Paul Bretl | 6/4/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — This portion of the NFL offseason, OTAs, is voluntary. It is not mandatory that the players be at the facility or participate in the practices. Each offseason, there is always an element of starting from scratch that takes place, with the emphasis at this time of the year being on fundamentals, technique, and communication, as the Packers begin ramping up towards Week 1.
So, after Tuesday’s OTA practice, when Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark are discussing weekend film study sessions with the defensive line unit, that catches your attention because at this time of the year, that’s outside the norm.
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These film sessions take place at Kenny Clark’s house and began during the Phase III portion of OTAs, as Gary recalled. It’s an opportunity for the defensive linemen to watch each other’s individual film together from practice and to provide each other with any insights to improve their game. As Clark mentioned, there are also more big picture conversations around different formations and fronts, and how to play blocks from different alignments.
‘We’ve been able to get able Friday, Saturday for guys that staying in town,” said Gary after Tuesday’s practice. “For some guys that’s away we’ve been able to Zoom in, getting them locked in. Going over Indy, making sure our Indy reps have been able to translate to team and like I said that’s something that we haven’t yet to do up to this point in my time being here, so I feel like we off to a fast start.”
While everyone contributes to the conversation, Gary leads the discussion with the defensive ends and Clark the defensive tackles. These regular film sessions at Clark’s house is another opportunity to hone in on finer details of playing along the defensive line, but it’s a bonding opportunity for this group as well.
‘That’s the main thing is just getting the bonding,” Clark said. “Just building as a team. We’re going to need everybody, and need everybody to be playing at a high level to start the season, and so forth, so just make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders.”
The Packers made two additions this offseason to the defensive line unit, but that didn’t happen until Day 3 of the NFL draft when the team took Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, who Jeff Hafley believes can make an impact in their first seasons. However, that approach at this position group–bypassing free agency and waiting until Day 3 of the draft–wasn’t what many on the outside had hoped for or even expected after the pass rush underwhelmed in 2024.
The catalyst behind improved pass rush play up front was always going to have to be internal growth from those already on the roster, and there are several new factors compared to last offseason that are now in play for this unit that can potentially lead to more consistent play when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
For one, there is the comfort of being in Hafley’s system for a second season. A year ago at this time, the new scheme was being implemented. Now, there is a far deeper understanding of the system, and not only from each player regarding what their individual responsibilities are, but what the roles are of everyone around them, how those different responsibilities intertwine, and how offenses may attack this Packers’ front based on how they are aligned.
“You got a whole year of understanding what the defense is,” Gary said. “Understanding our in and outs and understanding how he wants to attack it. So we had a whole year to get better at our techniques and he had a whole year to refine our system, tweaking and tune things.
“Just going into Year 2, the confidence, man, just how we flying around. Understanding play calls. Understanding where people need to roll down, the strengths of the defense, and just communicating at a different level right now.”
Along with the added comfort of playing within the same scheme, there is a new voice in the defensive line room with the Packers adding DeMarcus Covinginton to the coaching staff earlier this offseason. Covington joins the Packers after spending eight seasons in New England, which includes coaching under Bill Belichick, where, as Covington put it, he got his “master’s degree” in football.
Covington brings defensive coordinator experience to the defensive line coaching position, which adds a different and more big-picture perspective to defensive line play. Hafley also mentioned that he’s coached in a variety of schemes and fronts. With those past experiences, Covington brings new ideas to a defensive line unit that is searching for more.
“I love the confidence that he has as coach,” Gary said. “Just how he coaches from the individual to how he’s intense on the details and just how he focus right now and is detail oriented, really getting coached up on different techniques and things like that to make us play fast.”
Within the ever-evolving Hafley system, the Packers’ defensive front is switching up how they get after the quarterback this season. A year ago, we talked a lot about the play-style up front, which was all about getting off the ball and getting upfield. This year, however, LaFleur mentioned still wanting to incorporate blitzes and simulated pressures, like we saw from this defense late in the season, because it puts more on the plate of opposing offenses than just rushing four does.
Technique-wise, we are going to see the pendulum swing back to more of what we saw a few seasons ago, where the defensive front’s job was to read and react.
“It’s back to more, like I would say, our old stuff,” Clark said. “Last year we pretty much were going up the field, like jetting up the field, stopping the run on the way to the quarterback, pretty much. This year playing more technique.”
Injuries will never be an excuse, but they are a reality of playing football, and both Clark and Lukas Van Ness navigated various injuries for a large portion of last season. Clark sustained a foot injury in Week 1 against Philadelphia that eventually required surgery in January, while Van Ness played the first half of last season with a broken thumb.
“It was tough. It was a tough year for me,” Clark said. “I had surgery on my foot in January, so yeah, it was a tough year. But I’m excited. I’m back out practicing, back doing indy, so today was my second day doing indy with the team, and just have to keep building forward.”
Despite a feast or famine pass rush last season, the Packers’ defense in several key categories was a top 10 unit in 2024. But when it comes to getting to that next level, that all starts with an improved pass rush. As I’ve said, I believe it is that facet of the game that will determine the ceiling for the Green Bay defense because when someone is able to generate a steady push or apply pressure, the other 10 defenders on the field all benefit.
“Just sticking together,” Clark said of the pass rush, “and rushing as a unit and just being relentless. Haf does a great job of calling pressures and getting Coop and all those guys on the run. We do a lot of things with that stuff. I think also just getting better at rushing the passer play-action wise. Play-action is a spot that we definitely got to get better at as a unit. Didn’t do a good enough job with that last year, and just quick game.”