That's not an atypical gain. This is the time of year NFL guys are bulking up and pushing the limits on their workouts. Then once TC starts, it becomes more of a maintenance plan to keep them static during the season.
Colby Wooden got a few snaps at DE this week because of various dudes missing time.
https://www.si.com/nfl/packers...rs-otas-01hz326k0xvc
With starting ends Rashan Gary and Preston Smith not present for the voluntary practice and with Lukas Van Ness sidelined by a broken thumb, Wooden moved from defensive tackle to defensive end.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Wooden said.
That’s because Wooden played a lot on the edge at Auburn. During his final three collegiate seasons, Wooden according to Pro Football Focus played 663 snaps outside the offensive tackle, including 253 in 2022.
“This week, we’re down a couple guys,” Wooden said. “I’ve played it before so it’s nothing out of the ordinary. I had to get back to different rules, obviously, but I like it.”
With that go-go mentality, the Packers may need to roster an extra player on the DL. They do have the luxury of having big edge rushers in Rashan, Preston and LVN tho, so they may shift inside in some situations as well.
This defense is going to be fun to watch.
Here's another one from Mike Wahle - this time an interview with Karl Brooks
Holy shit, Brooks is really dialed in for a rookie. Starting at the 5:20 mark Brooks talks about handling the long-ass NFL season and what he's working on for 2024
The entire interview is well done and the Packers nailed this 6th round pick
Packers Wire with a post on TJ Slaton
https://packerswire.usatoday.c...-during-2023-season/
"Consider this: According to Pro Football Focus, Slaton was the second-highest graded defensive lineman when aligning in a one-technique position during the 2023 season. Generally speaking, a one-technique is lined up directly across from or shaded slightly to one side of the center.
The top graded player? Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants at 88.4.
Slaton was second at 82.5.
The one-technique usually commands a double team from the center and guard and is a key player in the run defense front.
Per PFF, Slaton played 679 snaps last season. He produced 16 pressures as a pass-rusher and 35 stops against the run. His run stop percentage (9.5) was the highest on the Packers defense."
That stud is coming to clean your clock, IOW beat your arse.
Video breakdown on Lucas Van Ness - both vs pass and run
Impressive progression in his rookie season.
^ In the Gute interview, they asked about a 3rd contract for Clark given the Packers previous reticence in signing elders
Gute said that Clark is still a relatively young man- so signing him to a 3rd deal isn't a concern given his age and durability.
I mighta missed this elsewhere, but here's a pic of Mike Daniels coaching the Packers DL. He's an aspiring coach and MLF invited him to GB to talk to the youngsters about the nuances of DL play and to get a feel for pro coaching
https://x.com/ByRyanWood/status/1800965475083432101
“Attack, attack, attack.
Aggressive, and I’m loving it. I’m loving it.
Really just pin your ears back, relax and play.”
@Satori posted:I mighta missed this elsewhere, but here's a pic of Mike Daniels coaching the Packers DL. He's an aspiring coach and MLF invited him to GB to talk to the youngsters about the nuances of DL play and to get a feel for pro coaching
At what point does he discuss late hits to reverse INTs? 
from The Athletic
“Man, any guy in this locker room will tell you Preston is Preston,” edge rusher Rashan Gary said. “Preston is the heartbeat, man. He’s going on 10 years.
I’ve been with him my whole six years. Everybody feeds off him. When Preston talks, everybody be quiet and listen because when 10 years talk, he’s coming from experience and understanding. That’s what P brings, man.”
One of the more remarkable stats in Packers land is that Preston Smith has only missed one game in his nine-year career.
The 31-year-old edge rusher has played in 153 of a potential 154 games in the regular season and playoffs during his four years with Washington and five years with Green Bay.
Smith has produced more consistently in the last three seasons — his sacks totals have been 9, 8.5 and 8 from 2021-2023 — and he returns in 2024 as the only player on the 91-man roster in his 30s, a valued voice and example for others in the locker room.
Z Smith got all the publicity early on. A large part was deserved, IMO.
P Smith defines "solid"; slow but steady, productive, and available.
Since we're hoping Hafley's 'scheme' is going to be the magic key to unlock the defense, I hope the same is true for Preston.
.
A little more fluffery on our graybeard, Preston Smith. This time from wes hod at packers.com - lots of good nuggets in the article
https://www.packers.com/news/l...-the-tone-in-year-10
"Smith is technically the only player on the Packers' 90-man roster whose age doesn't begin with a "2," but the 6-foot-5, 265-pound edge rusher has shown few signs of slowing down.
Coming off his sixth season with at least eight sacks, Smith enters the 2024 season tied with Ezra Johnson (41½) for the sixth-most sacks in Green Bay's team annals dating back to sacks becoming an official statistic in 1982.
Smith feels he still has plenty left to achieve, both individually and as a team. He made back-to-back NFC title games during his first two seasons in Green Bay and came close to another this past year.
Could this be the year Smith and the Packers make the jump?
The eldest player on Green Bay's roster doesn't see why not. Asked to describe the current feel of this team, Smith offers just one word:
Electrifying.
Some clips & quotes on Old Man Preston Smith and ascending youth, Enagbare
https://www.packers.com/video/packers-daily-year-10
Cheesehead TV with an article on everyone's favorite young DL - Karl Brooks
Poised for a breakout season in Titletown...
https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/...takeover-in-2024-639
"Karl Brooks was a top-ten rookie in sacks, QB hits, hurries, batted passes, and stops. He was Green Bay’s highest-rated defender in the playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers."
https://www.packers.com/news/r...n-the-attack-in-2024
lots more in the article from Hod Weskiewicz
...But it's also the way the 26-year-old handles himself away from the spotlight. Whether it's rehabbing or training, Gary has demonstrated a work ethic that's second to none and it rubs off on those around him.
So, when it came time to sign Gary to a long-term extension last October, the decision was a no-brainer for Green Bay's brass.
"I said it before, I'll say it again, he's the best leader on our team," defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. "Every day he comes to work, every day he's encouraging. … He's constantly pulling somebody aside to talk to them.
He's the engine. He drives it. It's what he does."
There was a different vibe in the locker room this spring, especially while practicing against an offense whose confidence has grown exponentially since last year's offseason program.
"You can tell the energy around the building from top to bottom is great, especially on defense having a whole new staff, a whole new life," Gary said.
"We're loving it on defense. With the offense, man, I love their swagger. It's not like last year at all. We come back, everybody works day in and day out."
Go Packers
I'd guess Brenton Cox is currently DE5 on the depth chart, but with a full year in the program, he's shown some flashes on the field and kept his nose clean off the field. Time for the year 2 leap
https://packerscoverage.com/br...en-bay-packers-camp/
"Brenton Cox put together a strong showing during offseason programs, particularly during the two-day minicamp. In one of those practices, he had two really nice pass rush reps against Jordan Morgan and Andre Dillard, where he used his power to get each tackle off-balanced and then made his way to the quarterback. Cox’s power pass rush moves will look even better once the pads come on and he can use that ability to its full effect.
This one is from PFF, ranking Defensive Lines.
DL is truly the key to the success of this scheme. They are inviting the pass with their single- high safety alignment, so the pass rush has to get home quickly.
What's interesting to note is that the Hafley defense is modeled after NYJ, SF and Houston. And all 3 of those DLs are ranked in Top Ten by pff. Very encouraging
Packers DL comes in at # 11, hoping to see them rise in 2024
.
Some more cutups on DL Karl Brooks -
he's pretty advanced in his pass rush moves... for a late round rookie.
Add a 2nd year leap ?
Brooks is one of those guys who didn't go higher in the draft because his athletic scores were poor and he did not play in a power conference. However, all he has ever done is be productive, from high school to leading Bowling Green in sacks 4 out of his 5 seasons. I remember when he was drafted one of the ESPN guys said they had him as a third round pick.
There was also a lot of post-draft praise for the player/pick. Sometimes guys just slip through, whether it's through the draft or on their way to the QB.
Brooks has the ability to think on his feet, but far quicker and more naturally than a lot of young guys. In the SF play on the cutups, he tries the same move he used against the Bears guard but when it doesn't work, Brooks just shifts to a bull rush and ends up walking his guy back into Purdy's face. What was impressive was that the switch was fast, smooth, and natural when for a lot of young guys they would have stuck to their first move too long and then signaled their next move. For Brooks, it all happens fast and easily. Nice pick by Gutey.
.
Rashan Gary is strong like bull
More here from the analytics crew
Analytics prove Rashan Gary’s talent as a bullrusher
A new metric ranks Gary 1st in the league in his ability to generate force on bullrush. Using tracking data, Ferraiola developed what he calls a pass-rusher’s momentum — their speed relative to their weight at a point of contact with offensive linemen.
A pretty good coach once said "do what you do best .... and do it over, and over, and over"
@FLPACKER posted:A pretty good coach once said "do what you do best .... and do it over, and over, and over"
A corollary of that I've also heard is "if you do something and it works, don't stop doing it until your opponent shows they can stop it"
The best example of not following this was the Seahawks passing at the 1 yard line in the Super Bowl instead of just handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch with plenty of time left.
40.5 out of the 45 sacks the Packers generated last year came from the designated DL dudes. The 3 other defenses GB is allegedly modeled after had more sacks total and more from their DL than the 2023 Packers produced.
Part of the reason is read n react vs exploding into the backfield. Packers DL had to "read first" and some of them complained that made it easier for the OL to hold them. This year, they've been coached to just explode onto the other side of the LOS.
Of course opposing OL have their own set of tricks to handle this, but turning the Packers DL athletes loose should result in more disruption in opposing passing games.
Here are the opponent passer ratings vs the 4 defenses playing this style and scheme. ( =league rank )
NYJ... 76.2 (2)
SF...81.0 (5)
Hou...90.5 (19)
GB...93.7 (23)
https://www.teamrankings.com/n...e-team-passer-rating
Hopefully GB moves up in that ranking and they have the talent on the DL to make it happen.
@Satori posted:40.5 out of the 45 sacks the Packers generated last year came from the designated DL dudes. The 3 other defenses GB is allegedly modeled after had more sacks total and more from their DL than the 2023 Packers produced.
Part of the reason is read n react vs exploding into the backfield. Packers DL had to "read first" and some of them complained that made it easier for the OL to hold them. This year, they've been coached to just explode onto the other side of the LOS.
Of course opposing OL have their own set of tricks to handle this, but turning the Packers DL athletes loose should result in more disruption in opposing passing games.
Here are the opponent passer ratings vs the 4 defenses playing this style and scheme. ( =league rank )
NYJ... 76.2 (2)
SF...81.0 (5)
Hou...90.5 (19)
GB...93.7 (23)https://www.teamrankings.com/n...e-team-passer-rating
Hopefully GB moves up in that ranking and they have the talent on the DL to make it happen.
Love the attacking mode for the DL in the passing game...however, this will likely open up some holes in the run game, so the LBs and DBs will need to be sure tacklers. I believe the changes in the safety group and the addition of Cooper are the perfect complement to the new DL attack style.
Hafley is the one who let the dogs out 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojULkWEUsPshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojULkWEUsPs