After looking like a major breakout was in the works for Devonte Wyatt, including three sacks in the Green Bay Packers first three games, Wyatt has battled through injury and recent sightings as the missing person on the milk carton.

After hitting the shelf from weeks five through seven with an ankle injury, Wyatt returned to receive his usual snap share but not his normal production. As the Packers begin their December playoff push, with the team hitting stride in all facets, a cherry on top would be to get Wyatt producing how he was earlier this season.

After finishing last year with the 20th most pressures among interior defensive linemen (48), including playoffs, and 26 defensive stops on 550 snaps, Wyatt was geared up for a full breakout in year three. In a juicy role next to Kenny Clark, in a system more designed to maximize Wyatt's strengths, all signals were a go after three weeks. Unfortunately, he sustained the ankle injury in week four, and ever since then, something has not been right with Wyatt.

The knock on Wyatt was that he was not finishing plays in his first two years, a big reason why he only racked up 5.5 sacks last season despite regular explosive entrances into the backfield. He also struggled mightily in run defense under previous coordinator Joe Barry, which was a big reason for T.J. Slaton's emergence, who finished with 74 more regular season snaps than Wyatt in 2023.

But while Wyatt picked up where he left off in terms of being a pass-rush menace, his improvement in run defense and his actual finishing of plays stood out the most in his development earlier this season.

But since returning to play in week eight, Wyatt has only had three total tackles, one QB hit, zero sacks, and zero tackles for loss. He is now PFF's 67th-graded interior defensive lineman (56.4) with at least 200 snaps and 57th in pass rush grade. Yet, somehow, he still has more sacks (3) than Clark and Slaton combined (2). 

Besides the injury, the only real noticeable change that could be impacting Wyatt's production is Colby Wooden's return to the shuffle. Since getting more defensive snaps while Wyatt was out, Wooden has logged roughly 30% of the defensive snaps, compared to a 0% snap share the first four weeks. 

That said, with Preston Smith gone, it seems Jeff Hafley is mixing up his fronts more often, getting a wide range of players steadily involved. Clark, Wyatt, Slaton, and Brooks have all been logging over 35% of the snap count on defense since the bye week, with Wooden and Brenton Cox Jr. also seeing a significant uptick in play.

Wyatt did have some flashes against the Bears in week 11. Still, he followed that up with surprisingly only 17 snaps against the 49ers before looking like maybe a turnaround is on the horizon after registering three pressures against Miami.

And it would be a perfect time to do so, as the Packers face a challenging road ahead to clinch an advantageous playoff spot. The team seems to be clicking at the right time, with even Quay Walker playing arguably the best football of his career over the past few weeks. As the Packers front seven has been showing up in the backfield more often as of late, having Wyatt continuing to reclaim his form from earlier this season, which finally showed up again in weeks 12 and 13, would be a massive jolt. And the Packers need it.

Green Bay has only logged 3.5 sacks all season from interior defensive linemen not named Wyatt, including only two sacks since week five when Wyatt hit the shelf with an injury. Similar to Quarterback Jordan Love, if Wyatt is to the point where the injury is behind him, having him back at full strength will work wonders for the Packers' defense.

His run defense has slipped back into previous worrisome categories as he's got back on track, but over the last two games, he's posted his two best pass rush grades of the season by accumulating five pressures and four hurries. Now it's about getting home to the quarterback again if he has the full might of his 300-pound, athletic freakishness back in full effect.

With fellow former Georgia Bulldog Eric Stokes struggling mightily in coverage this season and star corner Jaire Alexander battling his own injuries, the Packers' secondary would benefit from the pass rush continuing to come through for them as it has these past few games. Wyatt plays a significant role as someone who has proven difficult to keep out of the backfield. While Clark is finally in the sack column and Brooks showing up a bit more, when Wyatt has been at full health, he's been hands down been the most disruptive interior pass rusher for the Packers this season.

What a perfect time for Wyatt to get back on track, too, as the Packers have to decide this offseason if they want to pay Wyatt a $13.1 million fifth-year option. While it seemed like a sure bet early on, Wyatt's ankle injury clearly took a toll on his performance, and it will likely take a big statement from him in their remaining games to earn the contract.