Tag: Ryan Downard

Packers rookie Anthony Johnson navigating learning curve at safety

Packers seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson is learning the ropes at safety in the NFL. Can he make some noise come training camp?

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There is playing time up for grabs at the safety position for the Green Bay Packers, but just like every seventh-round draft pick before him, if Anthony Johnson is going to see significant snaps in his first season, he is going to have to leapfrog some veterans to do so.

There is, of course, still a lot left to be decided at the safety position this summer, but the offseason programs provided us with a glimpse of where things may currently stand when it comes to the potential depth chart.

Starting next to Darnell Savage in each team session was Rudy Ford, who, not surprisingly, should be considered the front-runner for that second starting role given his experience in Joe Barry’s defense and the reliability he provided during the second half of last season. Also taking some snaps with the ones were Tarvarius Moore and Jonathan Owens, although I’m still not sure who is considered the third option between the two, and perhaps the Packers don’t know yet either. Then there was Johnson, who saw snaps with the second-team defense, lining up next to either Moore or Owens, but was clearly behind the previous four players mentioned.

As Ben Fennell mentioned, Johnson has the skill set to fill an Adrian Amos-like role in the Packers secondary, playing deep in the two-high look Green Bay often uses or in the box. In the Barry defense that frequently utilizes light boxes, the safeties play an important role in the run game, which fits Johnson’s game well with his ability and willingness to rally to the football, take on blockers, fill gaps, and tackle.

“I just smile because he’s so youthful,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard last month. “He’s energetic. He’s got a playful personality about him. Extremely eager to learn. He hasn’t played the position a bunch, so there’s a lot of things we are teaching right now. But his athletic skill set is pretty darn good. He showed some things in the rookie minicamp, even in the drills with the vets. I like the way he is coming along.”

Johnson, however, is not only navigating the learning curve that comes with jumping from college to the NFL, but he’s also relatively new to the safety position as well. The 2022 season was Johnson’s first at safety. The previous four seasons, Johnson spent lined up as a boundary cornerback. As a safety, Johnson ranked 26th in PFF’s run-stop rate metric at Iowa State, but he did have 13 missed tackles as well. In coverage, he allowed 19 completions on 29 targets at 12.4 yards per catch, with two pass breakups and a pair of interceptions.

“Like I’ve explained to those rookies,” said Downard, “so much of this game is mental, so much of it. We talked about 31 (Adrain Amos) and why he’s been playing in this league for so long. He’s able to take in all the information the offense is giving him and apply it, and so we got to get Ant to that point.”

How things play out during training camp and the preseason will carry the most weight when it comes to determining the pecking order at the safety position — nothing has been determined. But keep in mind that, under Matt LaFleur, this is a Packers team that has preferred experience, at least early on, when determining playing time. It’s not been often that a rookie — let alone a seventh-round pick — has come in and been the preferred starter right away.

Johnson is the only safety on the Packers’ 90-man roster who is under contract beyond 2023, so he does certainly factor into their long-term plans. However, given the learning curve that lies ahead, along with the veterans currently taking snaps in front of him, it’s possible that we see him more on special teams than on defense as a rookie.

‘Trust’ and playing fast important parts of potential bounce back year for Packers’ Darnell Savage

Darnell Savage needs to play fast and confident to bounce back during the 2023 season.

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Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage is coming off a disappointing 2022 season in which he was even benched at one point. A bounceback is needed, and that begins with trusting what he sees, allowing his instincts and playmaking to take over.

Missed tackles and breakdowns in coverage were two things that happened far too frequently last season. Out of 68 eligible safeties, Savage would have the fourth-highest missed tackle rate in 2022. And when there was a big play given up as a result of a blown assignment, oftentimes it was Savage who was out of position.

After being relegated to only dime duties, Savage was placed in the slot late in the season, where he found success. That alignment, or playing closer to the line of scrimmage, is where many believe he is at his best. However, given the makeup of the Packers’ cornerback and safety rooms, Savage is going to have to be utilized in that traditional safety role. Regardless of where Savage is asked to line up, he’s at his best when he’s decisive and playing fast.

“I’ve seen Darnell make plays in the post,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard on Wednesday. “I think Darnell is best when he pulls the trigger and let’s it all hang out. I’ve had that talk with him. If you watch his Maryland tape, he was going to get it. He’s got to trust himself. We have to do a better job of tackling and playing a physical brand of football. That’s not only at the point of contact, but that’s taking on blocks.”

During Savage’s final two seasons at Maryland, he was a ball magnet, coming away with seven interceptions and 11 pass breakups during that span. But last season in coverage, he was overly aggressive, which led to him trying to force things in an effort to make a play and abandoning his assignment. That “trust” that Downard speaks of is something that several of the Packers’ positional coaches referred to during interviews this past week. When a player trusts what they see, they’re thinking less, letting their instincts take over more, and that’s when big plays happen.

Tackling has never been a strength of Savage’s game. The lowest missed tackle rate that he has logged in a season still would have been among the top 10 in 2022, but it is an important part of playing safety in Joe Barry’s defense. With a heavy usage of light boxes, safeties do have to be active in the run game, filling gaps and taking on blockers.

This ability was a clear emphasis for the Packers this offseason in how they went about addressing the safety position. Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford, Anthony Johnson, and Tarvarius Moore all have track records of being willing and capable tacklers. To complement Savage, consistency with tackling and run defense may be the deciding factor in who is starting next to Savage come Week 1.

“Prototype-wise, I’d like to have a two-way safety,” said Downard. “What I mean by that is a guy that can cover and a guy that can tackle. If you can thump, if you bring power on contact, that’s a bonus, but I got to be able to get guys on the ground. So tackling is a premium. Obviously, coverage and taking the ball away is a premium. If we have two of those guys who can do both, we can play them left and right. If we have a guy whose skill set is more anchored towards tackling or physicality to his game, then we might place him on the boundary and the other guy in the field. So we have to see who is going be that guy.”

Savage is playing the 2023 season on his rookie fifth-year option, which was picked up during the 2022 offseason. The deal originally came with $7.9 million guaranteed, but following a contract restructure that utilized void years, the Packers were able to save $5.46 million in cap space this season by doing what they’ve done often the last few years, pushing cap charges into the future. It’s worth noting, however, that with how they restructured the deal by strategically placing roster bonuses into the void years, they do have the opportunity to extend him prior to free agency in March of 2024, something that wouldn’t have been possible under a normal contract restructure with void years.

As we saw last year, just because Savage begins at safety doesn’t mean that is where he is going to finish the season, depending on what takes place. Although questions still surround the position, with Owens, Ford, Moore, and Johnson, Green Bay isn’t lacking options at the position. Also, once Eric Stokes returns from injury, a crowded cornerback room could give the Packers the flexibility to have Rasul Douglas take some safety snaps, something GM Brian Gutekunst discussed before this year’s draft.

Savage has another opportunity before him. Seizing it could result in an extension while failing to do so will end with him in a new uniform next season. But it all begins with trusting what he’s seeing, what he’s doing, and letting his playmaking nature take over.

“I do think he has some ability to patrol the middle, but when he’s in the post, he can go red line to red line, probably more,” added Downard. “I think he can do both. I do think he brings that skill set, we saw that last year. I think he got into a little bit of a groove. So he can do that for us, but we have to figure how these puzzle pieces fit together.”

Packers impressed with rookie Tariq Carpenter’s movement skills

Tariq Carpenter might have linebacker size and a hybrid skill set, but the Packers have been impressed with the rookie’s movement ability early on.

The Green Bay Packers have toyed with the idea of using rookie Tariq Carpenter as a linebacker, but he’s impressed the team with his size and movement skills early on.

“Looking at him in rookie minicamp, he really can move, for as big as he is. That, to me, was the biggest impression he made on me, just his movement skills for his size,” safeties coach Ryan Downard said Wednesday.

The Packers used the 228th overall pick on Carpenter, who stands 6-3 and weighs 230 pounds – far bigger than most traditional safeties – but ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and aced both the vertical and broad jumps during Georgia Tech’s pro day. His size and athleticism had many thinking he could be a hybrid safety-linebacker who drops into the box on obvious passing downs.

Downard said Carpenter is “asking good questions in meetings” as he attempts to learn the playbook. But it’s the movement ability that has the Packers excited.

“He’s rare. He’s been labeled a lot of different things. He’s been labeled a hybrid. He brings a good set of tools,” Downard said. “I just go back to the movement skills. Typically, when players are that big, because of the size, whether it’s the height or the weight, they just lack the fluidity and the movement skills. With him, it’s not lacking. I’m excited to keep working with him.”

The Packers think Carpenter, who started 41 games at safety for Georgia Tech, can play in the box or deep in coverage or even in man coverage.

“He can check a lot of boxes. Close to the line of scrimmage. In the deep zones. Man coverage, we saw it in the rookie minicamp,” Downard said. “Really excited about him.”

The Packers have an opening at the third safety spot entering the summer. Henry Black, who played over 200 snaps in the role last season, wasn’t retained. The defense doesn’t have an obvious replacement, although Vernon Scott, Shawn Davis and Innis Gaines will all get a chance to compete with Carpenter for the job.

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