The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects who could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Green Bay Packers need to get more production from the defensive line. After a disappointing season from that group, the Packers gave defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich his walking papers and hired DeMarcus Covington, who served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots this past season.
With a new voice leading that room, the Packers will hope that Kenny Clark can bounce back from the worst season of his career and hope they can get more out of the duo of Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness.
Along with hoping for internal growth, the Packers will look to add more talent to that room. A potential target during the 2025 NFL Draft is T.J. Sanders. The South Carolina defensive tackle checks in at No. 69 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.
A three-star recruit and former basketball standout, Sanders didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school.
After recording one sack during his first two seasons on campus, Sanders enjoyed a breakout season in 2023. He recorded 43 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four pass deflections.
This past season Sanders recorded 50 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks.
“He was one of the best players on a very talented defense, which had difference-makers at every level,” Hale McGranahan, a reporter for TheBigSpur.com, said. “He was certainly one of them up front.”
Sanders is a twitched-up interior presence with explosive power. He has a devasting bull rush. Despite being relatively new to the sport he has a detailed pass rush plan that features active hands with a mean swipe. According to Pro Football Focus, Sanders recorded 60 pressures to go along with his 8.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
“I’d say his greatest strength is pass-rush ability, but he’s really good against the run, too,” McGranahan said. “The production is pretty solid for an interior guy. He’s also graded out better as a pass rusher than run defender on PFF.”
Sanders isn’t a roadblock versus the run. He’s not going to eat up double teams. What he is going to do is cause chaos. He’s active and slippery, and recorded 54 run stops over the past two seasons. The South Carolina defensive tackle fires into blockers and tosses them aside with leverage and power. The former basketball star has good foot quickness and the lateral mobility to shoot into gaps and disrupt the action in the backfield.
“Sanders was a very good high school basketball player who didn’t play football for his high school until his junior year, so he was a little raw coming into college,” McGranahan said. “But he just kept getting better each year.”
Fit with the Packers
The Packers need more disruption from their defensive line. A year after having a pass rush run hot and cold, mostly cold, Gutekunst may be looking to kickstart Green Bay’s pass rush by adding more talent to the mix
Sanders checks the boxes. He’s twitchy and gap penetrator. Over the past two seasons he combined for 17 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 60 pressures and 54 run stops.
“I could see him being a fit in either an odd or even front,” McGranahan said. “South Carolina mixed up some of their fronts over the last couple of seasons, especially in 2023, so Sanders does have experience playing in different spots. If I’m an NFL general manager, I’d like to believe that he’s going to add some versatility to my defensive line.”
The Packers may or may not pick up the fifth-year option for Wyatt. Clark’s down season is alarming and the hope is that it was simply a blip on the radar. Karl Brooks brings value as a rotational piece.
With TJ Slaton set to hit free agency and the uncertainty surrounding Wyatt’s future in Green Bay, the Packers need to a defensive tackle to the mix.
Sanders would bolster Green Bay’s interior pass rush and would provide them with a player that could create havoc against the run. If he’s on the board when the Packers are on the clock in the second round he could be the pick.