The biggest takeaway from Tuesday’s OTA practice open to the media wasn’t who was in the lineup where or which player played a key role. Instead, it was Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare who evened things up on the field, giving this unit’s depth a needed boost.
Back in January, Enagbare was thought to have torn his ACL during the Packers’ playoff victory over Dallas. However, after the NFL draft, Matt LaFleur stated that this was not the case:
“He’s still fighting to come back,” LaFleur said. “It was never confirmed that it was an ACL. He didn’t have surgery. He is still undergoing rehabilitation and we are still positive. “
Amid LaFleur’s promising news, there is still no timetable for Enagbare’s return to the field. So the fact that he “went all out,” as LaFleur put it on Tuesday, was still a gigantic surprise, and certainly a pleasant one.
“I think he’s doing great on the field,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “And he just worked his tail off.”
As the second half of last season progressed, Enagbare really started to gain momentum. Of his 27 total pressures on the year, 18 came from Week 12 and beyond. Of the 128 qualifying Edge Rush players, Enarbare finished 28th in PFF’s pass rush win rate during that span. He was also a key member of the Packers’ special teams unit.
“I can’t say enough great things about him,” Enagbare’s LaFleur said last season. “To see the growth from last year to this year. His contribution not only to the defense but also to the team. I just love his playing style. His constant pursuit of football. There are many examples of the physicality we preach in this game. Chasing the ball.”
With the original assumption that Enagbare would miss part of the 2024 season, questions arose regarding the depth of this position group. Edge rush – and now Packers defensive back – can be a heavily rotated position, with four and sometimes even five players seeing snaps each week.
If the Packers were without Enagbare, it would force them to rely on Keshawn Banks, Brenton Cox or Arron Mosby unless someone else showed up. Banks and Cox are both UDFAs for 2023 with no defensive tackles in the NFL. Meanwhile, Mosby has only played twice in his defensive career.
It’s understandable that a lot of attention will be paid to the Packers’ secondary under Jeff Hafley, but a gigantic factor in improving this defense will depend on greater defensive consistency in both the run and pass game.
Last season, the Packers finished 23rd in yards per carry and surrendered four games in which they exceeded 200 rushing yards. It was also a very warm and frosty unit in cruising mode. Through seven games, the Packers have pressured the quarterback on more than 45 percent of his turnovers, which is fantastic. On the other hand, through seven games, the quarterback was pressured on less than 30 percent of his turnovers, which is the opposite of fantastic.
Contributing to what will hopefully end up being more consistent play from this unit will be a Year 2 jump from Lukas Van Ness, a one-gap system that results in a more offensive front and, of course, a robust Enagbare who continues to climb in this third NFL season .
