It'll be all hands on deck for the Green Bay Packers as they navigate choppy waters without Micah Parsons, who could miss as much as half of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL.
The Packers must find a way to win games without Parsons, something they failed to do in the five games without him last season. It adds a sense of urgency to the pass rush beyond Parsons on the depth chart.
Lukas Van Ness will shoulder much of the burden, as will rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton and second-year Barryn Sorrell. It will take a collective effort, especially with Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare no longer in Green Bay.
The Packers will also need Collin Oliver, often nicknamed "Baby Micah," to become an important piece of the rotation.
Injuries robbed Oliver of 16 games last season, and another frustrating setback cost him the offseason practices this spring. But if healthy, Oliver can offer a different flavor to the other pass-rushers on the roster. The Packers need to find a way to unlock "Baby Micah."
Availability is the top priority. Oliver has missed a ton of developmental work since the Packers drafted him in the fifth round a year ago, and this comes after suiting up only twice in his final season for Oklahoma State. At some point, the Packers need his potential to become production.
Collin Oliver can make a difference for the Packers' pass rush, but there are questions he must answer
There's a reason why the Packers drafted him, and also why he earned the nickname "Baby Micah" (even if he isn't a fan of the name).
Part of it is his versatility. Oliver can line up all over the field. He can also add speed to a Packers pass rush that has mostly prioritized power rushers. Oliver undoubtedly delivered production in college. In a three-season stretch from 2021 to 2023, he posted 22.5 sacks, 38.5 tackles for loss, and recorded 120 pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
While it's an incredibly small sample size, Oliver showed some of that promise in his lone appearance for the Packers in Week 18 last season. PFF credited him with two pressures and two hits on 17 pass-rush snaps. He also had a stop, which PFF defines as tackles "that constitute a 'failure' for the offense."
Oliver projects as a designated pass-rusher in the Packers' defense. He is undersized and could get lost against the run. Jonathan Gannon is among the best defensive minds when it comes to unlocking pass-rushers, just as he did for Josh Sweat and Javon Hargrave.
But the Packers need to see it now. After a lost rookie year, the Packers need Oliver to become a piece of the pass-rush rotation, especially while Parsons is out.
He has received glowing praise from Parsons. According to Wed Hodkiewicz of Packers.com, the two worked together this offseason, and Oliver has regularly asked Parsons for advice. Parsons referred to Oliver as one of his "little brothers."
Head coach Matt LaFleur also spoke highly of Oliver before he made his Packers debut last December.
"Does he has promise?Absolutely he does," LaFleur said in December. "Just watching him practice all last week, you see why we took him. I just think he needs more reps, but in the event that we need him, early showings are promising."
The Packers need those "promising" early signs to turn into real production in the regular season.
It starts with staying healthy this summer and getting some valuable reps at training camp. From there, it's over to Gannon to unlock Oliver's potential. The Packers don't need "Baby Micah" to become the next Parsons, but they need him to become a piece of the pass-rush puzzle while their All-Pro recovers.
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