Packers On SI is counting down the Green Bay Packers’ top 25 players for the 2026 season. This series continues with our No. 10 player, Devonte Wyatt.In flashes, Devonte Wyatt has been everything the Packers could have hoped for when they picked him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.In his four seasons, he has 16 sacks. Among the interior defensive linemen from that draft class, nobody else has more than 10. He has 21 tackles for losses; nobody else has more than 18.Now, it’s time for him to take the next step in his career.Why Devonte Wyatt Is So ImportantWithout Micah Parsons available to save the day for the start of the season, the Packers desperately need the rest of their defensive linemen to pick up the slack.Last season, the Packers had 36 sacks. Parsons (12.5), Rashan Gary (7.5), Quay Walker (2.5) and Kingsley Enagbare (2.0) combined for 24.5. The Packers had 72 tackles for losses. Parsons (12), Walker (eight), Gary (seven), Enagbare (six) and Colby Wooden (six) had 39.Parsons is expected to miss the first several games of the season and the others are no longer on the roster. That’s more than half of their impact-tackle production.From the remaining group, Wyatt has been by far the most productive player. He had four sacks and six tackles for losses in 10 games last year, his season cut short by a season-ending injury at Detroit. With significant questions about who will rush the passer off the edge, they badly need Wyatt to turn up the heat up the middle.Devonte Wyatt’s Strengths and WeaknessesGreen Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) rushes Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectWyatt is a tremendous penetrator and pass rusher. It’s not just the baseline numbers. Every year, close to 100 interior defensive lineman get about 200 opportunities to rush the passer. By Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush win rate, Wyatt ranked sixth in 2023, 10th in 2024 and 12th in 2025. “He’s hungry, he’s very passionate, he wants to be great, and he’s very coachable and adaptable,” defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase said at the stat of the offseason program. “I believe his best ball is ahead of him. He can rush the passer, he can stop the run. He has an immaculate play style that I love.”While Wyatt’s strength is his ability, his weakness is availability. After missing only one game his first two seasons, he’s missed 10 games the last two seasons.Moreover, while more is required from Wyatt, he’s never shown he can handle more of a workload. He played 33.8 percent of the defensive snaps in 2025, 33.2 percent in 2024, 49.7 percent in 2023 and 21.7 percent in 2022. He’s played 40-plus snaps in only seven games in his career. His new sidekick, Javon Hargrave, hit that number six times last season alone while with the Vikings.“Me personally, I know I got a lot more in the tank,” Wyatt said at the end of last season. “I feel like I got a lot more in the tank than what I put out there this year or the past three years I had. I know I have a lot more and I feel like this injury right here really is going to help me get above this hump, just showing y’all what I have.”And what could that be?“You got to see,” he said. “But I feel like double-sack year, Pro Bowl, All-Pro, all the personal goals, Super Bowl, all of that. That’s what I feel like I have to be at.”What Happens If Devonte Wyatt Gets HurtGreen Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) celebrates his sack of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectLosing Wyatt was a major blow last season. When he was on the field last year, the Packers were 6-3-1. Without him, they were 3-4 in the regular season and 3-5 including the playoffs.When Wyatt has a full sack in his career, the Packers are 9-3. It’s 12-3 when he has at least a half-sack. When he has a tackle for loss, they are 10-5. When he has at least two quarterback hits, they are 7-0.Looking to this season, the Packers signed Hargrave in free agency to replace Wooden, who was traded. Hargrave should help with the pass rush, though he’s 33 and had only 3.5 sacks and four tackles for losses last season for the Vikings.The depth could be strong, though that takes some projection. Fourth-year player Karl Brooks has some good film. There are high hopes for third-round pick Chris McClellan, though it’s wait-and-see with any rookie defensive lineman. Maybe last year’s sixth-round pick, Warren Brinson, will take a big step forward after finishing strong as a rookie.Wyatt will be the leader of the group.“He’s a vocal guy,” Oghobaase said. “He’s taking more of a leadership role. And the guys like him a lot and I like him a lot. He’s been a very, very good person to bounce ideas off of. And one thing about how I like to curate the room is to make sure that the older guys who’ve established themselves, they take ownership of bringing the young guys along. He’s done an incredible job with that.”Why We Ranked Devonte Wyatt Here Wyatt, who didn’t practice during the offseason but expects to be ready for training camp, is scheduled to play this season under the fifth-year option of almost $12.4 million.That’s a lot of money. And it could be more money if Wyatt is signed to a contract extension, which would cut down on his salary-cap number while keeping him with the team for the long haul. With great money comes great expectations.Never mind the money and contracts, though. This is why Wyatt must be a star:Over the last three years, Wyatt has 14.5 sacks and 21 tackles for losses. Hargrave has 11.5 sacks and 13 TFLs. Lukas Van Ness has 8.5 sacks and 17 TFLs. Karl Brooks has eight sacks and 11 TFLs (but a half-sack and one TFL last season). As rookies, Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse combined for two sacks and two TFLs.Simply put, he’s been the best player among the healthy defensive linemen.“I’m definitely one of a kind,” Wyatt said. “I definitely am. I’m definitely one of them players that you need on your team, that guy who can bring the energy, that aggressiveness, that playing hard. But I know what I bring to the team and I want to bring more.”If Wyatt doesn’t have the best year of his career in terms of games, snaps, sacks and consistent production, the Packers’ season could be over before Parsons returns. Every year, I rank every player on the Packers roster based on talent, importance, salary etc. I will again this year, too.For now, let's cut right to the chase. Here is a quick-hitting look at the 2⃣5⃣ most important players for the 2026 season.⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 17, 2026SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow