Uncharacteristically, the Green Bay Packers were big spenders in free agency this offseason. They shelled out a bunch of money to sign guys like Za'Darius Smith.

So far in training camp, Za'Darius Smith has been well worth the money. First-year head coach, Matt LaFleur said that Za'Darius is “everything we thought he was going to be”.

When free agency kicked off, Green Bay turned their attention to improving the defensive side of the football. Besides Za'Darius Smith, the Packers landed Preston Smith and Adrian Amos in free agency.

In today's pass-oriented NFL, getting to the quarterback is as important as ever. Therefore, signing Za'Darius to a four-year, $66 million deal was warranted.

Za'Darius began his career with the Baltimore Ravens after being drafted 122nd overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Since then, Za'Darius has improved as a pass-rusher each and every year.

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Including last year, where he had 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 25 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Getting to the quarterback was actually a strength of the Packers defense in 2018. As a unit, Green Bay tallied 44 sacks which were tied for eighth-most in the NFL.

The Packers were playing in a new defensive system in 2018 after Dom Capers was the defensive coordinator from 2009-2017. To replace him, the team hired Mike Pettine to handle the play-calling duties for the defense.

Pettine's defense is similar to Caper's 3-4 defense but Pettine has his own twist to it. Forcing pressure on the opposing quarterback in a multitude of ways is his mantra.

That should allow Za'Darius Smith—along with Preston Smith and Rashan Gary—to thrive in Green Bay.