It’s been well established at this point that Clay Matthews isn’t exactly a fan of Green Bay’s depth at outside linebacker. Matthews has gone out of his way twice now to try and get the attention of either his teammates or the front office that things need to improve if Green Bay wants to be successful at rushing the passer.

Whether Matthews was correct in calling out his fellow teammates and even throwing them under the bus is a fair question to ask, but the more important question may be: Is his assessment correct? Is there in fact a dearth of talent at the edge rusher position in Green Bay?

For all of Green Bay’s moves during the offseason, the one position they really failed to address was the outside linebacker position. The only resource they used was a very late 7^th round pick on Kendall Donnerson. Suffice it to say that Donnerson will not be expected to play a major role in 2018. Neither will undrafted free agents C.J. Johnson or Naashon Hughes.

This is no knock directly on these three players, in fact I love the value of Donnerson in the 7^th round and I think Johnson is a really intriguing player, but all three will be hard pressed to make the team, much less contribute this season.

That leaves the following players to rise up behind Matthews and Perry: Vince Biegel, Reggie Gilbert, Kyler Fackrell and Chris Odom. These four returning players will be expected to push for not only a roster spot but an opportunity to see significant snaps on defense this upcoming season.

This is pretty nice from Chris Odom. Haven’t seen much of this from GBs pass rushers this season. pic.twitter.com/TR0U7kDUZL

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 10, 2017

While there were some flashes by the aforementioned four players, is it simply too much to expect there to be a major leap by any of them this offseason? While it’s not unheard of for late round or undrafted free agents to be high end pass rushers, it’s certainly rare. If you take a look at the breakdown of edge rushers with 7+ sacks from a season ago, you can see it’s rare to find high quality edge rushers who are drafted after round 2:

• Round 1: Chandler Jones, Cameron Jordan, Ryan Kerrigan, Joey Bosa, Cameron Heyward, Ziggy Ansah, Julius Peppers, Terrell Suggs, Melvin Ingram, Khalil Mack, Von Miller, Brandon Graham, Adrian Clayborn, Jadeveon Clowney, Clay Matthews, Robert Quinn, Jason Pierre-Paul, Bruce Irvin, Dante Fowler, Derrick Morgan, Brian Orakpo, Nick Perry, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett
• Round 2: Calais Campbell, DeMarcus Lawrence, Frank Clark, Preston Smith, Carlos Dunlap
• Round 3: Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Houston, Olivier Vernon, Danielle Hunter
• Round 4: Everson Griffen, Carl Lawson
• Rounds 5-7: Matt Judon
• Underafted: Mario Addison, Cameron Wake, Michael Bennett

When you add everything up 24 of the top 39 top sack artists from 2017 were drafted in the first round and 29 of 39 were drafted in the first two rounds. In general, if you want an elite pass rusher, you need to draft one early. It’s hard to expect a 26 year old Kyler Fackrell to make a major jump in his 3^rd season. Reggie Gilbert looks to finally have a real shot at making the team so maybe he can finally show what he’s capable of and Vince Biegel will have the opportunity to make his second year jump, but it’s rare that these types of players make huge strides and become high end players in the NFL.

It’s also worth noting that one (or more) of these players will almost certainly be starting and will receive significant playing time this season. Nick Perry has yet to play a full 16 game season in his career, and Clay has only stayed healthy a full 16 games twice in the past eight years. Green Bay’s depth will unquestionably be tested.

With all that being said, let’s take a look at Biegel, Fackrell, and Gilbert and what they can each bring to the table should they be called upon.

Reggie Gilbert

The more I watch Reggie Gilbert the more he finds ways to impress me. Gilbert is an interesting player who’s not the most gifted edge rusher in the world but he has a balanced approach to pass rushing and will come at you with a variety of different sets and a fairly substantial move set. I’ve seen him win with effort, power, stunts, closing speed, hand usage, hesitation moves and with bend around the edge. You can see examples of all of these in the clips below. He holds up well at the point of attack and does a pretty nice job of setting the edge.

Reggie Gilbert (#93) had some nice plays in the two games he played in last year. pic.twitter.com/JCib9t8U06

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) May 12, 2018

Hell of a rep by Reggie Gilbert against one of the best in the business. That'll get you noticed. pic.twitter.com/G5BU12Ixcb

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) August 6, 2017

Gilbert needs to play with better awareness. He didn’t get beat on it much but the way he plays could set him up to be susceptible to counters and reverses due to being over-aggressive. He did show good awareness on the screen pass in the Detroit game so there are positive signs. He also needs to anchor better versus double teams and simply play with more consistency.

Reggie Gilbert simply has a knack for finding his way to the quarterback. I’m past the point of these being a fluke. He shows up too often. pic.twitter.com/XRmouFGNa5

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 24, 2018

Here’s another example. It’s not perfect but it certainly gets the job done. pic.twitter.com/rFtVDDVcbz

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 24, 2018

There are a remarkable number of flashes for a player who has played so few snaps. This season will be a tremendous opportunity for Gilbert and he’s shown on tape that he may just be up to the task.

Check out this little hidden gem from Reggie Gilbert two preseasons ago. A little hesitation move followed by the bend around the corner and he just barely misses a sack. The more you watch Gilbert the more he finds ways to impress. pic.twitter.com/f35fWyA4uS

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 24, 2018

Reggie Gilbert had a sack vs DEN but just a cleanup..

Showed ability to rush with a plan and execute moves. He's earned playing time IMO pic.twitter.com/0GgCukttQU

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) August 28, 2017

Vince Biegel

It’s really hard to judge Vince Biegel from a season ago based on how his season played out. He started the season on the PUP list and wasn’t activated until the November 6^th game vs. the Lions. He was then forced to learn on the fly against starting NFL offensive linemen and he just looked overmatched.

Vince Biegel - Human pinball.

I think we’ve all had days in the office that are very relatable to this... pic.twitter.com/gJXGDbe7EA

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) December 14, 2017

This isn’t to knock Biegel; he was behind the 8-ball from the start but he struggled to hold up at the point of attack, was blocked far too easily by tight ends and was on the ground way too often. Biegel ended the season with 16 tackles, no sacks and no turnovers.

Decent spin move from Biegel pic.twitter.com/8HIphCYqgC

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) April 7, 2018

While the end of the season was mostly a wash for the Packers, it was great for players like Vince BIegel to get more experience under his belt. The snaps he was able to accumulate late in the season will provide valuable teaching tools for this upcoming season. Coming out of college Biegel showed the length, quickness, and tenacity to contribute at the NFL level.

This is an impressive play by Biegel in his first game. He shows some quickness off the line and a veteran arm over move to make the play in the backfield. pic.twitter.com/SyItNLCJHV

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) November 11, 2017

We will be able to tell quite quickly if he put in the time in the weight room this offseason and is able to learn from his lessons a season ago.

Not bad from Biegel cutting the angle here pic.twitter.com/sFZ0wEeB1y

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) December 1, 2017

Kyler Fackrell

When you draft a player who is almost in their mid-twenties out of college, the hope is that they won’t have as steep of a learning curve and that they can help you sooner rather than later. The downside is that if they don’t show immediate potential their opportunity for growth is minimal. Unfortunately the latter has been the case for Fackrell.

Fackrell (top of the screen) has to get to the quarterback quicker when matched up 1x1 with a tight end. pic.twitter.com/rBvSLiEicz

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) August 29, 2017

Fackrell has had a handful of nice plays over the course of the past two years but the successes have been few and far between. On most plays he looks the part of rotational edge rusher. He’s ok at holding up and setting the edge and he struggles to make any real impact in the passing game. Those type of players are ok to hang on to if they show upside and are developing young players.

Very promising from K. Fackrell-- Great hand usage, bend around the edge w/ a direct line to the QB--lead to the INT. pic.twitter.com/KwG8l4nCfJ

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) August 16, 2017

The truth is with Fackrell what’s on tape in his first two seasons is what should be expected going forward. He’s not a bad player to have on the roster as a 4^th or 5^th edge rusher who can be an ok backup that can help on special teams, but the upside simply isn’t there.

The Kyler Fackrell highlight video isn’t exactly chalk full of great blocking by the opposing tackles. He will flash every once in a great while but he usually needs some help across from him. pic.twitter.com/0xoD0dOcTO

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 24, 2018

Green Bay made a mistake last year keeping Fackrell over Gilbert and were lucky to get away with it. This year Green Bay may have a choice again between keeping Fackrell or one of the younger players such as Chris Odom or Kendall Donnerson. Green Bay may be wise to stick with the younger player with a higher ceiling going forward.

Yea that play from #Packers rookie OLB Fackrell vs WAS going around the internet was pretty bad.. But there's more. Just watch him... Ughhh pic.twitter.com/V22YhkwRcu

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 23, 2016

After I reviewed all of the tape, I came to two conclusions. The first is that Clay is very correct in his assessment. Sure a couple of these players could take the next step and progress as more than rotational players, but as we look at the roster today it’s four players who weren’t premium draft choices who are largely unproven in their careers thus far.

My second conclusion is that if one of these players is set to make an impact as a true pass rusher, it’s Reggie Gilbert. Gilbert has shown up on tape whenever he’s been given an opportunity. He showed up in preseason two seasons ago, Family Night last year, preseason last year, and finally when he was elevated to the roster he didn’t disappoint either. This isn’t to say that you want any of these four players starting and playing significant playing time but I could legitimately see Gilbert surpassing expectations this season.

There’s always the opportunity that Green Bay brings in a veteran edge rusher late in the offseason. They did do so with Ahmad Brooks last year with mostly mixed results. Green Bay is lucky to have players on the interior of their line who can also collapse the pocket, but if they want to have success off the edge Green Bay absolutely needs one of these young, unproven players to step up big this upcoming year.