Green Bay Packers: 15 greatest pass rushers of all-time
By John Buhler
49. . OLB. (2012-present). Nick Perry. 15. player
Best pass rushers in Green Bay Packers history: 15. Nick Perry
- 32.0 career quarterback sacks
- 11.0 quarterback sacks in 2016
- Packers season leader in sacks (2016)
- 228 career combined tackles
Nick Perry is one of two Packers to make this list that played with the team in 2018. He comes in at No. 15 thanks to a pair of decent pass-rushing years of late, his tenure with the team and an ability to get better with age.
Admittedly, Perry was not panning out during his first four years in the league with the Packers. While he was drafted at the end of the first round in the 2012 NFL Draft after being First-Team All-Pac-12 with the USC Trojans, Perry managed just 12.5 quarterback sacks in his first four years in the league. This contributed to the Packers declining his player option as a first-round pick after his third season in the league in 2013.
On a prove-it deal in 2016, Perry had his best NFL season to date. He led the Packers with 11.0 quarterback sacks, as Green Bay made it all the way to the NFC Championship that season. Perry would also set career highs in quarterback hits (16), tackles for a loss of yardage (12) and combined tackles (52) in 2016.
This led to Perry inking a lofty, 5-year extension with the club the following offseason. Perry’s 2017 NFL season wasn’t as good as his breakout 2016 campaign, but it was respectable nonetheless.
He finished 2017 with 7.0 quarterback sacks on 14 quarterback hits on 38 combined tackles. A regression was expected, but in a season where he only played in 12 games, those numbers were again solid for Perry.
However, things would take a turn for the worse for him in 2018. Perry had 1.5 sacks in nine games this past season, as he was placed on season-ending reserve in late November. Through the 2018 NFL season, Perry has 32.0 career quarterback sacks, 46 quarterback hits, 37 tackles for a loss of yardage and 228 career combined tackles.
While Perry is only two years removed from leading the team in sacks, it remains to be seen if he’ll ever get over 10.0 again in a season. If he does, this will surely help fellow Packers pass rushers Kyler Fackrell and Clay Matthews III in their pursuit of the quarterback.
To put it simply, Perry hasn’t lived up to the expectations as a first-round pick by the Packers in the 2012 NFL Draft. However, his ability to generate a pass rush in his late 20s is commendable enough for him to merit inclusion on this all-time list.