The Green Bay Packers are going to need to stop some pretty dominant running backs this season.
Just within the NFC North, matchups against Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason and the Minnesota Vikings, D’Andre Swift and the Chicago Bears are looming, and then there’s Saquon Barkley both in the regular season and as the Philadelphia Eagles likely continue to stand in the Packers’ way of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Stopping the run could be the trait that helps one of the Packers’ undrafted rookie free agents secure a roster spot this summer.
Packers Rookie Nazir Stackhouse a Player to Watch
As training camp wears on, and preparations for the season continue, position battles are about to heat up.
Given the Packers’ need for quality depth along the defensive line, and the landmines looming on the schedule against other top running backs, former Georgia standout Nazir Stackhouse could be in line to steal a job.
Over at Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski writes that Stackhouse is the Packers’ undrafted rookie most likely to be on the roster in September.
“With TJ Slaton leaving in free agency to join the Cincinnati Bengals, the Packers lack a true space-eater,” Sobleski writes of Stackhouse. “Granted, Kenny Clark remains on the roster, but he’s not quite the player that he was early in his career. Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden are better when they’re asked to shoot gaps instead of holding their ground. Whereas Stackhouse has true two-gap potential, with the requisite size and strength to hold the point of attack.
“Even Stackhouse struggles at time with eating double teams, but he has the ability with better technique to more than adequately serve in the role the Packers need, hence the team’s interest once the draft ended.”
At 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, Stackhouse posted nine tackles for loss and three sacks through his five seasons in Athens.
If Stackhouse shows this summer that he can be the run-stopper the Packers desperately need in the middle of the defensive line, he may just earn a roster spot and some of the snaps Slaton held down for Green Bay the past several seasons.
For More Football News:
Follow Matt Lombardo on Threads at @MattLombardoNFL. To read more of our articles and in-depth NFL coverage, click here.
