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Defensive line is one of the biggest needs for the Green Bay Packers in this year’s draft, and fortunately for them, 2025 has provided one of the deepest classes at the position in recent memory.
Not every prospect will fit what the Packers are looking for though, whether that is from a playstyle standpoint or in terms of athletic profile. What exactly is Green Bay looking for? Well, it somewhat depends on what type of defensive tackle we are talking about.
In your bog standard, non-plus-sized defensive tackle, a common thread in their draft strategy has been speed.
Since Brian Gutekunst became general manager, every defensive tackle he has drafted under 330 pounds has run the 40-yard dash in at worst 5.08 seconds, with a 10-yard split of 1.78 seconds or better, and has earned a "good" speed score using the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) model.
Going back to Ted Thompson’s tenure, this standard held true as well, at least in the first three rounds.
Gutekunst’s defensive tackles have all been at least 6-2 ½ and 287 pounds, with at least 31.5” arms. There is a sliding scale for athleticism that can be observed based on how big the prospect is.
For example, Kingsley Keke is the smallest defensive tackle Gutekunst has drafted, but was a strong athlete, with "great" RAS explosion and agility scores. Karl Brooks on the other hand had "poor" explosion and agility, but "good" size, compared to Keke’s "poor" size.
The point is it is not a one size fits all approach. There is nuance. This also comes into play once defensive tackles get above 330 pounds and become nose tackles.
Going back to B.J. Raji, the Packers have drafted three nose tackles, with the other two being T.J. Slaton and Jonathan Ford.
They came in different sizes, with Raji only being 6-1 ⅖ and Ford just over 6-5. Slaton was a well above average athlete with a 7.96 RAS, whereas Ford had just a 3.55.
One thing they did all have in common, no matter how bad their other athleticism was, was at least "good" explosion for a nose tackle, characterized mainly by a vertical jump of at least 29”. This is a way of showing explosiveness which the Packers seem to have valued in nose tackles.
Regarding on-field traits, like with most positions, the Packers generally value the versatility to play different spots along the line of scrimmage in defensive linemen.
If you look at Gutekunst’s draftees’ PFF grades in college, they are usually well balanced in terms of grades against both the run and pass, and there is often good production against the pass in terms of pressures and/or sacks.
With all that in mind, here are the top five Packers types at defensive tackle in the 2025 NFL draft:
The only nose tackle on the list, because he is the only one with a draftable ranking on the consensus big board that has the explosivekness they look for. Grant is an exciting prospect with power and impressive quickness and athleticism for a big man.
He posted a 7.18 RAS, or 8.34 as a nose tackle, which is good, but not the kind of freakshow athleticism shown by Jordan Davis for example, and it is that level of athlete Gutekunst is usually looking for in the first round, where Grant is projected to go.
He ticks plenty of boxes in terms of age (21) and production against the pass as well as the run (50 pressures the last two seasons combined), but it is unlike Gutekunst to take non-elite athletes in round one, so he may not be what they are looking for.
However, if the Packers want to add a nose tackle in this draft after losing Slaton – they may not, due to the change in scheme requiring more one-gappers than two-gappers – the pool to pick from is basically Grant and very little else, at least in terms of what they look for athletically.
Michigan's Kenneth Grant is a perfect first-round fit for Packers
One of the favorites of Packers fans throughout the process, Harmon is a terrific and probably still underrated prospect at No. 28 on the consensus big board.
The 21-year-old is a real load for offensive linemen to handle on every snap, whether it is in the run or pass game. He is capable of playing various roles along the defensive line and had 55 pressures in his lone season at Oregon.
He boosted his stock at the combine, running a 4.95 40-yard dash at 6-4 ⅖ and 313 pounds, good for a "great" RAS speed grade.
The main problem with his profile? He did not do any other athletic testing. The Packers have not drafted a player in the first round with as little testing since Gutekunst became GM.
There is some tightness on his tape, and since Harmon is seemingly healthy, there is a simple explanation as to why he skipped every test except the 40; he probably would not have performed particularly well.
In addition, Harmon’s "great" speed, while impressive, may actually not be enough for Gutekunst, who has used eight out of his nine first-round picks on players with "elite" speed scores, with Jordan Love the only exception.
Harmon would be a great pick for the Packers, but there are legitimate reasons it may not happen even if he is on the clock at pick 23.
With the draft less than two weeks away, it is going somewhat under the radar that Sanders, ranked 61st on the consensus big board, is the leader in the clubhouse to be the defensive lineman Green Bay ends up drafting in the first two rounds.
At just over 6-3 ⅔ and 297 pounds (listed as heavy as 305 pounds in Dane Brugler’s draft guide), he did all the athletic testing and achieved an elite 9.38 RAS, including "great" scores for speed and explosion, as well as "good" size and agility scores.
He is a versatile defensive lineman who moved up and down the line of scrimmage in a four-man front. Sanders is 21 years old and had 10 sacks and 60 pressures across the last two seasons. His PFF grades were well balanced in pass and run defense and improved each year.
A latecomer to football who did not set his sights on the sport fully until his junior year of high school, Sanders is exactly the kind of ascending, "best football ahead of him" prospect Gutekunst likes.
Sanders is a fun player to watch, causing chaos at the line of scrimmage, shooting gaps and barreling into the backfield with his fun blend of quickness and power, but is also able to eat his vegetables against the run.
The Packers are unlikely to get out of the first three rounds without dipping into this deep defensive line group. Sanders was in Green Bay on a pre-draft visit and stands out as their type of guy.
Another fringe Round 2 or 3 option is Farmer, who stands at just over 6-3 and 305 pounds, with massive 35” arms, and is ranked 74th on the consensus big board.
He has a "good" RAS speed grade despite just missing the 5.08 mark at 5.11 but had a strong 1.76 10-yard split. He also performed well in the jumps and has a 7.89 RAS overall, although he skipped the agility testing.
Farmer, 22, had 13 sacks over the last two seasons at Florida State, and performed well at the Senior Bowl, having a back-and-forth battle with potential first-round pick Grey Zabel all week.
His PFF grades of 61 and 46.2 against the run in 2024 and 2023 respectively are a cause for concern though, and he is a bit more one-dimensional than the Packers are likely to want. Still, he could be a disruptive presence to add to their defensive line.
At 6-3 ½ and 285 pounds, Roberts played both defensive tackle and defensive end at SMU, and over the last two seasons tallied an incredible 131 pressures and 21 sacks. He is arguably an athletic fit for the Packers at both positions, running a 4.78 in the 40 with a 1.67 10-yard split.
He graded better in the RAS system as a defensive tackle than as an end, with a 9.35 overall score at DT, including "elite" speed and explosion scores. Roberts did however skip the 3-cone, and his shuttle only ranked in the 40th percentile for defensive tackles.
On tape, Roberts rushes inside and out and wins with power and his long 33 ⅔” arms, which he uses to bull rush consistently and effectively, while also showing some quickness and hand skill.
As his agility testing suggests, he struggles to bend the edge, so sticking inside may suit him better at the next level. He does his part in the run game plenty well enough to be a potential three-down player, but at minimum he should be a useful, versatile sub rusher.
Ranked 159th on the consensus big board, Roberts visited with the Packers in the pre-draft process and would be a fun Day 3 pick to add some juice to their pass rush.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Top 5 'Packers type' defensive linemen in 2025 NFL draft
Continue reading...
Not every prospect will fit what the Packers are looking for though, whether that is from a playstyle standpoint or in terms of athletic profile. What exactly is Green Bay looking for? Well, it somewhat depends on what type of defensive tackle we are talking about.
In your bog standard, non-plus-sized defensive tackle, a common thread in their draft strategy has been speed.
Since Brian Gutekunst became general manager, every defensive tackle he has drafted under 330 pounds has run the 40-yard dash in at worst 5.08 seconds, with a 10-yard split of 1.78 seconds or better, and has earned a "good" speed score using the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) model.
Going back to Ted Thompson’s tenure, this standard held true as well, at least in the first three rounds.
Gutekunst’s defensive tackles have all been at least 6-2 ½ and 287 pounds, with at least 31.5” arms. There is a sliding scale for athleticism that can be observed based on how big the prospect is.
For example, Kingsley Keke is the smallest defensive tackle Gutekunst has drafted, but was a strong athlete, with "great" RAS explosion and agility scores. Karl Brooks on the other hand had "poor" explosion and agility, but "good" size, compared to Keke’s "poor" size.
The point is it is not a one size fits all approach. There is nuance. This also comes into play once defensive tackles get above 330 pounds and become nose tackles.
Going back to B.J. Raji, the Packers have drafted three nose tackles, with the other two being T.J. Slaton and Jonathan Ford.
They came in different sizes, with Raji only being 6-1 ⅖ and Ford just over 6-5. Slaton was a well above average athlete with a 7.96 RAS, whereas Ford had just a 3.55.
One thing they did all have in common, no matter how bad their other athleticism was, was at least "good" explosion for a nose tackle, characterized mainly by a vertical jump of at least 29”. This is a way of showing explosiveness which the Packers seem to have valued in nose tackles.
Regarding on-field traits, like with most positions, the Packers generally value the versatility to play different spots along the line of scrimmage in defensive linemen.
If you look at Gutekunst’s draftees’ PFF grades in college, they are usually well balanced in terms of grades against both the run and pass, and there is often good production against the pass in terms of pressures and/or sacks.
With all that in mind, here are the top five Packers types at defensive tackle in the 2025 NFL draft:
Kenneth Grant - Michigan
The only nose tackle on the list, because he is the only one with a draftable ranking on the consensus big board that has the explosivekness they look for. Grant is an exciting prospect with power and impressive quickness and athleticism for a big man.
He posted a 7.18 RAS, or 8.34 as a nose tackle, which is good, but not the kind of freakshow athleticism shown by Jordan Davis for example, and it is that level of athlete Gutekunst is usually looking for in the first round, where Grant is projected to go.
He ticks plenty of boxes in terms of age (21) and production against the pass as well as the run (50 pressures the last two seasons combined), but it is unlike Gutekunst to take non-elite athletes in round one, so he may not be what they are looking for.
However, if the Packers want to add a nose tackle in this draft after losing Slaton – they may not, due to the change in scheme requiring more one-gappers than two-gappers – the pool to pick from is basically Grant and very little else, at least in terms of what they look for athletically.
Michigan's Kenneth Grant is a perfect first-round fit for Packers
Derrick Harmon - Oregon
One of the favorites of Packers fans throughout the process, Harmon is a terrific and probably still underrated prospect at No. 28 on the consensus big board.
The 21-year-old is a real load for offensive linemen to handle on every snap, whether it is in the run or pass game. He is capable of playing various roles along the defensive line and had 55 pressures in his lone season at Oregon.
He boosted his stock at the combine, running a 4.95 40-yard dash at 6-4 ⅖ and 313 pounds, good for a "great" RAS speed grade.
The main problem with his profile? He did not do any other athletic testing. The Packers have not drafted a player in the first round with as little testing since Gutekunst became GM.
There is some tightness on his tape, and since Harmon is seemingly healthy, there is a simple explanation as to why he skipped every test except the 40; he probably would not have performed particularly well.
In addition, Harmon’s "great" speed, while impressive, may actually not be enough for Gutekunst, who has used eight out of his nine first-round picks on players with "elite" speed scores, with Jordan Love the only exception.
Harmon would be a great pick for the Packers, but there are legitimate reasons it may not happen even if he is on the clock at pick 23.
T.J. Sanders - South Carolina
With the draft less than two weeks away, it is going somewhat under the radar that Sanders, ranked 61st on the consensus big board, is the leader in the clubhouse to be the defensive lineman Green Bay ends up drafting in the first two rounds.
At just over 6-3 ⅔ and 297 pounds (listed as heavy as 305 pounds in Dane Brugler’s draft guide), he did all the athletic testing and achieved an elite 9.38 RAS, including "great" scores for speed and explosion, as well as "good" size and agility scores.
He is a versatile defensive lineman who moved up and down the line of scrimmage in a four-man front. Sanders is 21 years old and had 10 sacks and 60 pressures across the last two seasons. His PFF grades were well balanced in pass and run defense and improved each year.
A latecomer to football who did not set his sights on the sport fully until his junior year of high school, Sanders is exactly the kind of ascending, "best football ahead of him" prospect Gutekunst likes.
Sanders is a fun player to watch, causing chaos at the line of scrimmage, shooting gaps and barreling into the backfield with his fun blend of quickness and power, but is also able to eat his vegetables against the run.
The Packers are unlikely to get out of the first three rounds without dipping into this deep defensive line group. Sanders was in Green Bay on a pre-draft visit and stands out as their type of guy.
Joshua Farmer - Florida State
Another fringe Round 2 or 3 option is Farmer, who stands at just over 6-3 and 305 pounds, with massive 35” arms, and is ranked 74th on the consensus big board.
He has a "good" RAS speed grade despite just missing the 5.08 mark at 5.11 but had a strong 1.76 10-yard split. He also performed well in the jumps and has a 7.89 RAS overall, although he skipped the agility testing.
Farmer, 22, had 13 sacks over the last two seasons at Florida State, and performed well at the Senior Bowl, having a back-and-forth battle with potential first-round pick Grey Zabel all week.
His PFF grades of 61 and 46.2 against the run in 2024 and 2023 respectively are a cause for concern though, and he is a bit more one-dimensional than the Packers are likely to want. Still, he could be a disruptive presence to add to their defensive line.
Elijah Roberts - SMU
At 6-3 ½ and 285 pounds, Roberts played both defensive tackle and defensive end at SMU, and over the last two seasons tallied an incredible 131 pressures and 21 sacks. He is arguably an athletic fit for the Packers at both positions, running a 4.78 in the 40 with a 1.67 10-yard split.
He graded better in the RAS system as a defensive tackle than as an end, with a 9.35 overall score at DT, including "elite" speed and explosion scores. Roberts did however skip the 3-cone, and his shuttle only ranked in the 40th percentile for defensive tackles.
On tape, Roberts rushes inside and out and wins with power and his long 33 ⅔” arms, which he uses to bull rush consistently and effectively, while also showing some quickness and hand skill.
As his agility testing suggests, he struggles to bend the edge, so sticking inside may suit him better at the next level. He does his part in the run game plenty well enough to be a potential three-down player, but at minimum he should be a useful, versatile sub rusher.
Ranked 159th on the consensus big board, Roberts visited with the Packers in the pre-draft process and would be a fun Day 3 pick to add some juice to their pass rush.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Top 5 'Packers type' defensive linemen in 2025 NFL draft
Continue reading...
