was 0.01 yards better when he was on the field.

Grade: B.

Lukas Van Ness

2023 cap: $3,161,472. Position rank: 55th, according to OverTheCap.com.

The first-round pick seemed to get better with every week. He finished with 32 tackles, four sacks, eight tackles for losses and 10 quarterback hits. He was fifth on the team in quarterback hits and one behind Kenny Clark’s team-leading total for tackles for losses. Van Ness had a sack in Week 1, a 10-game streak without a sack, a sack in three of the final six games of the regular season and one more in the playoffs.

According to PFF, 100 edge defenders had at least Van Ness’ total of 164 pass-rushing snaps. With 18 total pressures, he finished 52nd in its pass-rushing productivity but 95th in pass-rush win rate. Of the 14 rookies who played at least 100 pass-rushing snaps, Van Ness was third in PFF’s PRP.

However, he was a tough customer against the run, as the TFL count would indicate. According to league data, the run defense was 0.41 yards better per carry when he was on the field. He averaged one tackle for every 11.4 snaps, tops on the unit. He didn’t miss a single tackle.

Grade: B-minus.

Kingsley Enagbare

2023 cap: $930,639. Position rank: 137th, according to OverTheCap.com.

Enagbare and Van Ness were the No. 2 tandem all season. He wound up playing 452 snaps during the regular season – or 40.7 percent of the defensive snaps. He tallied 35 tackles, two sacks, eight tackles for losses and six quarterback hits. The TFL count tied Van Ness for No. 2 on the team.

According to PFF, 100 edge defenders had at least 164 pass-rushing snaps. With 24 total pressures, Enagbare finished 57th in its pass-rushing productivity and 64th in pass-rush win rate (10.4 percent). He missed six tackles (14.6 percent). He averaged one tackle for every 12.0 snaps. The run defense was 0.05 yards better per attempt when he was on the field.

He will be missed in Week 1 and beyond.

Grade: C-plus.

Brenton Cox

2023 cap: $753,000. Position rank: 154th, according to OverTheCap.com.

Cox, a high-profile recruit who was bounced out of two SEC programs, made the 53-man roster after flashing plenty of potential during training camp and the preseason. However, he played in only four games with a total of four defensive snaps. His final snap on defense came in Game 6 at Denver and his final snap on special teams came in Game 11 at Detroit. His stat sheet was nothing but zeroes.

That he did not play was no big deal. Look at the guys in front of him. However, when Enagbare went down at Dallas, the Packers elevated Keshawn Banks from the practice squad rather than going with Cox at San Francisco. 

The grade has nothing to do with Cox’s ability to contribute in 2024. It’ll be up to him to make it happen, though.

Grade: F.