The safety position is the biggest roster need that the Green Bay Packers have this offseason, but general manager Brian Gutekunst believes the draft as well as free agency will provide them with the opportunity to add the players that they need.
“Initially pretty solid at safety, as far as the draft class goes and then the free-agency class as well,” said Gutekunst on Thursday. “We’re going to have to add numbers there, for sure.”
The Packers aren’t only in need of upgrades at the position but they also need depth. After taking a Band-Aid approach at the position last offseason, which included letting Darnell Savage play out his fifth-year option, along with signing Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens to one-year deals, the only safeties under contract at the moment are Benny Sapp, Anthony Johnson, and Zayne Anderson.
Too often last season, miscommunications, which resulted in coverage breakdowns, along with missed tackles, and blown assignments were happening at the safety position. Those reoccurring issues culminated in the NFC Divisional Round against San Francisco, where collectively, this position group had one of its worst performances of the season.
“I thought we played pretty consistent football in the front seven,” said Gutekunst. “I think the back end is probably where we weren’t as consistent as we needed to be and I’d like that to be shored up. There will probably be some moving pieces there going into next year, but it’s kind of like it always is, I want a fast physical, aggressive defense that plays sound.”
In the draft, the Packers are expecting to hold 11 picks in total, including five within the top 100. On PFF’s draft prospect rankings, five safeties are in their top 75. This includes Kamren Kinchens, Tyler Nubin, Calen Bullock, and Sione Vaki.
Salary cap-wise the Packers are currently $2.8 million over the 2024 projected salary cap, according to Over the Cap. However, unlike in recent offseasons, they do have the ability to create the space they need without mortgaging their future through a bevy of contract restructures.
If the right player is available in free agency, Gutekunst believes they will have the means to make that addition.
“I think we’re getting to a little bit better spot than we have been in the past,” said Gutekunst on Thursday about spending in free agency. “It’s never perfect, but I do feel that whatever opportunities are out there to improve our team in free agency, that we’ll be able to do that, so I feel good about that.”
A few of the top free agent safety options this offseason, according to PFF’s rankings, include Antoine Winfield, Kyle Dugger, Geno Stone, Xavier McKinney, and Kamren Curl.
Part of the equation when it comes to the type of player that the Packers add at the safety position will be what kind of defense new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley wants to run. By no means does Gutekunst expect there to be sweeping changes in the type of personnel the Packers deploy on this side of the ball, but there will be certain skill sets that Hafley will prefer to have.
For example, during his time as head coach at Boston College, Hafley used a heavy dose of single-high coverage looks. If that is going to be a key part of his approach in Green Bay, then adding a safety who is comfortable playing in the box, along with one who can play centerfield and cover a lot of ground will have to be prioritized.
“It’ll have some,” said Gutekunst when asked if their approach in the draft would change with Hafley in charge of the defense, “but I don’t think, it’s not gonna be like a wholesale change — hey, we gotta ship off and bring a bunch of new guys in — it’s not gonna be like that.
“I think as we get into the nuances of what Jeff wants to do, certainly it may with our current players, maybe conversations about where they play and how they fit, but one thing I think we prided ourselves here, both sides of the ball, is versatility and bringing in guys that can be versatile.”
Depending on how the Packers choose to address the safety position, this could be a relatively young position group – or at least one short on experience – on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. However, Hafley cut his teeth in the NFL working with defensive backs as a defensive backs coach with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and San Francisco from 2012 through 2018.
Hafley has a strong track record of working with that position group, which includes some of the game’s best in Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis, while also making the game plan digestible so his players can go out and execute.
All of which, from Hafley’s contributions to the players eventually brought in, hopefully upgrades this position group in 2024.
“His preparation is some of the best I’ve seen,” said cornerback Richard Sherman who was coached by Hafley in San Francisco. “I’ve had some great defensive back coaches, some great defensive coaches, great defensive minds, and he’s right up there with his preparation and how he breaks down film and how easy and simple he makes the gameplan sound. How easy he makes it for guys to understand. He paints a very vivid picture of what you’re going to see and it’s all about executing on it.”