There’s a lot at stake on the edge and tons of contenders for crucial snaps.
The Packers ’ 2025 draft class is interesting in many ways, but one of the most interesting aspects of it is the position battles it sets up. The Packers didn’t come out of the draft with a single prospect who’s immediately going to be the absolute top dog at his position.
Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, for instance, are noteworthy additions at receiver, but neither one is going to have to be “the guy” from the jump. They’re joining a position group that was already fairly well stocked, even if there were plenty of question marks at that spot going into the draft. How Golden and Williams integrate into the existing receiver pecking order will be fascinating to watch.
But it’s nothing compared to what’s happening at edge rusher.
Yes, the Packers only added two day three picks to their edge rusher group, but the position battle created by adding Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver is going to be something to behold.
It starts with Lukas Van Ness, the biggest name on the depth chart other than Rashan Gary. It’s safe to call Van Ness a disappointing draft pick through his first two seasons, but it’s still possible he could turn things around — after all, he has about as much athletic ability as anyone could possibly ask for. And the stakes are high for Van Ness: the Packers will have to decide on his fifth-year option after this season. Right now, the answer to that question is probably a firm no, but I’m sure Brian Gutekunst would love to be convinced otherwise.
Kingsley Enagbare, meanwhile, has an even more pressing set of contract circumstances to navigate. Namely, he’s a free agent after this offseason. He’ll likely want every possible opportunity to make a good impression on the free market, meaning the stakes are high for the 2022 draft pick. Now he has two more contenders to hold off, and every snap he loses to one of them is a potential missed opportunity for a big payout.
And it’s not just the two draft picks that will be hounding Van Ness and Enagbare. Aaron Mosby and Brenton Cox, both former undrafted free agents, will be doing all they can to earn playing time — and they earned quite a bit last year. Following Preston Smith’s departure via trade, it was Mosby and Cox, not Lukas Van Ness, who picked up the bulk of the newly available snaps. They were both impressive in their own ways in limited playing time last season, and it’s hard to imagine either one will go quietly in the face of new competition.
And then, of course, come Sorrell and Oliver. Sorrell was one of the great stories of the 2025 NFL Draft , showing up in Green Bay on his own dime and then getting the experience of a lifetime when the Packers picked him. But he’s more than that: he’s rare athlete at his positions among all possible prospects, to say nothing of guys taken on the last day of the draft, and he actually pairs that athleticism with a decent bit of productivity, an exceedingly rare combo for a day three pick.
Oliver, meanwhile, is an entertaining outlier. While the Packers have historically gravitated toward big, powerful edges, Oliver is small and quick, pairing pass rushing burst with a physical profile more at home among off-ball linebackers. Even if he’s just different from the rest of the Packers’ pass rushers, that’s enough to be interesting.
I expect this is going to be a wild competition to watch. There is a ton at stake for the top-end of the depth chart, but the bottom has everything to play for, too — with the added upside of elite athleticism and the chance to hit the ground running in a scheme that can maximize their skills. It’s going to be fun to see, and I can’t wait for training camp to get here.
Continue Reading @ Jon Meerdink
Jon Meerdink wrote: