OTAs Will Start Packers’ Quest to Build Pass Rush Without Micah Parsons

The Green Bay Packers will begin OTAs on Tuesday. One of the best players in the NFL, Micah Parsons, won’t be practicing.

These will be a critical few weeks for the Packers, who went 0-5 following Parsons’ torn ACL last season. While these noncontact practices won’t be the ultimate determiner of whether the Packers will be able to at least survive with a young, unproven cast of edge rushers, they will provide a clue to general manager Brian Gutekunst on whether he might need to explore the veteran market before training camp.

Having gone through every position on offense and the defensive tackles, Part 7 of our OTA previews continue with the edge rushers, a position group steeped with more questions than answers.

Packers Edge Depth Chart: Starters

Micah Parsons: The Packers traded two first-round picks and Kenny Clark to the Cowboys for superstar Micah Parsons, who immediately got a record-setting contract extension. He was worth it. Parsons missed the final three-plus games with a torn ACL but finished seventh with 12.5 sacks.

According to Pro Football Focus, 110 edge defenders rushed the passer at least 150 times (Lukas Van Ness had 151). From that group, Parsons ranked fourth in pass-rush win rate behind Will Anderson, Myles Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson.

Lukas Van Ness: The time is now for Van Ness. He had four sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 17 games as a rookie, three sacks and six quarterback hits in 17 games in 2024 and 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits in nine games in 2025. While the sack production wasn’t there, he was 28th out of 110 in pass-rush win rate.

The Packers traded Rashan Gary and let go of Kingsley Enagbare in free agency, meaning Van Ness is set to be a full-time starter for the first time since high school. He’ll turn 25 on July 6.

Packers Edge Depth Chart: Backups

Barryn Sorrell: With Micah Parsons probably going to miss the start of the season as he finishes his comeback from his knee injury, Sorrell is the favorite to be the Week 1 starter opposite Lukas Van Ness. As a fourth-round rookie, he played in 14 games with one start and had 1.5 sacks. He’s a tough customer against the run and should be a better player after spending part of his offseason with Parsons.

Brenton Cox: At the trade deadline in 2024, the Packers traded Preston Smith. Nobody was a bigger beneficiary than Cox, who finally got on the field and had four sacks during the second half of the season. He missed most of last season with a groin injury and had one sack in four games.

Collin Oliver: The Packers double-dipped on edge players in the 2025 draft. After picking Sorrell in the fourth round, they chose Oliver in the fifth round. A hamstring injury suffered at the Scouting Combine required surgery. Several aggravations of the injury meant he didn’t practice with the team until December. “Baby Micah” made his NFL debut in Week 18 and had one tackle for loss. His speed and versatility, which should be the calling cards to his game, need to show up over the next four weeks.

Arron Mosby: Mosby, who got his start as an undrafted free agent with the Panthers in 2022, played in 12 games last season and emerged as a weapon on special teams but played only 12 snaps on defense. He could earn a role this year because of his coverage experience.

Dani Dennis-Sutton: With two excellent seasons on the field and elite testing numbers at the Scouting Combine, Dennis-Sutton fell into the Packers’ laps in the fourth round. Not only did he have 17 sacks the last two seasons but he blocked three kicks on special teams as a senior. The Packers need him to be an instant-impact player.

“I think his urgency to being great is the reason why he’ll be successful,” his college coach said.

Nyjalik Kelly: Kelly is the highest-priced undrafted free agent in franchise history. He started his career at Miami and finished at Central Florida. He had 5.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles in 2024 and three sacks, 7.5 tackles for losses, two forced fumbles, one interception and four pass breakups as a senior.

What We Know: They’re Young

Without Micah Parsons to start the season, the Packers are going to need big-time production from a bunch of players without big-time experience. Everybody else on the depth has started a combined four games in their careers – two for Lukas Van Ness and one apiece by Brenton Cox and Barryn Sorrell.

“I’m excited to work with all those guys,” position coach DeMarcus Covington said. “I think they all bring different things to the table. I think they’re all going to help the Packers in 2026 in some way. Right now, what way is that going to be? I don’t know right now, but I do know they’re all working to get better. They’re all working to improve and we’ll talk about that daily.

“We talk about focus on the day. Day by day, week by week, month by month, don’t look for Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. Just focus on the day, winning the day, get better and let’s see how the chips add up.”

What We Don’t Know: Who Will Rush the Passer?

With Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare commanding so much playing time and with Lukas Van Ness and Brenton Cox limited by injuries, the season-opening depth chart on the edge for this season had a combined four sacks in the NFL last season.

Ideally, Van Ness would have had his breakout season already. Instead, he has 8.5 career sacks and is coming off a career-worst 1.5 sacks last year. He’s going to have to carry the load without Parsons.

“I’ve kind of been saying this since Day 1 since I walked in here, I think the sky’s the limit for him,” position coach and defensive run-game coordinator DeMarcus Covington said this month. “I think whatever he puts his mind to, he can do it. It’s about him being out there, being consistent like all of our players on a daily basis. I think the more you’re out there, the more you do it, the more consistent you are, the better you’re going to be.”

Cox had 17 pressures in 97 pass-rushing snaps in 2024 but only five in 47 chances in 2025, according to PFF.

There were 16 rookie edge rushers who played at least 100 pass-rushing snaps last season. Barryn Sorrell was 15th with a pass-rush win rate of 5.2 percent.

In 17 pass-rushing opportunities during his one game last season, Collin Oliver had a couple second-effort pressures but had a pass-rush win rate of 0.0 percent.

Packers Drafted: Dani Dennis-Sutton

How can you not be intrigued about Dani Dennis-Sutton? During his final two seasons, he had 17 sacks, 25 tackles for losses, five forced fumbles and six passes defensed. During his final three seasons, he had seven forced fumbles. All in this size-speed package.

Dani Dennis-Sutton was drafted in round 4 with pick 120 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.96 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 9 out of 2257 DE from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/P8hlpVu0IO pic.twitter.com/GETVs1EQUW
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 25, 2026

“His size, his speed, and I just think he’s got so much in front of him as far as his best football goes,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “He’s an elite athlete for a guy that’s almost 6-6 and played at around 265. His ability to come off the edge and rush the passer, affect the passer, he can bull rush, he can win with speed, his length affects the passer, he can set edges. So, I think he’s got a lot to offer and a lot of really good football in front of him.”

With almost no proven depth, the door is wide open for Dennis-Sutton to be a key player beginning in Week 1. For the good of the defense, he must take advantage.

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