Devonte Wyatt’s career in Green Bay is difficult to quantify as a definite success or failure through four years, and his long-term future with the team is still to be determined entering the 2026 season.
A former first-round pick, Wyatt has performed at a very high level at times, although he has not been able to show consistent dominance on the defensive interior.
On the surface, it would be easy to categorize Wyatt’s time with the Packers as disappointing, especially when looking at PFF, for example. He has never earned a grade of more than 69.9, which came in his rookie year on just 224 snaps, with grades of 59.6, 66.4 and 52.9 following. For reference, 60 represents an average grade.
This is why it is important to dig deeper though, because Wyatt’s underlying stats from PFF’s own site are much more impressive than their grades would indicate, as shown by his percentile ranks among eligible NFL defensive tackles in both 2024 and 2025.
Since he began to play significant snaps in the 2023 season, Wyatt has been one of the more impactful pass rushers from the D-tackle position in the league. That continued in 2025, although he was slightly less effective than in previous years.
That is at least to some extent reflected in his PFF pass rushing grades, which have been 71.4 or higher in each of his last three campaigns.
The big discrepancy is in how his run defense is being evaluated. Back in 2023, Wyatt was a below average run defender according to the stats, mostly due to the fact he ranked 143rd in missed tackle rate among 146 qualifiers, and 79th in tackles per snap.
There was a massive uptick in his play against the run in 2024 though, as he ranked 17th out of 153 interior defenders in tackles per snap, sixth in stop rate (tackles resulting in a failure for the offense) and fifth in average depth of tackle (AVDT). His missed tackles were less of an issue, ranking 98th.
Wyatt’s PFF grade against the run only went up from 44.7 to 52 despite those statistical improvements. The caveat in 2024 was that he only ranked 142nd in snaps per game against the run. Despite his snap-to-snap improvement, the coaching staff did not seem to trust him.
They had no choice in 2025 after Kenny Clark was traded away, and encouragingly, Wyatt maintained his strong performance against the run even as he jumped up to 46th in snaps per game.
There was a slight dip overall, as he only finished 87th in tackles per snap, but he maintained high ranks in stop rate (31st), AVDT (11th), and the most noticeable step forward was in missed tackle rate, as he ranked sixth among 146 qualifiers.
He does need to clean up the flags. With eight in the last three years combined, he has ranked towards the bottom of the league in penalties per snap in each season since 2023, although he is heading in the right direction, with his lowest rate of penalties coming last season.
Wyatt was on course to play the most snaps of his career in 2025 and likely post his highest production in both phases. While he is not an elite player, the stats say Wyatt is a viable No. 1 defensive tackle in a defense (if such a thing exists), when he is on the field.
The last part is important though, as Wyatt has been frustrated and sidelined by injuries in each of the last two seasons, playing no more than 379 snaps in either campaign, compared to 644 in 2023. In both 2024 and 2025, Wyatt has got off to a hot start, before being held back by an injury, with his performance impacted even if he has been able to play through pain.
Last year, he enjoyed playing alongside Micah Parsons and feasting on single blocks, but after putting up 11 pressures in the first two games, he managed only another 11 for the rest of the season.
He injured his knee in Week 4 against Dallas, then broke his fibula versus Detroit on Thanksgiving, knocking him out for the year.
The most important factor for Wyatt in 2026 is staying healthy, which is not something anyone can really control. The Packers will also hope adding veteran Javon Hargrave helps matters, giving him a running mate on the interior.
It is easy to see why Green Bay picked up Wyatt’s fifth-year option ahead of last season, and if not for injuries, he may have paid that decision off handsomely. Now going into a contract year, it will be interesting to see how his situation is handled.
If he is able to stay healthy and perform how the Packers know he can, an extension would likely follow.
Whether they want to take a ‘wait and see’ approach, making Wyatt prove he can stay on the field before paying him, or find a compromise on a deal ahead of the season which contains a lot of incentives – like they did with Christian Watson – remains to be seen.
Complicating the discussion is Wyatt’s advanced age for a player still on a rookie deal. He will turn 29 before playing a single snap of his second NFL contract. 2026 will be a pivotal year for Wyatt, and if he can kick the injury bug, it could be a very fruitful one.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers face conundrum with Devonte Wyatt contract entering 2026
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire | USA TODAY Network
