Packers Training Camp Preview: DT Depth Chart, Big Battle, Doomsday Scenario

It’s a new season, a new scheme and a new defensive line for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers traded starting defensive tackle Colby Wooden to the Colts for linebacker Zaire Franklin. They replaced Wooden by signing Javon Hargrave mere moments after he was released by the Vikings. Finally, in the draft, they used their third-round pick on Chris McClellan.

In Part 6 of our Packers training camp previews, we turn our attention to the defensive tackles. If you missed the offense, here are the previews for the receivers, tight ends, offensive line, running backs and quarterbacks.

Packers Defensive Tackle Depth Chart

Projected Starters

Devonte Wyatt: After a breakout second season with 5.5 sacks in 17 games in 2023, Wyatt had five sacks in 14 games in 2024 and four sacks in 10 games in 2025. The Packers gave Wyatt a big contract extension, a bet the former first-round pick will stay healthy.

“We really like (him),” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “He’s got to get over the injury thing and make sure he can stay available to us but, when he’s out there, he’s very very impactful, not only in the run game but as a pass rusher, as well.”

Javon Hargrave: The Packers are betting on the 33-year-old having a turn-back-the-clock season alongside Jonathan Gannon. Once one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL, Hargrave was merely solid last season with 3.5 sacks and four TFLs with the Vikings.

Chris McClellan: Let’s keep betting. The Packers needed a nose tackle for Gannon’s 3-4 scheme. They traded up in the third round for McClellan, who the Packers project as more of a three-down player than a pure, blocker-eating nose tackle.

Potential Backups

Karl Brooks: Brooks is entering the final season of his rookie deal. He needs a big season, and so do the Packers, after he went from 7.5 sacks and 10 tackles for losses during his first two seasons to a half-sack and one TFL last year.

Warren Brinson: Brinson was buried on the depth chart to start the season – he didn’t make his NFL debut until Week 4 – but steadily progressed. He had only a half-sack but did put up decent pressure numbers.

Nazir Stackhouse: Stackhouse showed some promise as a run-stopping defensive tackle but lost playing time during the second half of the season. He had 12 tackles in 13 games.

Jonathan Ford: A seventh-round draft pick by the Packers who spent about two-and-a-half seasons on the practice squad, Ford returned at the end of the last season and was a contributor. He will compete with Stackhouse for nose tackle snaps.

Jordon Riley: After Wyatt’s season-ending injury, the Packers plucked Riley off the Giants’ practice squad. He looked like an asset until he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. His return date is not known.

Jaden Crumedy: A sixth-round pick in 2024 by the Panthers, he played eight games for them in 2024 and 2025 before he was released. The Packers signed him after the season.

Anthony Campbell: Campbell went undrafted in 2025. In four college seasons at Louisiana-Monroe and Miami, he had 14 tackles. The Packers signed him late last season. He’s a 6-foot-6, 307-pound project.

Biggest Roster Battle for Packers at Defensive Tackle

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Chris McClellan (55) playfully interacts with quarterback Jordan Love at minicamp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The starting trio is pretty well established. Rookie Chris McClellan spent most of the offseason working with the No. 1 defense. So, that means the focus will be on the backup battles.

Those will be important, even if Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave and McClellan are healthy for every game. Jonathan Gannon, like most defensive coordinators, prefers to rotate his defensive linemen to keep them fresh.

So, who will be those backups? Will it be Karl Brooks or Warren Brinson as the next man up? Who will play the nose tackle reps when McClellan is out of the lineup? For all the focus on the pass rush, which is justified, who can provide some grit for a run defense that was a mere speedbump at times?

The Big Question at Defensive Tackle for the Packers

Javon Hargrave was one of the studs for the Eagles in 2022, when they reached the Super Bowl. He had a career-high 11 sacks that season to help power the Jonathan Gannon-coordinated defense.

At age 33, what does Hargrave have left in the tank?

With the 49ers in 2023, Hargrave had seven sacks and 52 pressures. In three games with the 49ers in 2024 and 16 games with the Vikings in 2024, he had 4.5 sacks and 39 pressures.

“Man, just that challenge,” he told Packers On SI of his motivation entering Year 11. “I think right now, being later in my career, it’s the stink of, ‘Does he got it anymore?’ I don’t want to say it’s just trying to prove people wrong, but I just always loved challenges.

“I just want to show I’ve still got it – still got that juice, still got what it takes to play at a high level in this league. For me, that’s just been my focus is locking in this offseason, working out, eating right and trying to have one of my better seasons.”

The Doomsday Scenario for Packers

The Packers gave Devonte Wyatt a three-year, $57 million contract extension, which will tie him to the team through the 2029 season. The official numbers have not been reported but it includes a $20 million signing bonus.

It’s an enormous bet that Wyatt will become a consistent standout. However, he’s never played even 50 percent of the snaps in a season (he fell just short in 2023). The last two seasons, he missed a total of 10 games.

It was the latest gamble by the Packers on players with injury histories.

When Wyatt plays, he’s incredibly effective. The sack numbers are solid but the pressure rate is impressive. Never mind the contract. The Packers need him more than ever, whether it’s for $57 million or $57. Their top two pass rushers last season were Micah Parsons with 12.5 sacks and Rashan Gary was 7.5 sacks. That’s 20 sacks who won’t be on the field. Wyatt was next with four.

If Wyatt isn’t on the field or isn’t bringing the heat, Green Bay’s pass rush could go from questionable to almost nonexistent. If that’s the case, the defense could be doomed.

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