Paul Bretl | 8/1/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers have a long history of having an undrafted rookie on their Week 1 roster. Perhaps the next player to join that club is defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse, who has taken advantage of his opportunities early on in training camp.
“Stackhouse been taking advantage,” Karl Brooks said after Friday’s practice. “He’s been stacking days each and every day at camp. He’s been improving getting better. He’s a strong man in the run game, but he’s a good player that’s on the right track right now and he’s been playing phenomenal football.”
Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘The Paul Bretl Show’ for more Packers coverage.
Stackhouse was one of the 10 undrafted rookies that the Packers signed after this year’s NFL draft. To some draft analysts, it was likely a surprise that Stackhouse even got to that point. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, for example, had a Stackhouse with a fifth-sixth round draft projection.
Playing on a dominant Georgia defensive front, Stackhouse would appear in 59 games during his five college seasons, which included 42 starts. Listed at 6-4 – 327 and operating in a Georgia defense that rotated the defensive line heavily, Stackhouse’s primary role in college was as an early down run-stuffer.
Stackhouse finished his career with 96 tackles, including nine for a loss, three sacks, one interception, and a blocked field goal. He won back-to-back National titles in 2021 and 2022, and was named a second-team All-SEC selection in 2023.
Players who are tasked with clogging up the middle of the field on running plays aren’t often going to fill the stat sheet with production. But when that player is operating at a high level and generating steady push, taking on double-teams, and occupying space, the defenders around him all benefit from that presence.
With the Packers, Stackhouse’s impact and what he’s putting on tape have been evident with the added opportunities he’s gained as training camp has unfolded.
Early on, he was working strictly with the third-team defense. A few practices in, he was a rotational player with the twos–which is where most of his playing time continues to come from– and then on Friday, as Matt LaFleur said would be the case, Stackhouse earned a few reps against the first-team offense alongside Brooks, as the two filled in for Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt.
“The progression has been great,” Stackhouse said of his play. “It’s been good. Obviously, playing this game, you’re going to learn a lot from a lot of different guys, a lot of different coaches, so yeah, the progression has been going up.”
Stackhouse continued, “There’s still a lot more that I can learn. And shoot me just maintaining that same effort every day at practice, just doing what I do, that’s going to help with that progression as well. Even if like sometimes I think I’m having a bad practice, I know that my effort is going to help me too on the field.”
As mentioned, at the college level, Stackhouse’s bread-and-butter was as an early down run defender. The Packers are still asking him to fill that role, but within Jeff Hafley’s defense, they’re also getting him more opportunities on third downs to rush the quarterback.
“I feel like here, you play first, second down, but we’ll split you in some on third down reps as well,” Stackhouse said. “So you gotta learn some of those simulated pressures, know how to pass rush, one-on-one gotta take advantage, get-offs, all that stuff. There was not a lot of that at college as there is now.”
To a degree, getting after the quarterback is a bit uncharted territory for Stackhouse. Again, it’s just not what he was asked to do at Georgia. So with that, there is a learning curve that comes with it.
“I’m starting to learn how to practice on that side too as well when it comes to pass rushing on third down,” Stackhouse said at his locker. “I gotta be prepared in those moments. When we’re doing two-minute, like I can’t just be lackadaisical on the sideline, I have to always be expecting coach to call my name because they’re not just asking me to stop the run here. They’re asking me to stop the run and do a little bit more to on the defense.”
To state the obvious, there is still a ways to go with a number of practices still on the training camp schedule, along with two joint practices, and three preseason games. But Stackhouse has made a quick impression, and with TJ Slaton no longer on the roster, he brings a different skill set than some of the other players the Packers have at this position group.
“He’s done a really nice job,” LaFleur said of Stackhouse’s play, “and he’s earning more and more opportunities.”