Packers Just Named A SURPRISING Starter

or Nick let's talk about the Green Bay Packers the Packers have been an exciting young team for a long time now the last year or so has been very very impressive but there's one guy in particular who has been really impressive this training camp and has actually gotten a lot of starting reps I'm Andrew and this is Saturday morning [Music] inspection right Nick as I alluded to there's been one guy throughout training camp who's really impressed and kind of surprised a lot of people that he has gotten most of the starting reps on the defensive line let's get into this article and then we can talk more about it on the other side this of course from over on ACME Packing Company it says while it was always assumed that three-time pro bowler Kenny Clark listed at a kind 314 lbs was going to start on the defensive line this year the upset of Camp has been that it's TJ Slayton listed at 330 lb and not Devonte Wyatt listed at 304 lb who is seeing starting reps next to Clark through 11 practices uh through 11 Packers training camp practices the duo of Slayton and Clark has been the starting Duo for the day nine times the exceptions were one practice where Wyatt a former first round pick got the nod over Slayton and another where Clark took a veteran rest day this is really interesting and don't have to take my word for it we have the Packers depth chart here as well and as you can see Slayton is the starter listed right next to Kenny Clark you can see him right there number 93 on the dup chart Nick I'm curious what your thoughts are this is really interesting so Packers fans before we get to Nick I want to know in the comment section below we're talking preseason we're about to see some preseason football here and there's some been some surprising guys so let us know who are you the most excited to see in preseason is there anyone that you really want to see get to finally see them hit the field against another team see what they're made of let us know in the comment section below and while you're there check out the description below the video we've got a really great recommended reading book for you it is none other than Playmakers by Mike Florio it's the book we've been recommending all season and we're still recommending it today has a great dive into the ins and outs of the NFL so if you want to check it out it'll really help us out check out our Amazon affiliate Link in the description below the video it helps us and it cost you absolutely nothing so if you're interested in getting the book check it out in the description below the video but Nick what are your thoughts on the surprise starting Reps for Slayton so when you first the Top Line the top story right first round pick not earning starting reps but when you actually dig deep and think about a little bit more it makes sense when you look at Wyatt he's much more a disruptor as a defensive tackle much more of a you know get after the quarterback back you know he's much more of a not traditional run stuffing kind of guy right I know he's a big guy at 300 plus pounds but you look at Slayton he is traditionally 65 330 he is a space eater the classic old school interior defensive lineman that you put into the game to stop the run and if you look at the Packers competition their top competition in NFC North last season two of the top five rushing teams in the National Football League were NFC North opponents talking about the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears right the lions are going to be pretty good again this year I think all understand this and the Bears are probably going to be better this year with the addition of Caleb Williams they're probably going to have almost by default a better passing game so again it's going to be much tougher for the Green Bay Packers in terms of defensive matchups they got to be good against the Run they got to be physical they got to be tough they got to be big and this is where it's very tactical by new defensive coordinat Jeff Halley we're seeing the entire NFL right now basically over the past five years or so go small everyone's trying to go small everyone's trying to figure out okay maybe just two linebackers on the field maybe just one linebacker and one safety right every single offense at minimum now has three wide receivers on the field at all times a lot of them have four most of the time defenses have gotten really small and when teams can run the ball well like the lions like the Bears like other competition in the NFC like the San Francisco 49ers they can absolutely decimate those smaller defenses look at what the Packers did for example to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs you look at a team like the Detroit Lions making a deep playoff run you look at the 49ers of course going all the way to the Super Bowl the NFC the best teams in the NFC are all all about running the football and in order to stop them you've got to be big above all else it's not about getting after the passer as much as it was maybe five or six years ago when it comes to those interior defensive linemen you got to be big you got to take up space and you got to get teams in second and nine if you can do that then you can unleash the Garry's the vanessas the Carl Brooks and get after the quarterback right but if you don't get to that second and nine it doesn't matter and Packers fans you proved it right this is what the formula you created when you took michah Parsons in that Cowboys pass out of the playoff game in Dallas last year when you absolutely obliterated the Cowboys on the ground running the football and then play action on top of it right you completely took Mya comp Parson's one of the great defensive players in a phenomenal pass rusher completely out of the equation teams now are going to see that teams are seeing the strategy and they say okay we got to find a way to stop the run we have to let our pass rushers get to a pass rush opportunity and that's exactly what the Packers are doing here by having Slayton be the starter I think it's a really smart move I get why it's surprising in terms of a headline kind of thing but I give halfly a lot of credit I think this is a great move making Slayton uh the starter right now yeah Nick and you speak of Halle we speak about new defensive coordinator in here a guy that's new to the team trying to make Impressions with everybody and sometimes I feel like it would be easy you know first round pick versus fifth round pick get the first round guy in there he's disruptive he does a lot of really good stuff he's a good player we're not saying these not but it's very interesting and I really like that he was like you know it doesn't really fit the scheme I'm trying to run to have this guy in here actually this fifth round pick Slayton he fits my scheme pretty well and I think he's going to be a solid player for me there so I'm going to put him in there instead I really like that hle is coming in here he's not really just going to be a yes man he's not going to be a guy that's going to put in you know a first round pick for first round pick sake this is a guy who's going to pick the best players on this roster that fit his scheme the best and I think in today's NFL sometimes coaches aren't doing doing that it's kind of a rarity nowadays we see the better teams are the teams they're like hey this person fits our scheme the best they're able to do the most for us so let's have them start it's not always about you know pedigree and Draft pick status and those kind of things so I really props to Halley I'm really impressed by what he's doing so far and I think we're going to see a very much improved Green Bay Packers defense hit the field this fall and there is room for improvement they finished 18th against the run last year again according to PFF and look don't take rward forward in terms of what Wyatt brings to the table if you look at PFF last year look at his numbers as a pass rusher phenomenal 80 plus that's great as a run Defender 46 that's terrible right and it doesn't mean Wyatt's not going to play it means that half is going to use him in pass R situations put him in situations to be successful and rely on Slayton once again to get those tough NFC Rivals that could run the football the 49ers right another potential playoff match up when you look in the division of course you look at the Lions you look at at the Bears getting those teams to Second and 10 second and N that's why slayton's going to be the starter I think this is I know it's why it's a surprising move cuz a lot of people didn't see it coming but I think it's a really smart move right here by the new Packers DC