GREEN BAY – The reaction amongst Packers defenders to adding Micah Parsons to their unit is two-pronged.
One, the excitement to have one of the game's elite defensive players coming on board is off the charts. Two, the challenge of replacing the departed Kenny Clark on the interior up front is very real.
The Packers were back at practice Monday after a weekend off that featured them learning about their newest teammate.
For a defense that ranked in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed last season, there's a genuine eagerness to see just how good it can be with a three-time All-Pro like Parsons now in the fold.
"It's scary," said Rashan Gary, who will often be Parsons' counterpart as a bookend when the newcomer is rushing off the edge. "It's for sure scary with the pieces that we have."
In just a brief introduction with Parsons taking limited practice reps, Gary said he's doing everything he can to get familiar with how he likes to rush, which side he prefers, and how he approaches the game.
Gary, who went to his first Pro Bowl last year, sees them potentially flipping sides depending on matchups and forcing offenses to "pick their poison," in terms of devoting attention in pass protection. Asked whether he'll see fewer chips and double-teams with Parsons out there, Gary simply replied, "I guess we're going to see that on the 7th."
That's of course the date of the regular-season opener against the Lions, Sunday at Lambeau Field. That's not a lot of time for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to get Parsons incorporated into the defense, and there are questions about how much he can play right away, having not practiced due to a back injury and his contract dispute in Dallas.
Parsons brings an element of speed to Green Bay's defense that was enhanced last year when linebacker Edgerrin Cooper was healthy and playing regularly. Cooper proved tough to block as both a blitzer and attacking run defender, which will no longer be a secret in his second season, but with another speed demon like Parsons coming from elsewhere …
"Nightmares for the offensive side of the ball," Cooper said. "I feel like Haf's gonna have a pretty fun time with us, so ready to look towards that.
"In my perspective, offenses can't focus on one type of blitzer, one type of pass rusher. We got guys coming from both sides, and we got RG, now we got him …"
But the sacrifice is the defense no longer has Clark, the three-time Pro Bowl lineman who's been the anchor of Green Bay's run defense and interior pass rush for nearly a decade. Every single teammate was sad to see him go.
In taking over as coordinator last year, Hafley helped fashion the Packers' best ranking in run defense since 2009. Repeating that success will be a major challenge without Clark, but the young interior linemen who all learned under him – Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks, plus rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse – will be out to maintain that new standard.
"Those guys upstairs trust us enough to make a bold decision like that," said Wooden, a third-year pro coming off his best training camp to date. "So for us, we've got to go prove them right and back it up."
Gary expressed plenty of confidence in the group, believing he saw major strides from all those young players during camp, particularly the joint practices. There's a leadership void he sees them seeking to fill, too.
"A player like Kenny, it's really hard how you make that up," Gary said. "He's a helluva leader, helluva player.
"Attention to detail is up, and just with KC leaving, they know they have to step up. Today, you see them hopping trying to be first in the D-tackle drills. Who's going to be that first guy with the D-tackles?"
On the other side of the ball, perhaps no one was more fired up about Parsons' arrival than college teammate and left tackle Rasheed Walker. Those two played together at Penn State, going head-to-head in practice as pass rusher vs. pass blocker.
In talking with Parsons last week while trade talk was swirling, it was Walker who put Parsons' mind at ease about Green Bay, telling him it was a lot like State College, Pa., and he feels he'll fit in just fine.
"Micah's a great kid, great teammate, great person," Walker said. "I know the media tries to make him seem like otherwise, but I've known him since I was like 17 years old. He's always been the same kid, so I think he'll be a great locker room guy."
Walker, who said he expects to start at left tackle for the opener following a groin injury and camp competition with Jordan Morgan, said going against Parsons in practice again, like in college, will only make him better in the long run.
"Shoot, I feel like it makes me and the team more hungry for that Super Bowl," he said.
The quest starts for real soon enough.
"Six days to the game, everybody's hungry, everybody's focused," Gary said. "Everybody can't wait to see what he's going to do. I know he's excited with the opportunity he has ahead of him. Man, just everybody's excited, ready for Week 1."
