Packers rookies look primed to rush the passer

The longer I watch and (attempt to) analyze football, the more I think there are no coincidences. There is too much overlap between schemes and philosophies and coaches and players to think much happens by chance, at least when it comes to player acquisition and the use of those players on the field.

If it’s true that there are no coincidences, I think we can expect a lot of pass rushing in the future of this year’s defensive rookies. Nearly every defensive player the Packers drafted this spring has one thing in common: a history of success rushing the passer.

Yes, sacks are a flawed metric. Flaws or not, the Packers’ draft picks collected a lot of them in college.

Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper both nabbed 8.5 apiece in their college playing days.

Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Kitan Oladapo grabbed 3.5, 5, and 6.5 apiece, good for fifth, third, and second most, respectively, among the safeties we looked at in this spring’s draft class.

Only Kalen King, the Packers’ seventh-round cornerback selection, failed to notch a single sack in college, though even he managed 5.5 tackles for loss, according to Pro Football Reference.

Are these staggeringly huge sack totals? No, but they do represent a significant number for each player at a variety of positions. And if their pass rushing acumen shows up on the stat sheet, I’d bet there’s more than a little evidence on tape of their deployment as pass rushers. If that’s true, it seems the Packers had a specific aim in mind when grabbing defenders in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Will it show up on the field? Only time will tell, but it would hardly be a coincidence if it did.