The defense of the Green Bay Packers used career years from several veteran players to power the unit during Joe Barry’s first season as defensive coordinator. The emergence of so many players helped offset the losses of Za’Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander, two All-Pros who missed a big chunk of the season with injuries.
The bar has been raised. Career years mean raised expectations. The Packers are now banking on several veterans to repeat their production from last year and lead the defense in 2022.
If the Packers are to be elite on defense, the veterans who excelled last season can’t afford a regression.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the many veterans coming off career years:
