The Tape

• Position:  Defensive End
• Age:  23
• Height:  6’ 6”    
• Weight:  296 lbs. 
• 40-yard dash:  4.87 seconds
• 3-cone drill:  7.26 seconds
• Vertical Jump:  32.5”
• Broad Jump:  114”
• Bench Press:  30 reps at 225 lbs.

The Roots

Dean Lowry grew up in Rockford, Illinois and attended Boylan Central Catholic High School where he played football, basketball and one year of baseball.  Coming out of high school, Lowry was a SuperPrep magazine All-Midwest honoree and a Chicago Tribune All-State selection at defensive end.  Lowry was highly recruited by several Big Ten schools as well as the likes of Vanderbilt, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Illinois State and Ball State.  In the end, he opted for the scholarship offer at nearby Northwestern University.

As Lowry entered Northwestern in 2012, he immediately stepped onto the field and began making an impact as a true freshman.  Continuing with solid play through all four seasons, Lowry would make the second-team All-Big Ten team his senior year.  Following are his career stats as a Wildcat:

While continuously improving throughout his career at Northwestern until his senior year, Dean was an anchor on the team’s defense during his final year.  The team would finish their regular season 10-2 and they received an invitation to the Outback Bowl where they would eventually lose to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Lowry entered the 2016 NFL Draft after his senior year.  Leading up through the NFL Combine and into the draft, Lowry was projected by some scouts to be a late 6^th or 7^th round draft pick or a solid undrafted free agent.  But, when day three of the draft rolled around, the Green Bay Packers selected him in the 4^th round.

So far as a Packer

Upon starting his NFL career with the Packers, Lowry would breeze through training camp and make the 53-man roster.  As a rookie, he played in 15 games where he would register two sacks and three tackles for a loss as highlights.  The latter stat, tackles for a loss, has become a niche stat for Lowry through college and now into the pros.  After the 4-6 start in 2016, Lowry came on with his two sacks in much-needed wins against the Texans and Seahawks in December, helping solidify the defense for a stretch run towards the playoffs.  Even though he played a limited role in his rookie year behind the likes of Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark and Letroy Guion, he showed signed that he could be an effective lineman in Green Bay’s defensive scheme.

During the 2017 season, Lowry’s second year in the NFL, he would appear in all 16 regular season games, getting the start in 11 of the contests.  Lowry would register 18 solo tackles with 14 assisted tackles and 2 sacks last season.  His highlight of the season would happen during the week 13 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Lowry scooped up a Jameis Winston fumble cause by Kenny Clark and dashed 62-yards to the Lambeau Field north end zone.  And though his Lambeau Leap left a little to be desired, the play would go on to help Lowry earn the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for week 13.

Pro Football Focus rated Lowry’s 2017 season at a 77.0 overall, or their average rating, for his performance on the season.  He continued to show great improvement throughout the year while still being utilized at various times on the defensive front.  Following are Lowry’s stat lines through his first two years in the NFL:

The Future

How Lowry will be used in the defensive scheme of Mike Pettine moving forward remains to be seen.  With Pettine’s ability to utilize both 4-3 and 3-4 concepts in his defenses, Lowry is currently the only defensive end listed on the roster and having truly played that position for his entire prep and college career, the potential is there for Lowry to shine more in the new defense moving forward.  The Midwest kid is very likable and has a great attitude and grit that Packer fans find admirable in a player.  I’m looking forward to seeing what else he can bring to the table in 2018.