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

Last year at this time, the Green Bay Packers started training camp with Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness as their starters on the edge and with Kingsley Enagbare the next man up. About a month later – Aug. 28, to be exact – they traded for Micah Parsons.

A lot has changed with the start of this year’s training camp just a couple days away. Gary is with the Cowboys. Enagbare is with the Jets. And Parsons is on the shelf following last year’s torn ACL.

The Packers, of course, went 0-5 following Parsons’ injury at Denver. They’re probably going to play at least the first five games of this season without Parsons. Can they survive?

In Part 7 of our training camp previews, we focus on the edge defenders. In case you missed them, here are the previews for the receivers, tight ends, offensive line, running backs and quarterbacks on offense, and defensive tackles on defense.

Packers Edge Depth Chart

Micah Parsons: Parsons had 12.5 sacks through 13 games before he suffered a torn ACL during the second half at Denver. The injury crushed Green Bay’s championship hopes. At the time of the injury, he led the NFL in pressures – even ahead of Myles Garrett, who set the single-season sacks record.

Lukas Van Ness: Van Ness was the 13th pick of the 2023 draft. That’s a lofty spot for the Packers, who usually are picking toward the bottom of the round because they reached the playoffs. With 8.5 sacks in three seasons, the Packers are still waiting for a return on investment.

Barryn Sorrell: A fourth-round pick last year, Sorrell had 1.5 sacks and 15 tackles. He had one sack and eight tackles in Week 18 against Minnesota, when coach Matt LaFleur let the backups play and Sorrell took full advantage.

Brenton Cox: Cox had four sacks in seven games in 2024. He put up big-time pressure numbers – more on that in a moment – but missed most of last season with a groin injury sustained in Week 1. He had a sack in Week 18 to give him five in 15 games over three seasons.

Collin Oliver: A fifth-round pick last year, there were high hopes surrounding Oliver because he produced as a pass rusher and linebacker at Oklahoma State. Hamstring injuries, though, limited him to one game last season. For the second time in as many years, he sat out the offseason program.

Arron Mosby: Mosby’s role was sharply curtailed last year, going from 150 snaps on defense in 16 games in 2024 to 17 snaps in 12 games in 2025. He was an impact player on special teams, though, and that could be his ticket to the roster this year. He had a half-sack in 2024.

Nyjalik Kelly: Kelly went undrafted this year and received more than $260,000 guaranteed. He put up so-so production at Central Florida, but his rare length makes him an intriguing developmental prospect.

Biggest Roster Battle for Packers at Edge

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell (99) slaps hands with fans as he walks to practice last year. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There aren’t many open positions in the starting lineup in this training camp about (almost) nothing. One of them is the search for Parsons’ replacement. Lukas Van Ness will start at one spot. Who will join him?

Barryn Sorrell took almost every first-team rep alongside Van Ness during the offseason, and he almost certainly will be running with the starters for Day 1 of camp. Based on that he’ll obviously be the favorite to win the job, but it won’t be handed to him.

“Obviously, the game’s slowing down for me a lot,” Sorrell said. “Not being a rookie anymore, just trying to go out there, play fast, and make more plays.”

The top challenger might wind up being rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. For what it’s worth – and it might not be worth anything – Sorrell had 15.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for losses and one forced fumble during his final three seasons at Texas. Dennis-Sutton during his final three seasons at Penn State had 20.5 sacks, 31 tackles for losses and seven forced fumbles.

The Big Question at Edge for the Packers

Who’s going to rush the passer off the edge? It’s arguably the biggest question surrounding the team headed into training camp.

Every edge player on the roster not named Micah Parsons has 15.5 career sacks. Meanwhile, Parsons had 12.5 sacks last season and will miss the start of the season, Rashan Gary had 7.5 sacks last season and will be playing for the Cowboys and Kingsley Enagbare had two sacks last season and will be playing for the Jets.

Added together, the edge players who won’t be playing for the Packers to start the season had 22 sacks last season. The edge players who will be playing for the Packers to start the season have 15.5 sacks for their careers.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. (57) causes a fumble by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There are reasons for optimism, though.

Lukas Van Ness had only 1.5 sacks last season but set a career high with 23 pressures even while missing half the season with a foot injury. There were 128 edge players with at least 111 pass-rushing opportunities (Barryn Sorrell’s number). Van Ness was 31st in pass-rush win rate and 23rd in pass-rush productivity, a PFF metric that measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

Barryn Sorrell, on the other hand, was a woeful 123rd in pass-rush win rate and 117th in pass-rush productivity. He spent the offseason working out with Parsons, which can’t possibly hurt.

In 2024, Brenton Cox played 97 pass-rushing snaps and had four sacks. Of the 130 edge rushers who hit that number, he finished behind only Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson in pass-rush productivity. He could be an X factor.

Collin Oliver played in only one game as a rookie and had a 0.0 percent pass-rush win rate. During his first three seasons at Oklahoma State, he had 22.5 sacks. He joined Parsons and Sorrell this offseason.

“He’s funny as hell,” Oliver said. “And it’s easy to take in. Especially being a younger player, it’s easy to take in all in (because) it comes from love. It all comes from love. It’s easy to take on that coaching and the advice when it comes from love.”

The Doomsday Scenario for Packers

We’ll make this short and sweet, because this doomsday scenario is going to be the focus of a story that will be published on Wednesday morning before the first practice.

If the Packers can’t rush the passer without Parsons, the season could be doomed.

It's the debut of the Packers training camp roster Lock-O-Meter, with all 91 players ranging from 100 percent locks to the long shots. ⬇️https://t.co/7Rby0Ce8YL
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 26, 2026

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