Za’Darius Smith is headed into Thursday night’s matchup with the Packers carrying a little extra familiarity - and a little extra opportunity.
The Falcons edge rusher spent two seasons in Green Bay after Brian Gutekunst made him one of the centerpieces of the Packers’ 2019 free-agent push. Gutekunst had already brought in Preston Smith on a 4-year deal, then added Za’Darius Smith, who had spent his first four NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Together, the two Smiths gave Green Bay the pass-rush boost the front office was chasing.
Za’Darius made the move look like money well spent. He put together back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in 2019 and 2020, piling up 13.5 sacks and 12.5 sacks. Preston Smith also delivered right away, finishing his first year in Green Bay with 12 sacks before dropping to four in 2020.
The partnership didn’t last long. In 2021, Za’Darius was limited to one game - the season opener - after a back injury and controversy surrounding not being voted a team captain.
He was then shut down on injured reserve. Green Bay released him the following offseason before the final year of his 4-year contract, and he went on to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, where he posted another ten-sack Pro Bowl season.
After that, he bounced around to the Browns, Lions, and Eagles before landing in Atlanta this offseason.
Now he’s back in a role that has already produced early results for the Falcons. Through two games, Smith has 2.5 sacks in just 44 defensive snaps, making him the only Falcons player with more than a half-sack this season.
That total has come despite him ranking third among the team’s defensive ends in snaps. Two of those sacks came against Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, and Pro Football Reference has him with six QB pressures, a strong opening stretch by any measure.
Thursday night will mark Smith’s fourth game against the Packers since leaving Green Bay after the 2021 season. Only one of the previous three came at Lambeau Field.
That was in 2022 with the Vikings, when Smith had three tackles in a 41-17 Packers win late in the season. His other two matchups also came in divisional settings: the Vikings beat the Packers in Minnesota in Week 1 of that 2022 season, and Smith was with the Detroit Lions in 2024 when they beat Green Bay 34-31 at Ford Field on Thursday Night Football.
He recorded a sack in both of those games.
His workload could be on the rise again this week. Falcons starting end Samson Ebukam was limited on the injury report, and Smith’s snap count has already climbed from 16 in Week 1 against the Steelers to 28 last Sunday against the Panthers. If Ebukam is heavily limited or unavailable Thursday, Smith should be in line for more than 30 snaps, and Green Bay will have to account for him if it wants to slow Atlanta’s pass rush.
In Other News...
Packers May Have Found Pass Rush Help At The Perfect Time
The pass rush has been one of Green Bays most watched areas early this season, and rookie edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton has started to give the defense a timely boost. Against the Jets, he put together a disruptive afternoon with six tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits, the kind of activity that shows up on the stat sheet and in the pressure Washington? No, in the pressure he helped create on the opposing quarterback.
For a player taken 120th in the draft, that kind of early production is notable, especially when hes already ranking 15th among edge defenders in pass-rush win rate after two games. The Packers are always looking for help up front, and Dennis-Sutton has at least opened the door to a bigger role by outplaying several rookies selected ahead of him. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Secondary Just Lost Its Biggest Safety Net Before Packers Game
The Falcons defense took a significant hit this week when cornerback A.J. Terrell was placed on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in a recent game. His absence comes with a real timing issue for Atlanta, too, because he now has to sit out at least four games, putting Week 7 as the earliest possible return. For a secondary that leans on him as its top coverage option, the loss changes the look of the group heading into a matchup that already had plenty of attention.
Atlanta filled the open roster spot by promoting defensive lineman Zach Harrison from the practice squad, but that move does not replace what Terrell gives the back end. For the Packers, it is the kind of development that can alter how a defense chooses to play on the perimeter and in the middle of the field, especially against an opponent that no longer has its biggest safety net available. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Face A Receiver Problem Bigger Than Week 3
Jayden Reeds injury has turned a promising early-season stretch into a far more uneasy stretch for the Packers, with the receiver leaving Sundays game against the Jets on a stretcher after a neck injury. Matt LaFleur said Reed is back in Green Bay and going through tests, but the team still does not have a recovery timeline, which leaves Green Bay trying to steady its offense without one of its most dynamic targets.
The immediate concern is Week 3 against the Falcons, where Reed is expected to miss the game and the Packers may have to adjust on the fly. Beyond that, the bigger issue is how long Green Bay could be without him, because this is the kind of injury that can ripple through a passing game well past one Sunday. [Read more 🡒]