The Green Bay Packers’ prized free-agent acquisition provided a little taste of his impressive pass-rushing abilities during Tuesday’s training camp practice.
Za’Darius Smith, the Packers’ new, $66 million edge rusher, beat All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari twice in a one-on-one pass-rushing drill.
Reporters at Ray Nitschke Field documented the results:
Bakhtiari, a first-team All-Pro last season, is widely considered one of the best pass-blocking offensive linemen in the NFL, so any player scoring a pair of wins against him in a one-on-one drill is certainly noteworthy. In theory, if Smith can beat Bakhtiari, he can beat just about anyone.
Before signing a four-year deal with the Packers in free agency, Smith tallied a career-high 8.5 sacks and 25 quarterbacks during a breakout season with the Baltimore Ravens last season. The Packers believe he’ll anchor the team’s new-look pass-rush, both as a traditional edge rusher and as a movable chess piece for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
So far, so good. Beating Bakhtiari on the practice field will always open eyes.
However, keep in mind: Players often use individual drills to work on new things or give teammates a certain kind of look, so it’s easily possible to overrate a result in a few drills in late July.
The wins from Smith certainly got coach Matt LaFleur’s attention.
“I heard about it,” LaFleur said after practice Tuesday. “I haven’t watched the tape yet, so when we’re done here, I’m going to go watch those one-on-ones.”
The Packers’ top pass-rusher going against the team’s top pass-blocker will only help both players get better.
“Dan Quinn used to always says this, iron sharpens iron,” LaFleur said. “You want your best going against each other. That’s why we rep our ones together all the time.”
