Packers' Rashan Gary a good bet to win Defensive Player of the Year

Rashan Gary is just getting started. The 2019 first-round draft choice has been improving every single season that he has been in the NFL and is coming off a career season in multiple statistical categories for the Green Bay Packers. He is a key cog in the fold for defensive coordinator Joe Barry and the franchise. As one of the premier, young defenders in the league, Gary is a cornerstone piece of the Packers moving forward.

The former Michigan Wolverine has played in 47 out of a possible 49 career games. He has been very durable early on in his young career. From 2019-2021, Gary went from 2.0 sacks to 5.0 sacks to 9.5 sacks last year. He set career-highs in QB hits (28), tackles for loss (8) and total tackles (47). He also went from five pressures as a rookie all the way to 47 pressures last season, along with two QB hurries in 2019 to 20 last season. There were no missed tackles that came from him last season too. 

No. 52 has shown steady growth year over year. That is what the Packers were hoping would happen when they drafted him. A lot of fans and analysts doubted this pick because there were supposedly bigger splash names ahead of him in the 2019 NFL Draft (Maxx Crosby, Jeffery Simmons, Montez Sweat, Brian Burns), but the Packers drafted him for his potential after they signed edge-rushers Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Gary learned from both of them and now is one of the more underrated defenders in the entire league.

Both Gary and Preston Smith recorded nine-plus sacks in 2021. They will both be looking to build off of that success this upcoming season, but Gary, who is still just 24, is going to continue to climb. His strength and elite pass-rush technique are what set him apart from the majority of edge defenders in the league today. Expect him to play a full season once again in 2022, which means he should also be expected set another career-high in sacks.

If Gary can record double-digit sacks this fall and winter, the Green Bay defense will almost certainly be a top five unit as opposed to a top 10 unit from a year ago, and he will be in the Defensive Player of the Year running for 2022 — rest assured.