Packers Defensive Line’s New ‘Gravedigger’ Is ‘Special Dude’

In Green Bay Packers lore, there will be only one “Gravedigger.”

Gilbert Brown’s dominance on the defensive line was a key part of the Super Bowl teams in the 1990s. The Packers are hoping Javon Hargrave, whose nickname is also “Gravedigger,” will get them back to the Super Bowl.

Hargrave didn’t have to do any research on his new defensive coordinator after signing a two-year contract with the team. That’s Jonathan Gannon, and they reached new heights together with the Eagles. He did do some research on Brown, though.

“Coming to college, everybody had nicknames,” Hargrave told Packers On SI. “I went to college in the spring, and I was having so much of a good spring that it started off as ‘Graveyard’ and then he started saying ‘Gravedigger.’

“My last name’s Hargrave, he took ‘Grave’ and made it ‘Gravedigger’ because I kept getting to the quarterback, and it just took off. Everybody on the team started thinking my name was ‘Gravedigger’ the whole time, and it just became a thing. I turned it on Instagram and it just followed me.”

It was Virginia linebackers coach Mike Adams, who was Hargrave’s defensive coordinator at South Carolina State, who gave Hargrave the nickname.

“He is a special dude,” Adams told Packers On SI.

Given the second syllable of Hargrave’s name, the nickname might seem obvious. But, in this case, it quickly became obvious that it fit.

“He was a kid that when we took him out of high school and we didn’t know a lot about him,” Adams recalled. “As soon as we put him on the field, you could just see he could just totally unhinge out of his stance and demolish people one-on-one, even as a young kid. It just gave me visions of those wrestlers that just eliminate people and slam them and throw them wherever they want.

“His name had ‘Grave’ in it, so we just kind of went with ‘Gravedigger.’ And then, of course, that got even more evident as he truly grew into his body and became a 290-pound kid that could just dominate. So, it was something that just fit and it stuck and it matched to what he was doing to people.”

Adams knew all about Brown’s dominance with the Packers. Brown’s legend was built on burying opposing running games. Hargrave was more of a three-down force that lent to another Packers-based comparison.

“He was everything for us,” Adams said. “Not only could he stop the run and handle any gap or any double team, he was also, because he was just so explosive, he could create so much one-on-one pass rush. We did everything to get him one-on-one on a guard, knowing that he could win a high percentage of those matchups.

“He was everything for us. We could slant him, move him, zero him up, put him in a shade, a three. He could play all across the line of scrimmage. He was our version of Reggie White.”

Hargrave starred at South Carolina State from 2012 through 2015. He had 37 sacks in four seasons, highlighted by 13.5 sacks and 22 tackles for losses in 11 games as a senior. As a junior, he set an FCS record with six sacks against Bethune-Cookman.

He was selected the HBCU Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015. He was named the HBCU Pro Player of the Year in 2019 and inducted into the South Carolina State Hall of Fame in 2022 and the MEAC Hall of Fame in 2024.

A third-round pick by the Steelers in 2016, Hargrave is getting ready for Year 11 in the NFL.

New Packers defensive lineman Javon Hargrave makes a tackle while with the Steelers. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Adams isn’t surprised by Hargrave’s sustained success.

“It just truly matches who that kid was when we first got him,” Adams said. “I'll give you a quick story. We took him out of high school and we didn’t get him until late, so he was mid-semester. Back then, that wasn’t normal, so we had to wait on him to be able to get him into school and get him going.

“So, he shows up out of North Rowan High School as a 260-pound freshman, and he goes right into winter workouts, which back in those days, we were out there on the grass at 5 a.m.”

Hargrave wasn’t remotely prepared for those workouts. He was a late enrollee because of his grades. While his future teammates were working out on campus, Hargrave was at home in Salisbury, N.C., working at a fiberglass factory, taking online classes and eating.

What he wasn’t doing was working out.

“We were out there in the grass, just dragging him all over the field. And he was dying,” Adams said. “The things he was being subjected to right as he shows up on campus were inhumane back in those days, and he never quit. I couldn’t believe it. He never gave up. He was near death every morning all those spring workouts.

“So, I watched him just kind of deal with that, physically push through it, so the fact that he’s been able to be mentally strong isn’t surprising.”

That mental and physical toughness is evident in that Hargrave has missed more than one game only once in his 10 seasons.

At age 33, Hargrave might not be the game-wrecker he was during his prime seasons, but he remains a quality, difference-making defensive tackle. It’s no wonder why the Packers signed him about an hour after he was released by the Vikings.

“He’s always been physically strong enough to handle the rigors of a professional D-lineman,” Adams said. “I’m sure he’s had all kinds of things either off the field or in-game in 10 years of pro ball where he’s wanted to say, ‘Man, this is just too much – too many injuries, too many whatever,’ and he’s just battled for 10 years. So, it doesn’t surprise me, only because I got a glimpse of what he's really made of way back when he was a young kid.”

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