Green Bay Packers have a huge decision to make this season in one of their refuge along the defense line. TJ Slaton did not leave the game in his NFL career and is now to hit the open market as an unlimited free agent. He is one of the two preferred defensive starters – including the Isaiah McDuffie linebacker – who could play in the final as a member of Packers.
Does Green Bay prioritize Slaton’s return or try to find a more rounded player to fill in defense?
Here are some reasons and against Slaton and what we would do again if we were the Packers this season:
Grounds
-Slaton from Florida, in the fifth round, became a solid co -creator of Green Bay defense. He played in 68 matches of the regular season 1641 defense snaps, a total of 134 connected equipment, on average 1.97 per match.
“Nobody else has Slaton in defense of the Packers,” literally. It is replaced with 6-4, 330 pounds and consistently eats double teams as nasal equipment. Finding a deputy by the project can be challenging because such guys do not grow only on trees.
-Packers ended with the defense of running in seventh place in 2024, and Slaton had a hand in it. For the first time, they took their defense in the top ten since 2016.
– Slaton took first place in terms of winning in runes among defensive attacks in 2024 at ESPN.
-Slaton served as the main trinker of the band in the last two years. At that time, he had 80 connected equipment, including 50 stops (fights, which are a “failure” for a crime), according to Pro Football Focus. In 2023 he finished T6. Among the defensive liners with 33 stops.
– It is possible that Slaton does not cost much. Various defense equipment is a slightly dying breed, so there may not be a lot of teams fighting for Slaton services.
– There is something to say about Slaton’s reliability and endurance. He never left the game because of an injury and started every game in the last two seasons. In fact, he was hardly in the report on injuries.
– Who else on the Green Bay defense line can fulfill the role of Slaton? With all the double teams he sees, maybe Kenny Clark could take several snaps for nasal equipment, but above all he is set to three technologically. In addition, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden do not fill this void.
– Draft NFL is not filled with people of Slaton’s size and a unique set of skills. Packers are known for their design strategy and development, as in the case of Slaton, but banking on this re -carries its own risk.
Slaton will only be 27 at the beginning of the next season, which means that he still has at least a few years of influential game. At least he could be a solid player of the bridge until the team finds a replacement.
Reasons against
– Despite the start of each game in 2024, Slaton’s role decreased as part of Jeff Hafley in his first season as a defense coordinator. After defending 4-3, Slaton recorded a decrease in percentage in defense from 56 percent in 2023 to 39 percent this season. It is possible that he may not play a major role in defense of Hafley.
Slaton was simply unable to create enough strokes. During his career he registered only two sacks and only six fights for a loss with zero forced fumbles. These negative plays can be huge, but they were not there with Slaton.
-What when Slaton is a powerful defender of the run, he remains too one -dimensional. Not only does he not get sacks, but in the last two seasons he has produced only 27 pressure, less than one per match.
Slaton had only one pressure in the last six weeks of the regular season.
– Given how much Rush Packersa fought to return home with the four season, they desperately have to improve in this area. However, Slaton offers very little as incidence.
– What is the advantage of stopping Slaton? His influence as a defender of Run will probably remain the same, but he is probably unable to improve as Rusher.
-Pff gave Slaton the lowest defensive assessment of his career in 2024. While these grades should be taken with salt grain, the Slaton-Low-Low assessment in 2024 may suggest that he has achieved his ceiling and is not perfectly suitable for this recent defense .
What would I do
While Slaton is not willing to return to the contract for a genial team, it’s time for Packers to move on. Improving the rush of passing will be a priority for the Packers out of season, and Slaton will not facilitate in this. Regardless of whether it is a free agency, project or both, it’s time to find defensive equipment that is more rounded. The constrained Slaton skill set constrained him to being a player at the beginning, who worked well for a while, but began to withdraw from the rotation after Hafley entered. Embroidery can have a different vision of the one who should play this role. Fortunately, this defensive class is broadcast with talent. Forty -one potential customers were invited to this year’s harvester compared to just 25 last year. I expect Green Bay to take one day 2 or early day 3, even if he signs someone from the outside in a free agency. When Devonte Wyatt enters the last year of his debut agreement, unless the team selects his option of the fifth year, and Kenny Clark is approaching 30 and fell from the year, this defensive line desperately requires meals.
