NFL makes a bad mistake trying to label Rashan Gary in Top 100 rankings, and it brings up a long-standing debate about player positions
There are just too many discussions and mistakes around positional designations in the NFL. Defensive ends, outside and inside linebackers, the real differences between 4/3 and 3/4 base defenses. There's an easy way to solve everything, but it seems like the NFL isn't there yet.The league is releasing its Top 100 rankings as voted by […]
There are just too many discussions and mistakes around positional designations in the NFL. Defensive ends, outside and inside linebackers, the real differences between 4/3 and 3/4 base defenses. There's an easy way to solve everything, but it seems like the NFL isn't there yet.
The league is releasing its Top 100 rankings as voted by the players, and it made a mistake that makes them look bad. Rashan Gary, the 80th-ranked player, was designated as a defensive tackle—a position he's never played on a full-time basis.
The video mentions that as the Packers moved from a 3/4 base under Joe Barry to a 4/3 base under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Gary moved from linebacker to defensive tackle. Well, this is bad in many ways, and it's basically a useless discussion.
Why it's wrong and how to solve it
Officially, Rashan Gary was moved from outside linebacker to defensive end, not defensive tackle. But more importantly, his practical position didn't change. He is still an edge defender, even if you can make an argument that his role in the new style of defense could be slightly different.
Gary has always been an edge defender throughout his NFL career. Since the Packers drafted him in 2019, Gary has 2,880 snaps outside of the tackle and 55 over tackle, the definition of an edge defender. He's had 13 snaps on the B-gap and 26 in the box as an off-ball linebacker.
That trend didn't go away with the new defense. Last year, Gary had 606 snaps outside the tackle, 26 over the tackle, and only three snaps inside. Sure, any edge defender will eventually move inside in passing downs, but Gary wasn't even the first call on the Packers' defensive front to do it.
These types of mistakes happen because people don't follow an easy way to solve everything. Name them "interior defensive linemen/defensive tackles," "edge defenders," and "off-ball linebackers/linebackers." There's not a good reason to call an edge defender an outside linebacker just to create confusion.
By the way, this is not only a useless thing on social media. It has real implications. The Packers declined Quay Walker's fifth-year option because its value was disproportionately high, driven by edge defenders wrongly listed as linebackers. It's not fair to Walker, it's not fair for the Packers, and it's not fair for edge players who play the same position and are separated because of antiquated designations.
Gary's performance
In terms of the rankings themselves, the drop from 50th to 80th seems fair for Rashan Gary. After generating 81 pressures in 2021 and 60 in 2023, his previous full seasons, Gary got only 47 last season. His sacks numbers also went down from 9.0 to 7.5—he's yet to achieve a double digit-sack season in the NFL.
The edge defender signed a four-year extension with the Packers back in the middle of the 2023 season. Now, he has three years left on his deal, being slated to make $17.25 million this year, $19.5 million in 2026, and $22.5 million in 2027.
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