Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers' biggest offseason need lies in the pass rush, not at cornerback

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:16 p.m. ET

Fansided, Andrew Hanlon/FanSided via Lombardi Ave

The Green Bay Packers finished 31st in pass defense last year and struggled mightily in the secondary without Sam Shields and with underwhelming play from Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.

But with multiple free agents looming at the position along with an aging star, Ted Thompson will need to address the pass rush first if he wants to improve on that ranking in 2017.

The Packers’ secondary was bad last year; extraordinarily bad. So on the surface, addressing the back end of the defense would seem like the first thing GM Ted Thompson needs to do this offseason, whether that’s a rare foray into free agency or through the draft, his usual means of business.

But as Lee Corso would tell us, “not so fast my friend.”

Think about this logically. There are two ways a defense can affect an offense’s passing game – through coverage and through pressure.

But which of these is more important?

Well, let’s say a team has a poor secondary with a good pass rush. Theoretically, if the pass rush can affect a quarterback within the first three seconds of a play, even a poor secondary should be able to cover for that long.

On the flip side, if a team has a good secondary with a poor pass rush, that secondary will need to cover for longer assuming that the poor pass rush is unable to move the quarterback off his spot. Even giving Brock Osweiler six seconds in the pocket spells doom for most defenses.

So, where does this place the Green Bay Packers as they head toward free agency and the NFL Draft?

Let’s look more closely at this situation …

Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) reaches for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) as he passes during the first quarter in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Green Bay Packers are doomed without a pass rush

A good pass rush is more important to a pass defense than a good secondary, because putting any quarterback under duress will make any secondary’s job much easier.

This spells doom for Green Bay, because, as fans have been stressing out about the lack of options on the back end, there are some serious dilemmas looming for the Packers’ pass rush.

Sep 25, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Perry (53) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

First, there’s the matter of Nick Perry, which Freddie Boston already covered well here.

Perry may be the Packers’ No. 1 target in free agency after leading the team with 11 sacks, but he will end up costing a pretty penny.

Paying around $12 million a year for a player with a long injury history and only one year of solid production doesn’t necessarily sound like a great idea; and it definitely doesn’t sound like a Ted Thompson idea.

Thompson has been accused of a lot of things, but overpaying on the free agent market has never been one of them.

The second dilemma facing the Green Bay pass rush this offseason is the case of Julius Peppers.

Peppers’ contract with the Packers is up and he’s 37 coming off a season where he played only on passing downs with, at best, average contribution.

If there’s another well our beloved GM doesn’t dip his bucket into very often, it’s the one where he shells out money for aging veterans.

Maybe Pep comes back on a one-year deal into his age-38 season, but that seems relatively unlikely. Even if he does, no one can reasonably expect anything near a double-digit sack season.

Nov 20, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews (52) stands on the field during pre game warm ups prior to the Packers

The final dilemma is perhaps the biggest one, and it involves one of the Packers’ most beloved stars and leaders in Clay Matthews.

Matthews is on the wrong side of 30 and is coming off yet another injury-riddled season – one that was even less productive than the past few. It’s not wrong to think of a scenario where Thompson decides to part ways with Matthews and his $15 million salary cap hit in 2017; the Claymaker’s production is nowhere even with his salary.

There’s also an argument to be made for moving Matthews back inside permanently.

However, given the Perry and Peppers dilemmas, Matthews may be the only one left from last year’s trio of top pass rushers, giving the Packers no choice but to hold onto him and keep him on the outside.

What’s even scarier are the names behind those three on the depth chart.

Oct 9, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell (51) sacks New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) during the first half at Lambeau Field. Rick Wood/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports

The only other outside linebacker under contract is Kyler Fackrell, while Datone Jones is a free agent and Jayrone Elliott is a restricted free agent.

None of those three produced much of anything in 2016.

Even if Thompson brings Jones and Elliott back and holds onto Matthews, Green Bay cannot go into next season with a pass rush quartet of Matthews, Fackrell, Jones and Elliott.

Even bringing back Peppers wouldn’t help much, nor would overpaying to keep Perry, given his history.

Yes, the Packers’ secondary needs help, and going into next year with Randall and Rollins as their top two corners is scary.

But the thought of giving Fackrell and Elliott serious playing time on the outside is downright terrifying, making pass rush an even bigger offseason need; in fact, the biggest offseason need of all.