The headline features of the Green Bay Packers' Zaire Franklin trade are, firstly, well, Franklin, and second, outgoing defensive tackle Colby Wooden.
For the Packers, Franklin is a season removed from a Pro Bowl campaign at linebacker. For the Indianapolis Colts, Wooden is a young player on a cheap contract. From either perspective, meaningful players changed hands.
Amid all the justified excitement over Franklin (or equally justified dread given his abysmal 2025 grades), the overlooked fallout of the move is its impact on Green Bay's defensive interior. There were questions before, and now they are even more pressing.
Specifically, with Wooden gone, Karl Brooks is next in line to fill his place. Whether he can step in as a serviceable starter or, more ideally, begin the season as a top reserve is a question they'll have to answer via free agency or trade, or else leave Brooks to answer it for them in training camp.
Karl Brooks could be key piece Packers fans didn't expect
If the Packers weren't already in the market for a defensive tackle, they should be now. That remains the case even with general manager Brian Gutekunst hinting that the team could run more 3-4 looks under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Now, though, they might want to swing a little more aggressively.
Though Wooden held down the fort, he's a borderline starter at best, thrust into a larger role due to Kenny Clark's departure in the Micah Parsons blockbuster. No one in Wisconsin would argue with the Parsons trade, but this is an organization accustomed to nearly a decade of Pro Bowl leadership under Clark.
The Packers aren't used to having a hole at defensive tackle, and it's not a great feeling. Flipping Wooden depletes their depth even further.
It all starts with Brooks. Behind him, the current roster also includes Warren Brinson, a 2025 sixth-rounder. Nazir Stackhouse remains in the mix. Jordan Riley, a late-season addition from the New York Giants' practice squad, exists. At defensive tackle, aside from Wyatt, Green Bay has a hodgepodge of, um, er, guys.
Brooks, a former sixth-rounder himself out of Bowling Green, has contributed meaningful backup reps in each of his three seasons. Last year, Devonte Wyatt's season-ending injury granted Brooks a starting job. After being deployed more as a pass-rusher earlier in his career, he shifted to a regular role on the defensive interior. A banged-up Packers roster needed him to.
They will need him even more so in 2026, for high-quality depth and possibly a handful of starts or more. Internally, Brinson showed flashes despite struggling overall as a rookie, so he could supply an organic boost. Without a first-round pick, however, Green Bay is unlikely to land an immediate contributor in the draft. Hopefully, Gutekunst will get his hands on a starting-caliber DT in free agency.
Even if he does, Brooks is poised to shoulder a bigger workload in the absence of Wooden. Wyatt, who will play next year on a $12.9 million team option, started regularly for the first time in '25. He has missed 10 games since '24. That he will hold up over the course of the schedule is no guarantee. It might be downright unlikely. Depth at defensive tackle is important.
Brinson flashed potential, but he's also a 198th overall draft pick with limited NFL reps. Stackhouse is a former undrafted free agent, and his clock is ticking. Riley is a practice squad graduate.
Brooks isn't a guy often discussed as a key cog on the team, but depending on how the offseason unfolds, he may enter the 2026 season as just that.