Rashan Gary is inarguably the Green Bay Packers' best pass-rusher heading into the 2025 season.
A few years ago, when Gary was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Michigan, the above statement would have been great. It would have meant that Gary had played up to his tremendous athletic potential.
Instead, and unfortunately for the Packers, the statement simply means that they have a weak pass-rush unit as the 2025 season nears.
That's not to say that Gary is not a good football player, though. At times, he's been the heart and soul of Green Bay's front seven, and he became a heck of a run-defender last season.
Perhaps that's why he still made the Top 100 Players of 2025 rankings from NFL.com, though he did drop a whopping 30 slots from his appearance last preseason.
Gary checks it at No. 80 heading into this campaign. He was ranked No. 50 heading into 2024.
"Even though Gary’s stats took a slight dip in 2024, he anchored Green Bay’s defense the entire season, starting every game for the first time in his career," NFL.com wrote. "Gary was the Packers’ leader in sacks and QB hits en route to his first Pro Bowl honor. Gary looks to continue that success on the field in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s second season."
At least Gary is on the list and within the Top 80, and he did get some credit from NFL.com for what he was able to do last season. With that said, while Gary has been good, he's simply not good enough for Green Bay.
There's a reason Gary's stock is sliding. He's the best pass-rusher on the team, but Gary is the best by default.
The former No. 13 overall pick is starting to look like a bust, Kenny Clark is coming off a season full of injuries, and he's almost 30. Former No. 28 overall pick Devonte Wyatt has potential as an interior pass-rusher, but he needs to develop more consistency.
Speaking of consistency, Gary is at least consistent for the Packers. He notched at least five sacks in every season outside of his rookie campaign, but his ceiling seems to be the 9.5 sacks he notched in 2021, which is now several seasons ago.
Gary is a good secondary pass-rusher, but he can't be counted on to be a superstar off the edge. Getting 7.5 sacks from your top pass-rusher is just unacceptable, so why Green Bay is going into 2025 counting on him to be that player is a huge question mark of this offseason.
