Jordon Riley’s Emergence: How the Packers Found a Hidden Gem in the Trenches
Micah Parsons may be the headline addition in Green Bay this year-and rightfully so-but there’s another newcomer quietly making his presence felt in the Packers’ defensive front. He didn’t arrive with the fanfare or the All-Pro pedigree, but over the past few weeks, Jordon Riley has stepped into the spotlight in a way that’s hard to ignore.
When Devonte Wyatt went down with a fractured ankle on Thanksgiving, it felt like a gut punch to the Packers’ run defense. Wyatt had been a tone-setter up front, a key reason why Green Bay had been stout against the run. With him sidelined for the rest of the season, the immediate question was: who’s going to anchor the middle now?
The initial answers were rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse-both promising, both tough, but still green. So the Packers looked outside the building and found a potential answer in an unlikely place: the New York Giants’ practice squad.
Enter Jordon Riley.
A seventh-round pick by the Giants in 2023, Riley logged 21 games over two seasons in New York, tallying 12 tackles, three for loss, and a quarterback hit. Not exactly eye-popping numbers, but for a player drafted near the tail end of the draft, it was a respectable start. He spent all of 2025 on the practice squad before Green Bay gave him a call-and an opportunity.
And so far? He’s making the most of it.
In three games with the Packers, Riley has played roughly 26% of the defensive snaps and recorded just two tackles. But don’t let the stat line fool you-this is one of those cases where the tape tells a much richer story than the box score.
Riley’s impact has been felt in the trenches, where games are often won and lost. At 6-foot-5 and 338 pounds, he brings the kind of size and strength that immediately draws comparisons to Packers legends like Gilbert Brown and B.J.
Raji. Like those two, Riley isn’t just a space-eater-he’s a disruptor.
He clogs lanes, sheds blocks, and forces running backs to change course.
Against Chicago on Saturday night, Riley finally got his due on the stat sheet. But more importantly, he showed why he’s been turning heads in the film room.
On several inside runs, he executed textbook technique-getting under the blocker’s pads, holding his ground, and then shedding at just the right moment to bring down the runner. It’s the kind of subtle, dirty work that doesn’t always show up in highlights but makes a massive difference over the course of a game.
Even in passing situations, Riley flashed some juice. He wasn’t racking up sacks or QB hits, but he was pushing the pocket, collapsing the interior, and making life uncomfortable for the quarterback.
On a few plays, he drove his man back far enough to force hurried throws. And while the quarterback escaped before Riley could make a play, it’s not hard to imagine him finishing those reps as he gets more comfortable in the system.
Let’s not forget-this is a guy who hadn’t played a snap of regular-season football in three months before joining the Packers. There’s bound to be some rust.
But even with limited reps, he’s already showing that he can be a valuable piece in the rotation. He’s not just holding his own-he’s helping stabilize a unit that could’ve easily unraveled after Wyatt’s injury.
And that No. 97 jersey? It carries some weight in Green Bay, having belonged to Kenny Clark for nearly a decade. Riley’s not trying to fill those shoes overnight, but he’s wearing the number with pride-and starting to carve out his own identity in the process.
The Packers have a knack for finding value where others don’t. And in Jordon Riley, they may have unearthed another gem-one who’s quietly becoming a force in the middle at just the right time.