Injuries are part of football, and the depth of every team is tested over the course of a 17-game season. The Green Bay Packers are no exception, and this season is clearly evidence of it. The Packers have lost several key players to injuries, some of them for the rest of the season. The usual mentality in the NFL when injuries hit is “next man up.” Here is a look at two areas where Packers depth players who have stepped up and gotten the job done and one area the team has yet to figure out.

Two Areas Packers Depth Players Stepped Up and One Area They Have Yet to Figure Out, Number One: Defensive End

When the Packers traded for Micah Parsons before the season started, Kingsley Enagbare figured to see less playing time behind Parsons and Rashan Gary at defensive end. But the injury to Lukas Van Ness has given Enagbare some more snaps in the rotation.

Against the Bears, Enagbare came up big. He recorded the only sack of the game for the Packers. It came late in the second quarter with the Packers ahead 14-3. The sack helped the Packers maintain their 11-point lead at the intermission.

Enagbare’s other big play came on the Bears final drive of the game. The Bears faced 3rd-and-1 at the Green Bay 14. Enagbare stepped up and stopped running back Kyle Monangai at the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams in the end zone to clinch the win for the Packers.

Enagbare has two sacks on the season with 1.5 of them coming in the last two games. He has 30 total tackles including four tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits. At this point in the season, Enagbare has become a valuable depth player at defensive end.

Number Two: The Tight Ends

The Packers lost Tucker Kraft for the season in their Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers. It took some time, but the Packers are now getting some productivity from their backup tight ends.

Against the Bears, head coach Matt LaFleur started using backup Luke Musgrave by playing to his strengths rather than having Musgrave try to do what Kraft did so well.

Musgrave caught two passes for 22 yards against the Chicago. But he also nearly caught a 34-yard pass from Jordan Love that looked like it should have been ruled a catch but was overturned somehow despite a lack of clear evidence on replay.

In recent weeks, Musgrave also drew a pass interference penalty on another downfield route. By using Musgrave’s downfield speed to his advantage, LaFleur has increased Musgrave’s productivity in the offense.

Backup tight ends John FitzPatrick and Josh Whyle also contributed to the win against Chicago. FitzPatrick caught two passes for 14 yards. Whyle, who was added to the roster from the practice squad, caught one pass on his only target but it was good for 21 yards. Both players contributed to the team’s success when called upon.

Two Areas Packers Depth Players Stepped Up and One Area They Have Yet to Figure Out, Number, Number Three: Defensive Tackle

The Packers haven’t figured this one out yet, but that’s partially because they lost Devonte Wyatt for the rest of the season late in the Thanksgiving win over the Lions.

Against Chicago, the Packers used Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden as the starters with Brooks playing 47 snaps and Wooden 43. Rookie Warren Brinson was on the field for 27 snaps while newly acquired Jordon Riley played 14 snaps.

The Packers did not get much pass rush from their tackles against the Bears. Brooks had one hurry, but that was about it. Wyatt’s ability to apply pressure from the interior of the line was definitely missed.

Against the run, the Packers had a strong first half but seemed to get tired as the game went on. The Bears ran effectively throughout the second half and were able to erase an 11-point deficit as a result.

The Packers did not dress rookie nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse nor newly the recently acquired Quinton Bohanna in this game.

Jeff Hafley will be hard pressed to find a way to replace the production Wyatt provided, but he has four more regular season games to figure it out.

 

 

 

Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers

Click here for more great Packers coverage

Check out our YouTube channel here