Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has obvious issues to address on his roster this offseason. He’s often used a repeatable plan of attack for fixing roster holes: add one veteran and at least one rookie.
Think Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson. Or Tramon Williams and Jaire Alexander. Or Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. Or Billy Turner and Elgton Jenkins. Or Za’Darius/Preston Smith and Rashan Gary. Get the picture?
In this series at Packers Wire, the staff will fix a roster hole by picking one veteran to sign in free agency and one rookie to draft. The series began at tight end and continues on at safety.
Zach Kruse: Julian Love, Anthony Johnson Jr.
Sign: Love
Draft: Johnson Jr.
Love is exactly the kind of free agent most teams should want: young (still only 24), ascending (coming off his best season in 2022) and versatile (can play deep or in the slot). As a rangy, ball-hawking free safety who can also play near the line of scrimmage, maybe Love can be the type of player the Packers thought they were getting in Darnell Savage. Another player to watch if released: John Johnson III, who fits the system, has experience under Joe Barry and was a very good player in Los Angeles. Re-signing Rudy Ford and adding Love or Johnson could quickly re-make the safety room.
While Alabama’s Jordan Battle might be a nice complement here to Love, I’m going to go with a sleeper pick: Iowa State’s Anthony Johnson Jr. While probably not a top pick, he’s quick, explosive and coming off a college career featuring 54 starts, and I think his combination of physicality and coverage ability (former corner) could make for a high ceiling at the next level. Teams want safeties who can move, hit and cover, and Johnson Jr. has the potential to do all three as he develops in the NFL.
Brandon Carwile: Vonn Bell, Sydney Brown
Sign: Bell
Draft: Brown
If the Packers aren’t going to resign Adrian Amos, they need an ultra-dependable veteran to take his place. Vonn Bell fits the bill due to his stoutness in run support and his ability to make plays in coverage. Over the past five seasons, Bell has the eighth-best run defense grade (88.7) among safeties. Last season, he totaled a career-high four interceptions and broke up eight passes. Bell would also offer similar versatility to Amos after he played almost an equal number of snaps in the box and as a free safety in 2022.
It was hard to choose a safety prospect after many of the top prospects performed poorly at the combine. Brown was one of only six safeties to score at least a 9.0 RAS, and by now, we are all well aware of the correlation between Brian Gutekunst and athletic testing. However, Brown is actually a fun prospect that also happens to be a great athlete. He is both physical and has formidable ball skills, with 320 career tackles in five seasons at Illinois to go along with 10 interceptions, including six in the 2022 season alone. Brown is one of the few safety prospects I would trust to play meaningful snaps next season.
Brennen Rupp: Taylor Rapp, Jordan Battle
Sign: Rapp
Draft: Battle
Breakdowns in coverage. It seemed like every week Green Bay’s secondary gave up a big play or two due to breakdowns in coverage. How do they fix that? How about adding two safeties that are known for their instincts and always being where they’re supposed to be.
Let’s start with signing Taylor Rapp. The former Washington Husky would provide Joe Barry with a much-needed reliable, steady presence at the safety position. On top of that, Rapp is capable of lining up in multiple spots. He can play in the box, in the slot or deep safety. He has a high batting average as a tackler and he always seems to be where he’s supposed to be.
Jordan Battle is a jack of all trades master of none type prospect. He did a little bit of everything in the secondary during his time at Alabama and a lot was asked of him. Battle has great field awareness with disciplined eyes. The Alabama safety is a steady, reliable presence and is always where he needs to be.
Paul Bretl: Rodney McLeod, Jordan Battle
Sign: McLeod
Draft: Battle
The Packers need reliability at the safety position but also have to be mindful of the salary cap, which is why I chose McLeod over some of the other bigger names available. Spotrac projects that he will earn $1.7 million per year on his next contract. McLeod was a willing run defender with Indianapolis in 2022, an important aspect of playing safety in Joe Barry’s defense, missing only seven of his 95 total tackle attempts, and ranked 12th among all safeties in run stops per PFF. He also allowed fewer than 10 yards per catch in coverage, with six pass breakups and two interceptions. The bulk of his snaps came as a free safety and in the box.
This safety class isn’t the deepest but I believe Battle better suits what the Packers need, which is a true deep safety, although he did play in the box and slot as well. The Packers already have several slot options on the roster. Battle has good size at 6-1 and 209 pounds and posted a RAS of 8.98–meeting Green Bay’s usual athletic thresholds. He’s a willing tackler and held opponents to just 7.7 yards per catch in 2022.
