The Most Important Packers: No. 17 — Devonte Wyatt
The Green Bay Packers went 11-6 last season, sweeping the NFC West and the AFC South along the way.
Overall, though, no one in the building was happy.
The Packers failed to build on their terrific finish to the 2023 campaign, settled for the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs, and lost a Wild Card game to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.
Afterwards, general manager Brian Gutekunst turned up the heat on everybody in the building.
'We need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency,' Gutekunst said. 'I think it's time we started competing for championships.'
Those are fair expectations.
The Packers return 20 of 22 starters, and appear to have upgraded the roster via free agency and the draft. With several third and fourth year players trending upward, Green Bay should be poised to make a move.
'I think they're ready,' Gutekunst said.
Now, it's time for the Packers to prove their G.M. right.
Green Bay's first training camp practice is July 23. Between now and then I will count down the '30 Most Important Packers' heading into the 2025 campaign.
At No. 17 is defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.No. 17
Devonte Wyatt, DT
Last season
Wyatt was second on the team in sacks (5.0), quarterback hits (9.0) and tackles for loss (9.0) last season, despite missing three games with an ankle injury. He also had two fumble recoveries.
Wyatt had three sacks, five quarterback hits and a fumble recovery in the first four games. Then he missed Weeks 5-7 and never had the same impact after returning on Oct. 27.Career to date
Wyatt was a first round draft pick in 2022 who spent the first three months of his rookie season primarily watching. In fact, after 13 games in 2022, Wyatt had just three pressures, no sacks and no quarterback hits.
Wyatt's final four games — in which he had five pressures, 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits — gave the Packers hope that his potential could eventually lead to production. So Green Bay let starters Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed walk in free agency and increased Wyatt's role.
In 2023, Wyatt began proving why he was a first round draft pick, posting 36 tackles (18 solo), 5.5 sacks, six tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.
Wyatt played 49.7% of the defensive snaps that season, tied for fourth on the team in tackles for loss and ranked fourth on the team in sacks and quarterback hits.
The 6-foot-3, 304-pound Wyatt had just one elite season at Georgia. That came in 2021 when Wyatt had 39 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 14 starts on a Bulldogs team that won the national championship.
Wyatt, who began his career at Hutchinson Community College before transferring to Georgia, then went to the 2022 NFL Combine and ran the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.77 seconds — one of the fastest times by a defensive lineman.
Physical gifts have never been an issue for Wyatt, though. It's the mental side.
He scored an 8 on the 50-question Wonderlic test before the 2022 draft, less than half the NFL average of 19.
'That's a big deal. Don't kid yourself,' one NFL scout told me about low Wonderlic scores. 'Now some guys can overcome those scores. But a lot of times when guys bust, you go back and look and sure enough, that Wonderlic score was low.'
Wyatt was also arrested in 2020 for three misdemeanor charges — family violence, criminal trespass, and damage to property. While the charges were later dropped, there were several questions about his character before the draft.
'Obviously he had a couple hiccups there at Georgia,' Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said after drafting Wyatt.Outlook
Wyatt played 33.24% of the defensive snaps last year due to injury and a log jam up front. With T.J. Slaton's departure in free agency, Wyatt's role should increase dramatically.
The Packers picked up Wyatt's fifth-year option in May, and his salary for 2026 will be $12.938 million.
Both sides would like to get a long term deal done, though, making this a critical year for Wyatt.They Said It …
'He's a quick twitch-up, twitchy defensive lineman and a guy that can really explode off the football. So, that is a benefit of this style of system where you're trying to, we're more of a penetrating front as opposed to like a read-and-react playing technique. You just want to try to create chaos and carnage in front of you by blowing up the man in front of you.' — Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Wyatt'D-Wy was probably our most consistent pass rusher from the inside this year.' — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Wyatt after the 2024 season'I definitely do love the system we're in. I'm a lot more comfortable and I can move a lot faster. Just being aware of what's going on in the system. … Definitely playing in this system for this first year, it gives me an advantage for next year and being in this system again.' — Wyatt on playing in the Packers' 4-3 defenseTHE TOP 30
• No. 30 — RB MarShawn Lloyd
• No. 29 — WR Dontayvion Wicks
• No. 28 — S Javon Bullard
• No. 27 — WR Savion Williams
• No. 26 — LB Isaiah McDuffie
• No. 25 — OL Jordan Morgan
• No. 24 — WR Matthew Golden
• No. 23 — CB Carrington Valentine
• No. 22 — WR Romeo Doubs
• No. 21 — QB Malik Willis
N0. 20 — DE Lukas Van Ness
• No. 19 — RG Sean Rhyan
• No. 18 — LT Rasheed Walker
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