Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt sacks Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy on November 23, 2025.
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The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.
Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.
Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.
“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.
Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.
Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.
Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.
“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.
Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn’t have a first round draft pick.
Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.
At No. 9 is defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.
No. 9
Devonte Wyatt, DT
Last season
Wyatt started all 10 games he played last season before being placed on the injured reserve list with a broken fibula and a torn ligament in his ankle. Wyatt also missed Weeks 6-7 due to a knee injury.
Wyatt finished the year with 27 tackles (15 solo) and ranked third on the team with four sacks. His six tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits both ranked fourth on the team, despite the fact he played just 33.84% of the snaps. Wyatt also finished fifth on the team with 16 pressures and added two passes defensed.
Wyatt’s grade from Pro Football Focus was 52.9, which ranked 88th among 134 qualified interior defensive lineman. His PFF pass-rush grade of 71.4 ranked 29th and his run-defense grade of 38.7 ranked 118th.
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 in sacks and quarterback hits.
In 2024, Wyatt was second on the Packers in sacks (5.0), quarterback hits (9.0) and tackles for loss (9.0), 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.
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
The Packers picked up the fifth and final year of Wyatt’s rookie contract in May, 2025, meaning he’ll play the 2026 season on a guaranteed fifth-year option worth $12.938 million.
It’s unclear, though, how much interest the Packers have in trying to sign Wyatt to a long-term deal.
Wyatt has been a disruptive interior pass rusher and notched 16.0 sacks in four seasons, but his run defense hasn’t been as good. Wyatt is also 28 ½ and still playing on his rookie deal, meaning he’d be 29 when his second contract begins.
For now, Wyatt must stay healthy and try proving he’s worth a hefty second deal — whether that’s in Green Bay or elsewhere.
“I’m definitely one of a kind,” Wyatt said. “I definitely am. I’m definitely one of them players that you need on your team, that guy who can bring the energy, that aggressiveness, that playing hard. But I know what I bring to the team and I want to bring more though.”
They said it …
“We really like (him). I mean … he’s gotta get over the injury thing and make sure he can stay available to us, but when he’s out there he’s very, very impactful, not only in the run game but as a pass rusher as well.” — Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Wyatt
“Obviously, he needs to remain healthy for the course of the year, but I believe his best ball is ahead of him. He can rush the passer, he can stop the run. He has an immaculate play style that I love. He’s a vocal guy. He’s taking more of a leadership role. And the guys like him a lot and I like him a lot. He’s been a very, very good person to bounce ideas off of.” — Packers defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase on Wyatt
“Me personally, I know I got a lot more in the tank. I feel like I got a lot more in the tank than what I put out there (in 2025) or the past three years I had. I know I have a lot more and I feel like this injury right here really is going to help me get above this hump, just showing y’all what I have. I feel like double-sack year, Pro Bowl, All-Pro, all the personal goals, Super Bowl, all of that. That’s what I feel like I have to be at.” — Wyatt on his goals in 2026
The Top 30
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
