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One of the most frequently asked questions I’ve gotten this week is how the Green Bay Packers will replace starting defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who should be going on season-ending injured reserve any day now with an ankle injury that he sustained in last week’s win over the Detroit Lions. Yes, the Packers added a defensive tackle, Jordon Riley, on Wednesday, but I want to take this time to explain what Green Bay did and didn’t do with that move and how it relates (or doesn’t) to Wyatt.
First of all, Wyatt is the team’s starting three-technique undertackle, a player who generally lines up in the B-gap between the guard and tackle. Besides Wyatt, the other defensive tackles on the Packers’ roster who play that role are Karl Brooks and rookie Warren Brinson.
After watching some Riley film, it’s pretty clear that he was a nose tackle for the New York Giants, a player who generally lines up in the A gap between the center and guard. Usually, these players are the “space eaters” who take on more double teams than three-techniques, who are most frequently put in one-on-one situations with guards in both the run and pass game.
This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering that Riley weighed in at 338 pounds at his pro day back in 2023.
So Riley won’t be the Wyatt replacement. Riley is competition for Colby Wooden and Nazir Stackhouse at nose tackle. Brinson also plays nose tackle at times, while Brooks has done so in certain passing downs. Right or wrong, the Packers thought their best plan of action to boost their defensive line in December, when options are scarce, was to add a nose tackle body, even when they lost an undertackle.
If you’re looking for a Wyatt replacement, don’t expect it to be Riley. Wyatt’s snaps will probably be split up by a combination of Brooks, Brinson and defensive ends kicking inside to be interior pass-rushers on obvious passing downs. Meanwhile, though, keep an eye on how the Riley vs. Stackhouse situation plays out down the line.
Riley is already a 27-year-old, and if he’s on the active roster through the end of the 2025 season, he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, as he will have accrued three seasons in the NFL. In short, the team committed at least three weeks on the 53-man roster (by poaching him from a practice squad, per NFL rules) to an older nose tackle for whom the team doesn’t have cost-control measures beyond this season. Mind you, they committed this time on the active roster when the Packers also have opened up the 21-day practice windows of receiver Jayden Reed, running back MarShawn Lloyd, defensive end Collin Oliver and defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. Roster spots are going to be limited, unless injuries start clearing our roster spots by pushing players to the injured reserve.
This move only really makes sense, on paper, if they plan to get...
