Acme Packing Company
Tell us your pick for who was the Packers’ best edge rusher of the last 25 years.
Earlier today we focused on identifying the Green Bay Packers’ best interior defensive lineman of the 2000s; now we move outside to the edge rushers.
The Packers have had no shortage of excellent pass-rushers during the last 25 years. Whether running a 4-3 or 3-4 defense, Green Bay has seemingly always had at least one player capable of wrecking the opposing quarterback on just about any play.
Here is a look at the top 4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside linebackers to come through Green Bay since 2000, and vote for who you think is the best one in the poll below.
Regular season stats: 38 games played, 35 starts; 133 total tackles (86 solo, 47 assisted), 24 TFLs, 18.0 sacks, 14 pass defenses, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions
Postseason stats: 3 games played/started; 9 total tackles (8 solo, 1 assist), 1 pass defense
The Packers’ first-round pick in 1998, Holliday was the runner-up to Charles Woodson for Defensive Rookie of the Year. But that’s before our cutoff, which comes starting in Holliday’s third season. Holliday was never a true game-wrecker as a defensive end, but he was a consistent, solid producer who you could count on for between 5 and 8 sacks a year.
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 124 games played, 74 starts; 302 total tackles (225 solo, 77 assisted), 74 TFLs, 74.5 sacks, 11 pass defenses, 17 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown)
Postseason stats: 8 games played, 4 starts; 23 total tackles (15 solo, 8 assisted), 7 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Few players in the entire NFL over the last 25 years can match the ability and production that KGB had as a pure speed rusher. The 5th-round pick out of San Diego State was a menace to tackles and quarterbacks off the edge with his incredibly quick get-off, bend, and closing ability. He recorded four straight double-digit sack seasons starting in 2001, when he was just a rotational player in his second year. He also posted multiple forced fumbles every year from 2001 to 2007 and missed only two games in that span.
Of course, Gbaja-Biamila gave up quite a bit in run defense. He was lean, measuring in at a shade under 6-foot-4 and weighing in the mid-240s for most of his career, quite undersized for a 4-3 end. Had the Packers played a 3-4 defense during his career, perhaps he could have had an even more impressive set of statistics. Instead, when his speed and elite athleticism (9.41 RAS at DE, despite his small size) started to wane, he was relegated to a situational pass-rusher role.
All told, KGB was a full-time player for the middle five years of his career, flanked by two years each of situational work on the front...
