When Brian Gutekunst decided to trade away Kenny Clark and two first-round picks for Micah Parsons, he wasn’t just betting on Parsons being a game-changer. He was also betting on Devonte Wyatt to take a huge step forward. Clark’s departure made Wyatt the eldest and longest-tenured defensive tackle on the roster. Kenny Clark left some huge shoes to fill. Fortunately for Gutekunst, Wyatt has been up for the challenge.

Prior to the 2025 season, Devonte Wyatt was a rotational role player. His forte was rushing the passer. He had never played more than 50% of the defensive snaps until this season. But the Packers saw enough in those limited snaps. "He's a physical, explosive guy. When he was healthy last year, this is what we saw,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said earlier this season. “He's playing more snaps. We've just got to keep him going."

Wyatt was off to a great start this season. He was improved against the run and disruptive when rushing the passer. Unfortunately, a knee injury has kept Wyatt off the field recently, and his absence is very noticeable. Green Bay’s run defense without Wyatt has been somewhat inconsistent and occasionally problematic. Their pass rush isn’t as disruptive or balanced. The fourth-year defensive tackle has become one of the most important players on Green Bay’s defense, and they need him back as soon as possible.

Not great for the Packers. Micah Parsons singled out Devonte Wyatt’s injury on Sunday when asked why the defense dropped off. Called Wyatt a dominant player.

“He’s underlooked in his value on this team.” https://t.co/2bDOhDeHfc

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 30, 2025

The Run Defense Has Taken a Hit

With a healthy Devonte Wyatt, the Packers’ run defense was really strong. To kick off the season, the Packers held the Lions to 22 rush attempts for 46 yards (2.1 yards per carry). Detroit’s longest rush of the day was a 14-yard rush by Jahmyr Gibbs. That one rush accounted for 14 of Gibbs’ 19 total rushing yards. If you exclude that one rush, the Lions only rushed 21 times for 32 yards (1.5 yards per carry). Week 2 against Washington was just as successful. The Commanders rushed 19 times for 51 yards (2.7 yards per carry). Their longest rush of the day was only eight yards. It would be hard to ask for a better start than that.

Week 3 was when the rush defense began to falter a bit. The Browns rushed 19 times for 96 yards (5.1 yards per carry). Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins had a nice day on the ground, but he really only had two significant rushes: one for 38 yards and another for 14 yards. That’s a combined 52 yards on just two carries, both of which came in the fourth quarter, when the defense was physically run down. Aside from those two plays, the Packers held the Browns to 17 rushes for 44 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Another notable aspect about this performance - Devonte Wyatt hurt his knee during the second half. He only ended up playing 38 snaps - quite a few than what he had played in Weeks 1 and 2.

The Cowboys also found success on the ground against the Packers. They rushed 26 times for 117 yards (4.5 yards per carry). It was not a good day for the Packers’ run defense. They gave up multiple rushes of ten yards or more to a mediocre running back who was running behind a banged-up offensive line. Notably, Devonte Wyatt departed the game with that same knee injury he suffered in Week 3 and only played 13 total snaps. His main replacement, Nazir Stackhouse, was forced into playing 27 snaps and performed poorly. PFF gave him a run defense grade of 28.9. It’s safe to say they missed Wyatt in Dallas.

Devonte Wyatt’s knee injury forced him to miss Green Bay’s Week 6 matchup with Cincinnati. Heading into Sunday’s game, Cincinnati was the worst rushing offense in the entire league. They had only rushed 92 times for 285 yards (3.1 yards per carry). Against Green Bay, the Bengals rushed 16 times for 55 yards (3.4 yards per carry). At first glance, that seems like a good day for the Packers' front seven, but those numbers are a bit misleading. The Bengals started running more efficiently in the second half. Chase Brown, Cincinnati's top rushing option, gained 42 of the team's rushing yards on just nine carries (4.7 yards per carry), which is the most efficient day he's had all season.

Devonte Wyatt might not be the greatest run-stopping defensive tackle in the world, but he’s by far the best one on the team, and he plays a key role in the Packers’ team run defense. This Packers’ team misses his presence up front in more ways than one, but especially against the run. His replacements have been okay, but they aren’t ready to carry the load on their own. Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks are better pass rushers than run defenders, and the rookies have a lot to learn before they will be able to consistently hold up against quality offensive linemen.

FYI, I hope Packers Nation realizes just how important Devonte Wyatt is to the Packers defense!?!

It’s a team sport, but you need great players on your team!

— Tazim Wajid Wajed (@NFLHitman33) September 30, 2025

The Impact on the Pass Rush Is Noticeable

Rushing the passer has always been Devonte Wyatt’s strong suit. Even when he wasn’t playing substantial snaps as a younger player, he still showed signs of being an impactful pass rusher. As a team, the Packers’ pass rush this season is the best it’s been in years. The addition of Micah Parsons, combined with the improvement of the younger players, has allowed the Packers to pressure the quarterback more consistently. Unfortunately, the pass rush is noticeably worse without Wyatt on the field.

Similar to the run defense, a healthy Devonte Wyatt makes a huge difference. Against Detroit, the Packers’ pass rush was able to generate 19 total pressures and sack Jared Goff four times. Wyatt accounted for four pressures, a sack, and a quarterback hit. His four pressures were the second most on the team. Wyatt was even more productive against Washington, where he had seven pressures, a sack, and a quarterback hit. His seven pressures were the second most of anyone on the team again. As a team, Green Bay’s pass rush combined for 33 total pressures on Jayden Daniels and sacked him six times. The Packers really need Wyatt back as they start to face better offensive lines, or the pass rush could really struggle. It’s similar to how students facing challenges in their studies may find themselves needing help to stay on top of their work. For example, when you're overwhelmed with assignments, it's sometimes helpful to find writer help at essayservice.com to make sure everything gets done effectively and on time, just like how the Packers need Wyatt back to balance their defensive efforts.

There was a clear difference with the Packers’ pass rush in Week 3 against the Browns, just like there was with the run defense. As a unit, the Packers generated 24 pressures on Joe Flacco, but only recorded two sacks. Wyatt only accounted for two of the pressures, but also played fewer snaps than in the previous two weeks. The game script also allowed for fewer pass-rushing opportunities. Green Bay’s other defensive tackles only combined for three total pressures.

Green Bay’s pass rush against Dallas was basically just Micah Parsons. As a team, the Packers generated 19 pressures - ten of them coming from Parsons. Wyatt only played seven pass-rush snaps before leaving the game with that knee injury, so he wasn't able to make much of a mark on the game. Without Wyatt, no one was able to generate consistent pressure, except for Parsons, and that was against a beat-up offensive line. The Packer could have really used Wyatt in pass-rushing situations to try and force Dak Prescott off of his spot and disrupt the timing on some of his throws.

Cincinnati is not a good pass-blocking team. They had given up 15 sacks prior to Sunday’s contest. Before getting hurt, Burrow was getting sacked on almost 12% of his snaps. Their other quarterbacks have two of the longest time-to-throw rates in the league (Jake Browning at 2.77 and Joe Flacco at 2.85). It was a tale of two halves for the Packers without Wyatt. The first half was decent for the Packers' pass rush. They generated 11 pressures, albeit most of them coming from the edge rushers. The second half was an entirely different story. Green Bay's pass rush really struggled to get home. Warren Brinson was thrust into playing 19 snaps after not playing any in the previous four games. The interior defensive line was unable to generate any pressure throughout the entire second half. On the day, the Packers were only able to sack Joe Flacco once, and that was just an eye-popping play by Lukas Van Ness. The Bengals' offensive line is always amongst the worst in the league, yet the Packers’ defensive tackles were unable to take advantage.

Through the first four games, Wyatt had recorded the second-most pressures on the team (13) and the third-most sacks (2.0). That’s despite missing time in two of the four games. He’s able to generate a strong and disruptive rush from the interior. Jeff Halfey shared, "He's been such a good pocket push guy in his pass rush. Certainly, he was missed in that game a lot.” His impact also helps the guys on the edge. Ignore Wyatt, and he will make a play himself. Focus on Wyatt, but then that takes attention away from Parsons and Rashan Gary. The Packers really need him back as they start to face better offensive lines, or the pass rush could really struggle.

There was and has been a lot of talk about these picks but — the offense NEEDS Watson. The defense NEEDS Wyatt.

— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) October 12, 2025

Wyatt Has Become One of the Unsung Heroes

On a defense that has Xavier McKinney, Edgerrin Cooper, Rashan Gary, and Micah Parsons, it’s really easy to take Devonte Wyatt’s contributions for granted. It’s taken four seasons for Wyatt to put it all together, but he has turned into a key piece on Green Bay’s defense. Matt LaFleur said it best, “He’s underlooked in his value on this team.”

The Packers need Wyatt back as soon as possible. His knee injury was described as “week-to-week,” which makes it hard to pinpoint when he will return. He didn’t practice last week at all, so it’s probably fair to assume that he may miss more time. The Packers play the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Carolina Panthers in the coming weeks. Obviously, the Packers want him back as soon as possible, but they really will need him back in time to face the Philadelphia Eagles on November 10th.

In the meantime, someone else will need to step up, or Jeff Halfey will need to get creative. On Sunday, the Packers lined Barryn Sorrell at the three-tech spot. They played Warren Brinson more than they would've liked. Neither of those trials was super successful. Whatever they do moving forward, they need to get back to dominating the trenches, like they did in Weeks 1 and 2. Devonte Wyatt was a key piece in that. Jeff Hafley even went so far as to say that, “He’s having a great year — not a good year, a great year. I hope he’s back very shortly.” So do we, coach.

Devonte Wyatt tried to intercept the spike 😅 pic.twitter.com/z5FTSk41eq

— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2025