"But after underachieving under Joe Barry, there is no hope for this new and more aggressive form of defense Hafley is expected to install."

you might want to re-think this sentence......

I fear that Preston Smith is going to be the odd man out. He's never played with his hand in the dirt, and he's too big to move to ILB.
Too bad too because any time the D needed a vet to step up, P was always there to do it....

Hey Gil, it's a funny thing that you mention Van Ness did not start any games while @ Iowa. That's a tougher way to become a 1st round pick. I am a Hawkeye fan for a longtime. We have a solid coach in Stubborn Kirk Ferentz, but he is a difficult person to get to change his way of thinking most of the time. He is loyal to a fault to veteran players and seldom makes changes even when his system isn't working, or a player isn't playing well. Like his terrible choices of QBs and his anemic offenses the last 3 years. Enough of that.

What I wanted to point out is, like Van Ness playing behind players he was clearly better than, it has happened before and with a player I think the Packers should sign to eventually replace Preston Smith. He is also a former Hawkeye that sat behind lesser players and is a Bills FA now. A J Epenesa. 1st team All-American his last year and a one-man wrecking crew at Iowa. Iowa played A J @ 290 lbs so he could play Edge and also inside. It worked great and he had plenty of sacks, QB hits, and strip sacks. He stunk up the combine because he was too heavy and dropped to late 2nd round. He has got back down to 260lbs @ 6'5 and had a strong year with 7 sacks and 2 pic six this year.

A J would be a great, inexpensive, young, (25) FA for Green Bay to pick up. Probably in the $5 to $6 mill per year range with his best football ahead of him. Epenesa, and Bobby Wagner @ LB, and Jeremy Chinn @ S, are my 3 cheap, really good FA pickups this year to turn our Defense into a strength.

The question is not who will play DE. We've got plenty of those because the OLBs can all be DEs and maybe Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks as well. LB is where we will need some new players. Nowadays teams only play something like 30 to 40% of snaps in their base defense, but you know what? THAT'S ALOT. And it's especially important against our main division rival, the Lions, who have a very good running game. The Packers probably need to draft an LB in the early rounds and bring in a vet. They may also consider keeping D'Vondre Campbell, depending on his health.

You don't keep Campbell when we can sign Bobby Wagner for $5 mill per year. I will gladly take his 180 Tackles every year instead of overpaid & underperforming Campbell.

Campbell is an $11M hit. Considering the majority of the game we're going to play with only one or two LBs, and we have Walker, I'm thinking Campbell might be finished here.

I'd line up VanNess-Slaton-Clark-Wyatt, I'd play Gary and Walker at LB. That would leave PSmith, and Wooden, and Brooks and McDuffie as rotation guys (Enagbare when he returns,too)

Maybe Smith will be the strongside linebacker. I don't know. I'd like to keep him with the team because he's a good player, but he may not fit.

Right on Leather. No, I wouldn't keep Campbell even if he was cheap and unproductive. Wagner, to me looks like a real bargain even @ $7 mill a year. He made $4 mill last year. Seattle doesn't seem overly interested even though he is still really good, and he is a legend there. He would be a gamechanger for GB in stopping the run.

If we can't get him, I would look at Josey Jewell-Broncos. Not as good tackling numbers as Wagner but who does? Jewell is younger and better in coverage. And is always in the right place.

Or maybe a cheap flyer on Cashman-Texans. In his first real chance to play he really excelled. I liked him in the draft because of coverage skills and he blew up the combine. Ran 4.5. He might be a steal.

By the way Walker is not slow either. Think what he could learn from a vet like Wagner or Jewell.

Any success for a 4-3 / 4-2-5 scheme is dependent on a tightly covered middle field - which, to date, has been the D's achilles heel. That being so, it is imperative to have at least 2 mobile coverage LBs - of which the Packers only have 1 (Walker). So Gutekunst will need to add at least 2 more (1 starter and 1 depth) - which I think that he will do through free agency and the draft.

I like Bobby Wagner for 1 year - even at his advanced age - because he still remains one of the top coverage LBs. If the Packers draft Edgerin Cooper - then the team may be set for the foreseeable future at the position.

As for Campbell - I think that he'll be released. His lack of availability over the last 2 years - plus being on the wrong side of 30 - does not augur well for his future as a GBP.

As far as playing DE. I know he hasn't really shown it yet, but don't forget Cox. He is kind of a sleeper/wildcard DE/Edge for us. I am encouraged that there was no bad news about him last year. In college his head was the only thing holding him back. He has all the talent to be a good one. Maybe playing for pro money has got his attention.

Mid to late round draft guys would be Austin Booker, Brennan Jackson, Jalyx Hunt, Braiden Mcgregor or J J Weaver.

"Although Van Ness did not start any games at Iowa, he did play more snaps than the players ahead of him as he moved up and down the defensive line."
This is so misunderstood by far too many people. LVN had the 2nd most snaps of the entire defense his final year. Iowa starts seniors ahead of everyone else, then pull them after a series or two. The whole LVN not starting thing is grossly misstated by writers to the point where the readers think he's an absolute greenhorn.

He will make a WAY better DE in a 4-3 than Edge in a 3-4. If this 4-3 - 4-2-5 scheme becomes a reality, LVN just might be the leagues biggest year two surprise. He is also fantastic against the run.

I would be more concerned about Smith making the transition. Brooks is another guy I think will benefit from this new scheme. I think Gary will need to grow into it, but will be a quick study and take off in this scheme mostly as a sack guy though (a good one at that).

You gays may remember Ketchum who wrote for Mil Journal for the Packers and other sports. He was once asked why the packers never played a 4-3 and he said, they dont want to spend the money. He went on to say, the very good def ends you need to make it work mostly are early first rounders who command big bucks and the packers dont want to spend that kind of money. Made sense at the time.
The question this is, who do we have that has that strength and speed? Look at the LIons, they took Hutchinson like second or third pick? He is okay but he doesnt have a book end on the other side so he is ineffective being by himself. So were really talking two top defensive ends and at least three back ups to fill in. Ya I want to see how that works out also since you need power, size and speed to pull it off and Van Ness is the only one who comes close.

I could see us targeting an ILB with pick 88 in this draft; if we're lucky, that position will have value at that time. Payton Wilson, Junior Colson, Cedric Gray, Tommy Eichenberg, and even James Williams and TyRon Hopper, might all be possibilities.

There's some variability in how teams approach the "5" part of the 4-2-5. Some teams go with a true nickel. Others like to go with a hybrid S guy.

The transition from 4-3 to 3-4 in GB was really hard for an all-pro DE (Aaron Kampmann)...so those transitions aren't automatic, but I'm way less concerned with the DE spot--where the Packers have plenty of candidates for snaps--than I am that second LB next to Quay and that 5th DB role...not to mention the two safeties...

I could see any one of are current players at DE.
Before the switch to the 3-4-4.
There was-
Johnny Jolly 6’3 325. Ryan Pickett 6’2 338. @ DT
Mike Montgomery 6’5 282 . Aaron Kampman 6’4 260 @LDE
Notice the weight of the 3, over then Kampman.

And I expect Gary to be used like Kampman.
I also expect P. Smith @DE along with VanEss
Keeping both fresh.

But wouldn't it be nice to get another big guy like Cullen Jenkins?
You know the guy that played DE @6'2 305 and his pressures.
Well the best BPA just might be Darius Robinson 6'4 300 Missouri.
And if P.Smith is on his way out. Robinson is a great fit @25.

One of the things I don't get too excited about is using material from the nearly endless array of national sports media dopes who write/talk about the Packers. How much of it is inside info vs. just pure speculation? There's a few writers who are legit, but most are just hot air.

There will be changes but you can't make too drastic of changes simply based on the availability of personnel.

One shift you might see could be another large human playing in the d-line. They have plenty of pass rushers but they need some run stoppers like Gilbert Brown was.

This is going to be a real challenge for Gute and Russ Ball. They need two safeties, at least one corner, a large mobile linebacker and possibly a run stuffer. On offense they likely will need a tackle or a guard. A tackle could move Zach Tom to guard if Runyan leaves. Lots of moving parts on a team that made a playoff run.

Agree, stopping the run makes such a difference, just ask the Cowboys. Yes they have some defensive personnel challenges but the key is we have our QB of the future to build around, poor Bear's fans it has been since 1949 that they had a legit QB and it appears the Viking's will need to find a new QB shortly as well.

Going into next season the DL, WR, and TE groups seem well stocked.

The DL has some good players for Hafley and his coaches to audition for the 4-3. DT has Kenny, Slaton, & Wyatt with strong competition from Brooks and Wooden to earn snaps. Brooks is the guy to watch.

DE has a scary group for opposing teams to plan for with Gary, Van Ness and Preston with competition in the rotation coming from Wooden and even Brooks who thrived as DE in college.

Van Ness is the guy to watch here. I think he could be a matchup challenge at all 4 DL positions.

Gary could really sparkle as a true DE. Mike Wahle made the observation that Gary, standing up as an Edge, actually uses a wasted step at the snap and somewhat negates his great quickness and speed being turned into power. Even then, he still pressured well but the sacks have dropped. In the 4-3 he would now explode like a cannon shot.

With these 8 players the Packers should provide a relentless, rotational attack to wear down OL's by the 4th quarter.

Drafting Sweat would probably have to be at #41. That pick has to be Safety if we want a chance @ Kinchens or Nubin, who will start from day one and help transform the backend of the D. We want the best in this years draft, not the second tier guys.

No way we should spend that pick on a guy playing 2 out of 3 snaps at the most. WE can get a big run stopper type later. 7th round or UFDA NT types are Keyshawn Silver-Kentucky, Elijah Simmons-Tenn, or Jayson Jones-Auburn. All 3 are huge but also decent athletes.

#41 has to be Safety because both the best should be there still.