Amongst a young, volatile Packers team, one of the most concerning aspects is the run defense. For years, the Packers run defense has proved porous. Besides Kenny Clark, no interior defensive lineman has emerged to be a consistent run-stuffing presence. That problem is exacerbated in Joe Barry’s defensive scheme, which prioritizes pass defense over stopping the run. With Barry returning as defensive coordinator in 2023, improvements will have to come from the defensive personnel rather than a scheme change. One player who could be key to such an improvement is seventh-round nose tackle Jonathan Ford.
The Importance of Nose Tackles
As mentioned, Joe Barry’s defensive system emphasizes passing defense even if it means giving up yards on the ground. Through his first few years with the Packers, the defense has frequently played with light box counts and smaller bodies on the field.
To counteract this, the Green Bay defense often asks its defensive linemen to control more than one gap. Nose tackles can prove key to this process. Good nose tackles have the strength and mass to maintain the line of scrimmage and absorb double-teams. If an offense chooses to block the nose tackle with a single offensive lineman, the NT should be able to play the gaps on either side of his opponent. Evening the numbers through techniques like this can be key to a sound defense.
How Ford Can Improve the Defense
The Packers defense has added multiple defensive linemen in recent offseasons, but many of them are lighter body types, better suited to rush the passer or penetrate from the 3t.
The primary nose tackles rostered as of this article are Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton – and, based on how he was used last year, it seems that Green Bay may want to play Clark more at 3t to take advantage of his disruptive abilities.
That leaves Slaton, who has been inconsistent over his first few years with the Packers, as Green Bay’s main nose tackle. Given how often defensive linemen – especially big ones like Slaton – have to rotate in and out of the game, the Packers could use some quality depth up front. If Ford can provide that depth, he could be key to boosting the Green Bay trenches.
Conclusion
Ford didn’t play in the 2022 regular season, but his size (6’5″ 315 lbs.) could prove valuable against opposing run games. The odds for a seventh-rounder to meaningfully contribute are certainly uphill, but Ford wouldn’t need to become a pass-rush phenom overnight – he would just need to use his natural size and strength to clog up gaps and help other people make plays. If he can do this well enough to provide meaningful nose tackle depth, it could be a big help to a Packers defense that desperately needs to improve against the ground game.
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