In January, Micah Parsons stood in front of reporters and challenged his teammates to "do more than what your job requires." To "run more." To "do more."
The Green Bay Packers listened. They have turned to Penn State, Parsons' alma mater, to land pass-rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton in arguably the steal of Day 3.
Sitting at No. 77 on the consensus board and consistently mocked to the Packers in the second or third round, Dennis-Sutton has somehow, some way, fallen into Green Bay's lap at No. 120 overall. He is the definition of a pass-rusher who will "run more" and "do more." Brian Gutekunst has just smashed a home run.
Dani Dennis-Sutton is everything Micah Parsons (and the Packers) desperately needed
Gutekunst traded away the Packers' first-round pick for Parsons last summer. He has spent the next three selections on helping his all-world pass-rusher. That began on Friday night by selecting a potential CB1 in Brandon Cisse and a true disruptor in defensive tackle Chris McClellan.
Now, Gutekunst has found the piece Green Bay desperately needed on the edge. Dennis-Sutton has the tools to become an instant starter.
He is a world-class athlete. His near-perfect 9.96 Relative Athletic score ranks No. 9 among 2,257 edge defenders since 1987. The Penn State product is coming off consecutive 8.5-sack seasons, but his biggest strength is his ability to shut down the run game.
It's easy to see why Gutekunst loved him. Parsons will, too.
The entire Packers pass rush ran through Parsons last season, with almost no production coming anywhere else. Even worse was the lack of effort. Rashan Gary had former players, like Mason Crosby, calling him out for "jogging" on plays when Parsons was giving everything.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Gary is now in Dallas, and the Packers have turned to Dennis-Sutton, who is the definition of relentless effort. What it means for Lukas Van Ness is an entirely different question, but Gutekunst has landed a steal in Round 4.
Parsons demanded more from his teammates. A lack of production is one thing, but a lack of effort is unacceptable. Gutekunst listened, and he has delivered another (Nittany) Lion to play alongside him.
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