Packers Reporter Reveals Major Defensive Breakout Candidate

The Green Bay Packers are a major unknown in the NFC heading into the 2023 NFL season. With Aaron Rodgers gone, no one is projecting them to be a serious playoff contender.

However, they have an extremely talented roster that looks the part of being capable of contending, assuming Jordan Love can step in and play solid all-around football.

Brian Gutekunst and the front office have done a great job of building the team around a young quarterback. First and foremost, they wanted to develop the defensive side of the football into a juggernaut. That led the franchise to using most of their recent early draft picks on defenders.

Last year, they brought in defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt in the first round. He didn’t play a huge role as a rookie, but he seems primed to make a major second-year leap for Green Bay.

Matt Schneidman of The Athletic revealed his thoughts on Wyatt and labeled him a potential major breakout candidate for the Packers from what he’s seen.

“Nobody seems to have made a bigger jump from Year 1 to Year 2 than the 2022 first-round pick,” Schneidman wrote on Monday, August 14. “He barely played 20 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie but is in line for a much bigger role this season alongside Kenny Clark and T.J. Slaton.”

“Wyatt has often been in the backfield during team drills and has picked up right where he left off at the end of his rookie season.”

Standing in at 6-foot-3 and a shade over 300 pounds, Wyatt is a huge force to be reckoned with in the middle of the line. He combines his size with great athleticism.

The Packers drafted him for a reason and we may be about to see just why they wanted him so badly. As a rookie, Wyatt ended up playing in 16 games last season for the Packers. He compiled 15 total tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and a defended pass.

Hopefully, the Packers’ plan to build an elite defense pays off. They have a lot of young talent alongside Wyatt in Quay Walker, Lukas Van Ness, Eric Stokes, and more to develop as well. However, Devonte Wyatt has been turning heads in camp and it will be interesting to see what kind of 2023 season he puts up for Green Bay.