Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt fractured his fibula in Week 13 of the 2025 season. While he did not miss any games in 2026, it looked like he was shaking off the rust early in the season.
However, after a strong two-sack performance against the Chicago Bears, the Packers coaches admit that they have been seeing the growth.
“That was encouraging to see,” admitted Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “He’s a guy that we absolutely need, and we know what he can do and the force that he can be from an interior rusher.”
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon added that the timeline for his return is about on par with how he has produced. He admits that the team tempered expectations early into the season, but they have never been discouraged with his development.
“I’m very pleased with where he’s at, and I think he’s ascending right now.”
Wyatt has four pressures this season. He had one in Week 2, and one in Week 3 before his blowup performance in Week 5.
Green Bay Packers Are High on Devonte Wyatt
Wyatt is a former first-round pick, so when he gets rolling at his best, he is a true talent. The former 28th overall pick did not play much as a rookie. He had just 224 snaps and 1.5 sacks.
In his second season, he played a career-high 644 snaps. He recorded 5.5 sacks. Then, injuries started to play a role in his career. He only played 14 games and 366 snaps in 2024. Then, he played 10 games and 379 snaps in 2025.
Still, he had nine combined sacks in those two seasons. When Wyatt is going and healthy, he is a talented option. However, despite being much improved on a per-snap basis, the volume of snaps have not been there.
Packers Will Need More From Wyatt
So far, Wyatt is seeing a similar snap share to his recent seasons. As a rookie, he had just 23% of the defensive snaps played. He played 49.7% in his second year, and then just 40.7% in his third year. Then, in 2025, he was at 59.8%. Right now, the team has him playing just under half of their snaps.
The Packers just lost his teammate Javon Hargrave for the year due to an Achilles injury. Warren Brinson was already on the IR. They also might be without Jonathan Ford, who is not practicing.
They are going to have to lean into Karl Brooks, Wyatt, and rookie third-round pick Chris McClellan. So, there is an expectation that Wyatt is going to need to play more snaps.
It is good timing that he was able to shake off the rust and that they were able to ease him back in. Now, he played his best game, and the team is ready to put more on his plate.
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