Devonte Wyatt to join growing Bulldog ranks in Green Bay

After making Eric Stokes a key part of their defense in 2021, then taking Quay Walker with their first pick tonight, the Green Bay Packers have again gone to Athens to build their defense, picking defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with the 28th selection in the first round.

The Packers get a wildly productive player who can do a ton of different things in different packages. Wyatt was a first team All-SEC selection by league coaches in 2021, a season in which he led all UGA interior linemen in tackles (39) and racked up 27 quarterback pressures.

The 6’3, 315 pound Wyatt served as the somewhat smaller stalking horse when teams ran away from Jordan Davis. He has among the quickest first steps I’ve seen from an interior lineman in recent memory. That step and fluid lateral movement made Wyatt an absolute nightmare for offensive linemen in stunt packages.

He’s not some twinkle-toed lightweight though. Wyatt is thickly built with a low center of gravity that allows him to win one-on-one battles against interior linemen. He also has excellent upper body strength, which he combines with good pad level and a low center of gravity to bull rush with the best of them. While he doesn’t have the absolute mass of a Jordan Davis to require two blockers and play over the center, Wyatt played at times everywhere from a 0 to a 5 technique during his time in Athens. I expect he’ll be an every down 3 technique tackle for the Pack.

Another hallmark of Wyatt’s time in the Classic City was his durability, playing in 48 of 52 games during his college career, starting 25 of them over his last three seasons. A guy who can be counted on to anchor the middle of the defense reliably for the next five-plus seasons is well worth late first round money. I think the Green Bay Brain Trust got a great deal with this pick.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go order some Packers gear and change the site color scheme to green and gold. And figure out where I can get my hands on cheese curds at this time of night.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!