In the space of a couple hours on Tuesday, both the Press Gazette and Journal Sentinel had stories singling out Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Daniel Muir for his play so far in camp.
So Daniel Muir is playing pretty well, huh? He may even be a better pass rusher than his half career sack suggests.
“He’s a big, powerful guy,” defensive coordinator Dom Capers said Tuesday. “But some of those guys you see, they can’t rush. I don’t think that’s the case with Daniel. He does give you some rush, brings some tempo and intensity to the group.”
Muir appears to have a job as B.J. Raji‘s backup locked up. And here’s what you won’t hear elsewhere. The fact that a guy who was cut by two teams last season already has a roster spot sewn up tells you something else — the Packers many offseason acquisitions on the defensive line pretty much suck balls thus far.
The big signing, Anthony Hargrove, hasn’t shown anything and will be lucky to make the team. Former second-round pick Phillip Merling has shown flashes here and there, but has otherwise lived up to his bust label. Rookies Jerel Worthy and Mike Daniels, the supposed saviors of the pass rush? Nowhere to be found.
Former seventh-round pick C.J. Wilson has been starting at defensive end. Muir has stood out more than the other guys we just mentioned. While Worthy and Daniels will hopefully figure it out at some point, right now, the Packers defensive line still looks like a weakness.
Congrats to Muir for playing his way onto the team, but if he remains the Packers top backup defensive lineman, the defense is in trouble.