Flashback: It’s the year 2016. Before the draft that year, there was a strong sense of optimism surrounding that year’s depth at defensive tackle. Ten years later, it turns out that optimism was well-founded. How’s this for a list of names? DeForest Buckner. Sheldon Rankins. Jarran Reed. Chris Jones. Vernon Butler. Kenny Clark. Andrew Billings. Maliek Collins. DJ Reader. And finally, Javon Hargrave.

Hargrave isn’t the most decorated veteran from that class (that’d be Chris Jones, who is probably a future hall of famer), but Hargrave would have a very solid claim to being the second.

Hargrave was a small school guy, having attended South Carolina State University, a member of the FCS MEAC conference. While there, Hargrave was highly productive, winning that conference’s DPOY award in 2024 and 2015. Making the jump from an FCS level of competition is a daunting task, but Hargrave quickly proved that he belonged when he entered the scouting circuit. He impressed at the combine, showed out at the East-West Shrine Bowl, and continued his stellar play when he was called up to the Senior Bowl. Hargrave parlayed all that into a third round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers at the 89th overall slot.

From a pre-draft scouting report on Hargrave: “At his best, Hargrave looks like a shorter Albert Haynesworth. Not the Redskins version, but the Titans version that could single handedly destroy the pocket on any given down. Not many players have the ability to completely disrupt the entire offense from the inside, but Hargrave has proven on multiple occasions that he can do that and more. At 6-1, Hargrave is a much more stout player than he shows on film. He has the ability to play lower than the taller offensive linemen he will face on a daily basis. That gives him an advantage that should even out his lack of arm length. Hargrave’s frame and arm length may allow him to get man-handled at times if he cannot use his quickness to overtake an offensive lineman. When he is stopped in his tracks, Hargrave has trouble getting started again quickly.”

While in Pittsburg, Hargrave won the team’s starting nose tackle job in training camp and never looked back. In his first four years with the Steelers, Hargrave was regarded as a high end run defender and solid pass rusher. Over 52 games in four seasons, Hargrave logged 14.5 sacks, 22 TFLs and 22 QB hits. Hargrave was a dominant force, and signed with the Eagles in 2020. What’s forgotten now is that, at the time, this wasn’t necessarily considered a homerun hit. Mixed reviews on the signing were based on the Eagles’ lack of perceived “need” along the defensive line, Hargrave’s cost and his fit. The Eagles had just finished as the fourth best team in the league at defending the run, had signed Malik Jackson a year earlier, and had other holes to fill.

While Hargrave’s overall success with the Eagles is evident (resulting in a pro-bowl selection in 2021 and enormous success for the team), something interesting did happen for Hargrave while in Philadelphia: He almost immediately lost his reputation as a solid run defender.

While in Pittsburg, Hargrave’s run defense grades year by year from PFF: 63.8, 68.4, 78.5, and 77.2. Then, from 2020 on: 48.1, 30.1, 49.0, 51.4, 44.7, 57.3. This came alongside an explosion in pass rush production, which culminated in back to back 91+ grades in that area in 2021 / 2022, with ten and twelve sacks respectively. Hargrave was an absolute force on the interior for the Eagles, and it coincided with a clear separation of responsibilities at the line of scrimmage. By turning Hargrave into a penetrating, QB hunting specialist, the Eagles leaned into his abilities. In his last season with the Steelers, Hargrave played 178 total snaps at nose tackle, compared to just the 21 snaps there in the very next season (278 snaps at NT across his entire time with the Eagles). This trend has continued into his time with the 49ers and Vikings, to the point where considering him to be any sort of NT solution would be disingenuous.

Instead, what we as Packers fans should be considering him to be is a pretty straight 1-for-1 replacement for Colby Wooden.

The usage lines up. In 2025, the Packers used Wooden as a NT on 27% of his total snaps, similar but slightly higher than to Hargraves’ total career % there. Wooden’s attempts to beef up and play more nose tackle for the Packers last year was admirable, but ultimately fell short of an effective benchmark. Continuing to use PFF as a snapshot of play quality, Wooden’s career numbers fall short of where Hargrave’s have been, even in his worst years. In 2025, Wooden’s snap count exploded up to 622 snaps from 260 the previous year, but only logged a 50.6 overall grade, with 46.4 run defense and 59.1 pass rush grades supporting our conclusion.

As the Packers look to round out their defensive line room with more of a  true nose tackle type in rookie Chris McCellean, fans can rest assured that Hargrave will be an effective 3-tech to complement Micah Parsons, Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness. It’s probably a bit reckless to assume that a reunion with his former defensive coordinator Johnathan Gannon could bring out a 2021/2022 version of himself, but the impact that having that kind of prior connection shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

Neither should the motivation that comes from being released by the 49ers and Vikings in back to back seasons. From a recent article by Bill Huber of Packers On SI: “Man, just that challenge,” he said of what motivates him to keep grinding. “I think right now, being later in my career, it’s the stink of, ‘Does he got it anymore?’ I don’t want to say it’s just trying to prove people wrong, but I just always loved challenges. I just want to show I’ve still got it – still got that juice, still got what it takes to play at a high level in this league. For me, that’s just been my focus is locking in this offseason, working out, eating right and trying to have one of my better seasons.”

Should the Packers be able to unlock the best possible version of a 33-year-old Hargrave, the Packers’ defensive line could have the first pair of effective defensive tackles in a long time, and Hargrave could be an effective piece for navigating those first few games that Green Bay will be without Micah Parsons.

In any case, Hargrave also brings a slice of what I’ve been begging the Packers to add to their locker room: veteran, championship-level experience. Hargrave has gone to the Super Bowl twice, he’s seen it all in this league, and he knows what it takes to get a defense over the hump. For the Packers, that might just be the key missing ingredient.