The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a look at Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Mike Daniels, who will be looking to continue his dominant ways in 2016.
There are exactly 76 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
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The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a look at number 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here).
There were plenty of strong choices to profile at number 76, including offensive linemen Alex Boone, Mike Iupati and Donovan Smith. However, it was a dominant defensive lineman who stood as the best choice here.
Let’s take a look at Green Bay Packers defensive play-maker Mike Daniels.
Taken out of Iowa in the fourth-round (132nd overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft, Daniels has proven to be a massive steal by the Packers. Daniels was considered to be too small for a defensive tackle by most team, but his quickness off of the snap appealed to the Packers.
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He had limited playing time as a rookie, but really burst on to the scene as a second-year player in 2013, piling up 6.5 sacks in a relatively limited role. Daniels became a full-time starter for the Packers in 2014.
Lining up primarily as a three-technique defensive tackle in the Packers’ 3-4 defense, Daniels continued to shine in 2015, having his best season yet. He only had four sacks, but he was able to create consistent pressure on the quarterback and led all Packers’ defensive linemen with 66 tackles on the season.
Daniels was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate for his performance in 2015, and was even named the Packers’ team MVP for 2015 by the Packers Hall of Fame.
A talented and disruptive talent up front, Daniels was rewarded with a four-year, $42 million extension by the Packers this off season, and the 27-year-old will look to take his game to the next level in 2016.
Daniels is a constant disruptor from the interior, using an incredible blend of power, quickness and an explosive first step to physically man-handle opposing offensive lineman. His ability to physically overwhelm offensive lineman in a bull rush is elite. Case in point:
Mike Daniels putting dude on skates https://t.co/XihbiSSPtw
— DJ (@PackersFanatic5) February 13, 2016
Daniels’ quickness also comes in to play on a consistent basis. He regularly shoots the gaps and makes plays in the backfield both against the run and the pass, as we see here.
Meanwhile, Mike Daniels is continuing to blow up both pass and run plays.https://t.co/QkweJ7BVzW
— Taylor O'Neill 🧀Packers🧀 (@TaylorONeill87) November 9, 2015
An impact player who the Packers absolute stole in the fourth-round in 2012, Daniels makes huge plays like this week in and week out. He has established himself as a premier defensive lineman in recent years, and seemingly has the upside to get even better.
It will be interesting to see if the Packers’ defensive star starts to get more recognition going forward, because he undoubtedly deserves it. Daniels should be making Pro Bowls and getting All-Pro consideration throughout his four-year contract with the Packers.
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Now that he has his money, perhaps Daniels will start to get the recognition that he deserves.