The Green Bay Packers enter 2026 with Super Bowl expectations, but the first stretch of the season comes with a major defensive question hanging over everything: how they hold up without Micah Parsons.
Parsons is on the PUP list while recovering from a torn ACL, and his absence matters immediately. When he was out late last season, Green Bay went winless and struggled to generate steady pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That early pass rush issue is the kind of problem that can shape the whole opening month, especially with the regular season about to begin next week.
With Parsons sidelined, Lukas Van Ness is the name most offenses are likely to circle. The former first-round pick has drawn praise from Parsons, but his production has lagged behind the draft status. Through three seasons in Green Bay, he has managed 8.5 sacks, including just 1.5 in nine games last year.
Still, Van Ness is only part of the picture. The Packers need more than one edge rusher to carry the load, and Pro Football Focus sees rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton as a player who could matter far sooner than expected.
“When the Packers picked Dennis-Sutton in the fourth round, the team figured it had landed a high-upside depth piece during his rookie season. But with Micah Parsons expected to miss the first six weeks of 2026 while recovering from an ACL tear, Dennis-Sutton could be thrown into the spotlight sooner than projected.
“Dennis-Sutton was consistently excellent throughout a four-year stint at Penn State, earning at least a 75.0 PFF pass-rush grade every season while compiling 147 total pressures. He transferred that talent in his first taste of the preseason, collecting five pressures on 22 pass-rushing snaps against the Cardinals. Down Parsons in an edge defender room without many proven talents, Dennis-Sutton looms as an X-factor on a Packers defensive line facing initial questions.”
Dennis-Sutton arrives in Green Bay with real production behind him. The Packers took him in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and he posted 8.5 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss last season at Penn State.
That kind of résumé is exactly why Green Bay may lean on him sooner than planned. Parsons is not expected back until Week Five or Six, and the Packers do not have many established pass rushers to bridge the gap. Even when Parsons returns, he will likely be handled carefully on a snap count.
If Dennis-Sutton can bring the same kind of disruption he showed in college, he could remain part of the pass-rush conversation well beyond Parsons’ return.
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How that plays out will matter just as much for the ground game. The Packers are expected to lean more heavily on a zone blocking approach and more 11 personnel, which should help create a clearer offensive identity and give the scheme more flexibility. For a team still trying to solve its rushing attack, getting Love a full complement of healthy targets may be the cleanest way to take pressure off the run game while opening up the rest of the offense. [Read more 🡒]