The safety position is one the Green Bay Packers will almost certainly have to address during the 2024 offseason, and it’s possible free agency will be one avenue Brian Gutekunst uses to get the position fixed in the spring.
PFF’s list of the top 50 players set to enter free agency in 2024 provides two potential options for Gutekunst if he’s willing to spend on a veteran: Kamren Curl of the Washington Commanders and Xavier McKinney of the New York Giants.
Curl is a former Day 3 pick (seventh round, 2020) who has developed into a versatile, consistent and reliable defender against the run and in coverage. Sound familiar? His profile screams Adrian Amos, who signed with the Packers as an ascending player in 2019 and gave Green Bay four solid seasons at the backend of the defense. Gutekunst could see Curl as a similar type of fix. PFF ranks Curl as the 21st best player in the upcoming free agent class and a legit contender to get the franchise tag, so his availability is TBD.
McKinney is another versatile safety who cover and tackle. The 2020 second-rounder has missed only 21 tackles in four seasons and has developed into one of the better all-around coverage safeties in football. The Giants have played him at free safety, in the slot and in the box this season and he continues making plays. The Packers could see him as a natural replacement for Darnell Savage, another looming free agent who has struggled to make splash plays and tackle consistently in Joe Barry’s scheme. PFF ranks McKinney as the No. 43 overall player in the upcoming free-agent class.
Savage, Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens will all be unrestricted free agents for the Packers after this season. It’s not clear if any of the three will be back in 2024. Rookie Anthony Johnson Jr. looks like one potential option long-term, but the Packers — regardless of who is the defensive coordinator next season — will need to spend cap dollars or draft capital to get the position fixed. Two young, ascending veterans — Curl and McKinney — are attractive options for the Packers if free agency is the best route forward.