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Packers Defense Under Pressure in 2026 #Packers #GoPackGo

Packers Defense Under Pressure in 2026With yesterday’s extension to defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, the Green Bay Packers are putting much of their 2026 hopes in their defensive front. If the Packers are to win their first division championship since 2021 and get past the first weekend in the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2023, their defensive front will have a lot to say in accomplishing that goal. These are the five reasons why the Packers defensive front will be the biggest factor in determining the 2026 team’s success. 1. Draft Investment When the Packers traded Davante Adams in 2022, their reward was two extra picks in the first two rounds of the 2022 draft. With those two picks, plus their own two picks, they came away with Wyatt, linebacker Quay Walker and wide receiver Christian Watson. Both Wyatt and Watson have gotten extensions this offseason and Walker was let walk away in free agency. Wyatt joined several other first round picks to play on the defensive line. Since 2019 when Brian Gutekunst became general manager, he has highly invested the team on the defensive line. Wyatt was picked with the hopes of pairing with another former first round pick, Kenny Clark, to be a dominant duo on the inside. Rashan Gary (2019) and Lukas Van Ness (2023) were both drafted to be a pair of starting edge rushers. Gary was traded this offseason after an up-and-down 2025 and Van Ness is penciled in to start for the first time of his career. If Van Ness can stay healthy, he should be an every-down player both at defensive tackle (in passing situations) and on the outside as an edge rusher. 2. Micah Parsons Parsons stepped into the Packers defense a year ago and was immediately one of the best Packers to rush the passer in the last 30 years. Parsons is one of the league’s top edge rushers and one of the few true field tilting players at the position in the league. With 12.5 sacks, Parsons became the 6th Packers defender to obtain the feet since the 1990’s; joining Reggie White, Aaron Kampman, Clay Matthews, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Za’Darius Smith. If he can be close to what he was in 2025 after coming back from his ACL injury, the Packers defense could be near the top of the league in rushing the passer. 3. Lack of playmaker’s at cornerback A strong defensive front will also hide the Packers biggest weakness on the team which is at the cornerback position. Last year’s starting outside corners Carrington Valentine and Keisan Nixon left much to be desired throughout the 2025 season. The Packers defense finished with just seven interceptions in the regular season, with Nixon recording the only interception by a cornerback. Valentine had his only interception of the season in the playoff loss to the Bears. In two seasons as a primary slot corner Javon Bullard has yet to register an interception. This season, the Packers have high hopes for their top pick Brandon Cisse, who was drafted at pick #52 and should immediately be in the conversation to start in place of either Valentine or Nixon. Free-agent acquisition Benjamin St.-Juste has two interceptions in his five-year career, playing for both the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers. 4. Jonathan Gannon’s defense When the Philadelphia Eagles made their run to the Super Bowl in 2022, a huge reason was Jonathan Gannon’s defensive unit. The 2022 Eagles are just one of four teams in NFL history to have 70 sacks in a season; the other three being 1984 Bears, 1989 Vikings and 1987 Bears. Their defense had four players have at least 11 sacks, one of which the Packers signed in the offseason. Javon Hargrave had his best season of his career with 11 sacks, but he’s entering his 11th season this year, so it is very unlikely he will come anywhere close to duplicating his success of 2022. However, maybe his pass-rush presence will help unlock Wyatt, Van Ness, Karl Brooks and rookie Chris McClellan as better interior rushers this upcoming season. A big key for that Eagles defense was also the play of edge rusher Haason Reddick. Reddick also had a career year, finishing with 16 sacks. He was used as both a standing up linebacker and two-point stance defensive end, which is likely where both Parsons and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper could be used. Cooper showed potential as a rookie in 2024, finishing with 3.5 sacks. 5. Recent Super Bowl winners Since 2020, the following teams have won Super Bowls: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks. And in every case, maybe except for the Chiefs, the other four teams were very strong at rushing the passer. The blueprint for going deep in the NFL playoffs has become making life difficult for the other team’s quarterback. The Bucs and 49ers both did that to Aaron Rodgers in playoff losses in 2020 and 2021. The Eagles defense stymied Patrick Mahomes in their Super Bowl blowout win and last year the Seahawks defense was one of the league’s best in the past decade. The Packers will be relying heavily on Parsons, Wyatt, Hargrave, Van Ness, Cooper and a slew of young draft picks to improve the team’s pass rush in 2026. Filed Under: FeaturedMitchell McLaughlin PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE. __________________________ Mitch McLaughlin is a Packers fan and shareholder residing in Sacramento, California. He will be writing Packers stories each week on Cheesehead TV. He can be found on Twitter: @McLaughlinMitch __________________________   NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: devonte wyatt extensionMicah ParsonsJonathan GannonGreen Bay Packers defense Like 0 pointsdlvr.it