Skip to main content
Packer Central

Day 4 of NFL Free Agency: 13 Pass Rushers Who Could Help Packers

From living legends to first-round flops, here are the free-agent defensive linemen who could help the Packers’ quest to improve their four-man pass rush.
Bill Huber|
Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) rushes against Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker.
Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) rushes against Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker. | Tork Mason-Imagn Images

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is well aware of the reality on defense.

“We’ve got to be able to get after the quarterback with four. We’ve got to affect the quarterback more with just four players,” he said at the Scouting Combine.

There are good pass rushers available in NFL free agency. Here are 13, with ages as of Week 1.

SIGNING WITH BILLS: Edge Joey Bosa, Chargers (30): Jake Kumerow’s cousin has 72 sacks in nine seasons, including four seasons with more than 10. Injuries, however, have derailed what had been a stellar career. He’s started only 18 games the last three years with a total of 13.5 sacks. He was a Rashan Gary-style Pro Bowler in 2024, when he had five sacks in 14 games (nine starts).

According to Pro Football Focus, 110 edge rushers had at least 150 pass-rushing opportunities in 2024. Bosa ranked 29th in pass-rush win rate.

RE-SIGNING WITH LIONS: DT Levi Onwuzurike, Lions (27): A second-round pick in 2021, he sat out the 2022 season due to back surgery and has only 3.5 sacks in three seasons. However, he did have 13 quarterback hits in 2024, when he played in 16 games (10 starts). According to PFF, 109 defensive tackles played at least 150 pass-rushing snaps. He ranked 13th in pass-rush win rate.

Edge Azeez Ojulari, Giants (25): A second-round pick in 2021, Ojulari is young and productive with 22 sacks in 46 career games (30 starts). He might be too small to be an every-down player but he’d be a weapon as a designated pass rusher. He had six sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 11 games (five starts) in 2024. He ranked 81st out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate.

Edge Anthony Nelson, Buccaneers (28): In six seasons, Nelson has only 18.5 sacks, with a career-high five in 2021. He had four sacks and a career-high 13 quarterback hits in 2024. He’s started only 18 games but has missed just one the past five seasons. He ranked 56th out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate in 2024.

SIGNING WITH BROWNS: DT Maliek Collins, 49ers (30): Collins started every game in 2024, when he matched his career high with five sacks and added 12 quarterback hits. He ranked 17th out of 109 defensive tackles in PFF’s pass-rush win rate. Collins had five sacks and a career-high 18 quarterback hits for the Texans in 2023. He’s missed only five games the last four years.

DT Calais Campbell, Dolphins (39): What a marvel Campbell has been. At age 38, he had five sacks and 12 quarterback hits while starting every game. In 2023 with the Falcons, he had 6.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits. Other than 2021, when he had 1.5 sacks for the Ravens, he has at least four sacks every year since his rookie year of 2008. He ranked 24th out of 109 defensive tackles in PFF’s pass-rush win rate.

Edge Dante Fowler, Commanders (31): Fowler had a blast-from-the-past season with 10.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits. That came on the heels of a combined 14.5 sacks and 24 quarterback hits the previous three seasons. He ranked 62nd out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate. He’s played in all 51 games the last three seasons.

Edge Za’Darius Smith, Lions (33): Of course, Smith should sign with the Bears just so he can play for every NFC North team. Would the Packers have any interest in bringing back Smith, who wore out his welcome the first time? Probably not. Brian Gutekunst’s first big splash in free agency, he had a total of 26 sacks in 2019 and 2020. He had nine sacks last year, a season split between the Browns (five sacks in nine games) and Lions (four sacks in eight games). The last three years, he has 24, 20 and 17 quarterback hits. He ranked eighth out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate.

Edge K’Lavon Chaisson (26): Chaisson would be a flier on a 2020 first-round pick. In 15 games (four starts) with the Raiders in 2024, he had five sacks and eight quarterback hits. He ranked 41st out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate, though. Chaisson had only five sacks in four seasons with the Jaguars.

SIGNED BY EAGLES: Edge Joshua Uche, Chiefs (26): A second-round pick by the Patriots in 2020, Uche has 20.5 sacks in five seasons. The Patriots traded him to the Chiefs, and he did absolutely nothing with zero sacks or quarterback hits in six games. At 240 pounds, he’d be a designated pass rusher. However, had he met our 150-snap threshold, he would have ranked 22nd in PFF’s pass-rush win rate. At Michigan, he had 15.5 sacks during his final two years.

Edge Matthew Judon, Patriots (33): Judon, who worked under new Packers defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington in New England, had 28 sacks and 53 quarterback hits in 2021 and 2022 and four sacks in the first four games of 2023 before suffering a torn biceps. With Atlanta in 2024, he played in all 17 games (15 starts) and had 5.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits. He ranked 101st out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate.

Edge Charles Omenihu, Chiefs (28): Omenihu had the best season of his career with the Chiefs in 2023 with seven sacks and 11 quarterback hits despite being suspended for the first six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He suffered a torn ACL during the AFC Championship Game, which sidelined him for most of 2024. In six games, he had one sack and one quarterback hit. He ranked 89th out of 110 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate in 2024 but 53rd in 2023.

Edge Von Miller, Bills (36): The Bills released Miller this week. One of the NFL’s all-time greats, he had zero sacks and three quarterback hits in 12 games in 2023 but six sacks and eight hits in 13 games in 2024. Miller was an impressive 10th in PFF’s pass-rush win rate, so he’s still got some juice. He was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

DT Taven Bryan, Colts (29): A first-round pick in 2018, Bryan has only 11.5 career sacks. In two seasons with the Colts, he played in all 34 games (13 starts) and had three sacks and three quarterback hits. That’s pretty lackluster production. However, he ranked 31st out of 109 defensive tackles in PFF’s pass-rush win rate. 

More Green Bay Packers News

Published | Modified
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.