Green Bay Packers: Za’Darius Smith for Defensive Player of the Year?

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith showcased against the Minnesota Vikings why he deserves consideration for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

He didn’t begin playing football until his senior year of high school. Many didn’t know his name until recently. But after a dominant performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, it’s hard to imagine Za’Darius Smith not being a household name.

Smith is having the type of impact for the Green Bay Packers that seemingly nobody saw coming. At the time of his contract signing this past March during free agency, you would’ve been hard-pressed to convince anybody that Smith would be a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate in his first season with Green Bay.

But between starting football later in life, the limited playing time he accumulated in Baltimore with the Ravens, and the right pairing with Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, Smith has bloomed into the player Green Bay had always hoped he would be. In fact, general manager Brian Gutekunst called Smith “an ascending player” at the time of signing him.

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Along with Preston Smith, Za’Darius was brought in to make an immediate impact on the Packers’ lackluster pass-rush from yesteryear. It’s officially safe to say that Gutekunst and the front office made the right move.

Against the Vikings on Monday night, Smith produced arguably the most dominant performance by a defensive lineman over the entire 2019 NFL season. He tallied 3.5 sacks, nine quarterback pressures, five quarterback hits, four quarterback hurries, seven run stops, seven tackles (six solo) and five tackles for losses in a Packers’ NFC North-clinching victory.

His performance against Minnesota was just the cherry on top for what’s been an incredible debut season in Green Bay. His ability to affect opposing quarterback is nearly second to none.

On the season, Smith currently sits in second place for most quarterback pressures (87) among all defensive players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Only Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter has more pressures (88) through 15 games. With one game remaining, there’s a real possibility that Smith could lead the NFL in pressures during the regular season.

Comparatively, the entire Packers’ rotation of edge rushers accumulated only 88 total pressures on 984 pass-rushes in 2018. That includes Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Reggie Gilbert and Kyler Fackrell. Smith has produced 87 pressures on just 485 pass-rushes.

Smith also has the highest “Pass Rushing Productivity” rating in the league, which PFF uses to measure how much pressure a defender creates on a per-snap basis. Smith ranks first in the metric with a 10.6 productivity rating, meaning he’s affecting the quarterback on nearly 11 percent of his pass-rushes.

As for getting to the quarterback and finishing the job, Smith has tallied 13.5 sacks through 15 games, which is tied for sixth-most in the NFL. Additionally, Smith has totaled 35 QB hits, which ranks first in the league. He’s also been a force in the run game, adding 18 run stops, 54 tackles (41 solo) and 17 tackles for losses.

The one knock against Smith is the fact that he’s only forced one fumble over the entire season. Creating turnovers is one of the biggest ways to measure impact, though Smith has made up for his lack of takeaways in other ways.

It could be argued that Smith has helped transform the entire complexion of the Packers defense. His presence frees up other pass-rushers and allows the secondary to cover opposing receivers for longer. And despite all of what’s been said above, Smith was not named to the Pro Bowl this season. Winning the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award would be a nice consolation prize.