Now wrapping up my way to early look ahead to the 2025 NFL draft for the Green Bay Packers, we’ll examine the safety position, with 10 names to keep your eyes on during this upcoming college football season.
Pro Football Focus has recently gone through all 11 positions and picked the top 10 draft prospects from each. Here is who they chose at safety. For more details on each player, click here.
Malaki Starks, Georgia
Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa
Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
Rod Moore, Michigan
Keon Saab, Alabama
Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin
Aubrey Burks, West Virginia
Sonny Styles, Ohio State
Malachi Moore, Alabama
As we sit here about 10 months out from the 2025 NFL draft, it’s a bit reckless on my part to sit here and speak with any sort of certainty about how the Packers are going to approach those three days, especially with the numerous curveballs that GM Brian Gutekunst has thrown us during his tenure.
However, having said that, it is extremely difficult to envision a scenario where safety is on the Packers’ radar. Perhaps late on Day 3, when positional need takes a back seat, and teams are looking for high-level traits to bet on, we could see the Gutekunst make an addition, but that’s the extent of it.
In just one offseason, the Packers overhauled this position group, investing heavily into this unit just one year after doing the exact opposite.
In free agency, the Packers would sign Xavier McKinney to a four-year, $67 million deal that will have him under contract through the 2027 season.
Then, in the draft, Gutekunst would use a second-round pick on Javon Bullard, a fourth-round pick on Evan Williams, and a fifth-round selection on Kitan Oladapo. On top of that, Anthony Johnson will still have two years remaining on his rookie deal.
With those five players under contract, the Packers will have to round out this position group with additional bodies for training camp. This could be done by re-signing players like Zayne Anderson or Benny Sapp, bringing in an undrafted rookie or two, or as already mentioned, using a late-round pick.
But right now, I can’t imagine it involving them spending an early or even mid-round pick on the position.
If you missed any of the other positional previews in this series, follow the links below:
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Offensive tackle
Interior offensive line
Interior defensive line
Edge rusher
Linebacker
Cornerback