Green Bay Packers State of the Roster: Defensive End

How does Preston Smith fit in a defense where the ends are asked to be pure pass-rushers?

Let’s continue out State of the Roster series to talk about one of the more interesting positions in the Green Bay Packers’ new 4-3 defense: defensive end. If you’re thinking of 4-3 defensive ends in Green Bay, the first name that comes up is probably Reggie White, but we’ll explain why this particular variant of the 4-3 defense is looking for a little bit of a different body type. One of the Packers’ starters at the position doesn’t fit the prototype for the scheme, too, which brings into question of whether or not he’ll remain on the roster this season.

As a reminder, here’s our position-by-position publishing schedule for this series:

• 2/13: Offensive backfield
• 2/14: Pass-catchers
• 2/15: Offensive line
• 2/16: Defensive tackles
• 2/19: Defensive ends
• 2/20: Linebackers
• 2/21: Cornerbacks
• 2/22: Safeties
• 2/23: Specialists

Defensive End

Under Contract: Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr., Keshawn Banks, Arron Mosby, Deandre Johnson, Deslin Alexandre and Kenneth Odumegwu

I want to start this by referencing something I wrote in the defensive tackle edition of our State of the Roster series.

Hafley’s 4-3 defense should mimic what the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and New York Jets are running under defensive coaches from the same coaching tree. The idea that the Packers will now want big, edge-setting defensive ends is simply not rooted in reality.

Look at who these teams have added recently. The Houston Texans traded up to the third overall pick to select pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr., who is listed at 243 pounds, in last years draft. The New York Jets rush the passer with 255-pounder Bryce Huff and 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald, who comes in at just 241 pounds. The San Francisco 49ers made three moves at defensive end this season, adding Chase Young (264 pounds), Randy Gregory (242 pounds) and Clelin Ferrell (265 pounds).

Green Bay isn’t going to be running a 4-3 under defense, which functionally is a 4-3 defense with 3-4 personnel. An example of that is when the Seattle Seahawks were doing just that and had hulking Red Bryant play end at 320-plus pounds. Instead, the Packers will be playing a true 4-3 stack, which with Hafley’s single-high structure means that they’re going to need a hell of a pass-rushing unit.

The edge defender position in Green Bay, now defensive end, is going to be all about rushing the quarterback moving forward. I wouldn’t even be surprised if some of the defensive ends on the team ended up trimming some weight off their frame in an effort to get just a tick quicker.

So where does that leave Preston Smith, the outside linebacker who has been praised by the coaching staff for his ability to drop into coverage despite being listed at 265 pounds by the team’s official site — likely an underestimation of his playing weight? Smith isn’t the pure pass-rusher that the system typically demands. Set to make $12.4 million in cash in 2024, it’s at least worth having a discussion about whether or not Smith will remain on his current deal with the team. Be it a trade, release or restructure, don’t be surprised if some sort of adjustment is made to Smith’s contract, as he’s a bit of a square peg in a round hole right now.

Two players who should be getting a boost in this system are former first-round picks Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, who both rush the passer more efficiently out of a three-point stance than a two-point stance. Van Ness, in particular, always looked awkward and/or uncomfortable as a stand-up pass-rusher. Hopefully, the change in defensive scheme will allow the second-year player to hit the ground running in 2024.

Before his injury, the presumed fourth pass-rusher going into this season would have been Kingsley Enagbare. Now that he’s dealing with an ACL tear, though, the assumption is that Enagbare will start the 2024 regular season on the physically unable to perform list. It would be a pretty shocking development if he suited up for at least the first month of the season next year.

With Enagbare out of the lineup, at least in the short term, that leaves a bit of a void in the depth at the position. At the moment, the Packers’ approach to solve that issue has been to throw several bodies at the position.

Under contract on the lower end of the depth chart are Keshawn Banks, Brenton Cox Jr., Arron Mosby, Deandre Johnson, Deslin Alexandre and Kenneth Odumegwu. When Enagbare went down, it was Banks — a 2023 practice-squadder — who got the nod over Cox — a 53-man roster member. That’s worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

Mosby, who mostly plays special teams, might be the lone candidate who could convert from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 linebacker in this scheme. Johnson and Alexandre were late-season signings as reserve/futures players, a contract mechanism that allowed Green Bay to sign these players at league minimum deals. Odumegwu is going into his second season as the Packers’ designated International Player Pathways project.

To say that these are unproven products is an understatement. Don’t be surprised if Green Bay adds a draft pick to the mix, as this is a position group that is demanded to be a strength of the roster based on the scheme that they’re set to run.