The Green Bay Packers appear to have a plan to get the most out of fourth-round rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. Dennis-Sutton is an edge rusher and has spent most of his time in training camp aligned on the edge. However, a consistent theme of Packers camp has been a lineup with Dennis-Sutton inside as an interior rusher.
Andy Herman of Packer Report noted he saw the same thing in OTAs and minicamp, showcasing that this is a look that the team is interested in showing during the regular season.
They have shown this look in every practice setting so far. The team has two edge rushers outside of him, and another interior rusher beside him. The second team group had Barryn Sorrell and Colin Oliver at edge with Chris McClellan and Dennis-Sutton on the inside.
Green Bay Packers Have Big Plans for Dani Dennis-Sutton
GettyThe Green Bay Packers selected Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton in Round 4 of the 2026 NFL draft
Dennis-Sutton played 1,919 snaps at Penn State, and only 19 of them were inside of the tackle. So, this is a new role for him. However, the NFL Combine showed that he has all of the physical traits needed to excel in the role.
Dennis-Sutton is big, long, fast, and explosive. He leaned on those traits in college, but did not quite have the moves or the ability to finish from the edge.
So, the Packers are thinking that by putting him closer to the football and against interior offensive linemen, he can showcase his speed and get upfield penetration more easily. This would not be a look that the team shows on run downs, but when they need to add a pass rush threat, it makes sense.
They can get their fast edge rushers on the field, such as Oliver. Then, they can get much faster on the inside with Dennis-Sutton.
Packers Edge Rusher Room is Starting to Sort Out
One of the biggest questions early into training camp was what the team would do at edge rusher. They have first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, but Micah Parsons is unlikely to be healthy for the start of the season.
So, the team is going to need to figure things out within their depth to find the right fits across from him.
The team has Brenton Cox, Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, and Dani Dennis-Sutton all in competition for that second spot. They also have Nyjalik Kelly and Arron Mosby, but those two are competing for depth spots.
Of those four, it is notable that the team has defined roles for Oliver and Dennis-Sutton. Oliver is a bit smaller and would not hold up as well on the edge during run downs. Meanwhile, Dennis-Sutton is being used in his situational role.
So, the two might be looked upon to help more on pass downs early in the season. Sorrell and Cox would then get called upon for the early-down work. It is early in the training camp period, and plenty can change.
However, it is clear that hopes are high for Dennis-Sutton even though he is just a rookie who fell a bit in the draft.
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