Packers see tangible progress from young pieces who are becoming critical depth at a premium position
Brenton Cox Jr. and Barryn Sorrell were excellent against the Vikings in Week 18.
The Green Bay Packers lost Micah Parsons for the season with a torn ACL. Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, two former first-round picks, have not been nearly as productive as the investment the Packers made in them would indicate. For the playoffs, and for the future, the team must find more pass rushers — and Sunday’s Week 18 16-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was a big opportunity for it.
With the Packers resting key players, backups had snaps all around the team, and some defensive pieces showed real promise. The two edge rushers, Barryn Sorrell and Brenton Cox Jr., had great moments against the Vikings’ starting offense.
“I thought both of those guys played really hard,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ve got to go take a look at it and do a deeper dive on it and critique it, but as far as the energy and how they competed, I was happy with that.”
Cox finished the game with five pressures and a sack, while Sorrell had three pressures and a sack. The other rookie, fifth-rounder Collin Oliver, generated four pressures in his NFL debut.
Playoff impact and future
Cox and Sorrell in particular put themselves in position to enter the edge rotation in the postseason — if the Packers are not getting much upfront from Gary anyway, they better give those other guys more chances.
For next year and beyond, the situation becomes more intriguing. Cox is slated to become a restricted free agent, and a solid postseason could force the Packers to give him an RFA tender. Sorrell and Oliver are mid-round rookies, so the Packers have them under contract through 2028.
Gary may be a cut candidate, and with Parsons potentially missing the beginning of next season recovering from his ACL tear, these young players could be hugely impactful to how general manager Brian Gutekunst will approach building the roster.
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