The Green Bay Packers thought that adding Micah Parsons to their pass rush would take a middling unit and turn it into a great one. While Parsons has lived up to every ounce of hype since coming over and being handed his new contract extension, names like Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness haven't had the results many optimistic fans expected.
With no first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft due to the Parsons trade and a dominant division that requires some serious improvements if they are going to end up contending in the near future, Green Bay needs to come out of the 2026 offseason with a player like Denver Broncos edge rusher John Franklin-Myers joining their defensive line.
Pro Football Focus listed Franklin-Myers as one of 15 possible free agents who are in line to cash in, further reinforcing the notion that he has long been one of the more underrated players in the league who deserves another starting role on a contender.
Packers need to consider Broncos edge rusher John Franklin-Myers in free agency
With both the Broncos and New York Jets, Franklin-Myers has never been the game's best sack artist. Where he wins is through versatility and surprising pass-rush upside for someone who plays at close to 300 pounds. Is it a coincidence that he has played with elite defenses for each of the last four years?
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JFM ranks in the Top 40 in both run defense grade and pass rush grade in the eyes of Pro Football Focus, and his size allows him to both kick inside and use his quickness to beat guards while also going on the edge and beating some tackles with his excellent speed-to-power.
While it might take some creative alignments to get Franklin-Myers, Parsons, and Gary on the field at the same time, Jeff Hafley has proven to be creative enough with different alignments to warrant taking on a player of JFM's caliber. In the modern NFL, there's no such thing as having too many effective pass rushers.
Rather than hoping a player who can start right away falls late into the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Packers can supercharge an already productive defense by adding one of the league's more underrated players in Franklin-Myers and figuring out the specifics later.