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- Mar 19, 2019
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Countdown to Camp is a series of stories examining the Packers' roster, position by position, leading up to training camp. The seventh installment features the linebackers.
GREEN BAY – The Smith Bros. era is upon us.
The 2019 season not only marked a turning point for the Packers' defense, but it also saw Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith emerge as two of the NFL's top up-and-coming pass rushers.
When General Manager Brian Gutekunst signed the Smiths in March 2019, he bet on potential over previous production with Preston coming off a four-sack year in Washington and Za'Darius having started only 16 combined games over four seasons in Baltimore.
It took only one game to prove the Smiths were a worthwhile investment. The two dominated in the Packers' 10-3 win over Chicago in the opener, combining for eight tackles, six quarterback hits and 2½ sacks – and never let up.
Za'Darius' gregarious personality made him an instant fan favorite. He went viral in November for wearing an undershirt in support of the mother of a member of the equipment staff who was battling cancer. A month later, he pulled the same trick again when he revealed a "Snubbed" shirt under his jersey following a sack, in response to not being voted to the Pro Bowl on initial balloting.
Za'Darius (6-4, 272), who eventually made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, set career highs across the board with 55 tackles, 37 QB hits, and a team-high 13½ sacks. His 93 pressures paced all NFL pass rushers, according to Pro Football Focus, and the most by a Packers player in more than a decade.
While not as outspoken as Za'Darius, Preston Smith (6-5, 265) was equally effective. He, too, enjoyed a career year in his first campaign with the Packers, with 56 tackles, 12 sacks and an interception.
Neither Smith missed a game all season, with both playing more than 83% of the Packers' defensive snaps (Za'Darius 872, Preston 870). Going into 2020, it's the Packers' hope to take a few snaps off their pass rushers' plates and they'll be counting on a young stable of outside linebackers to accomplish that goal.
Veteran Kyler Fackrell, the primary backup to the Smiths last year, signed with the New York Giants as an unrestricted free agent in March, vacating 415 defensive snaps in the process.