What Are Packers Seeking as They Rebuild Safety Room?

General manager Brian Gutekunst and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley addressed the safeties, a group that is about to get a massive overhaul.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford combined to play 1,959 snaps at safety for the Green Bay Packers. All three are headed to free agency, and there’s a chance none of them will be re-signed for anything beyond depth and special teams.

Safety is not considered a premium position in the NFL. Franchise tenders are based on pay; safety is the least-expensive for any position on defense. But it is a vital position for the Cover-1 and Cover-3 style that new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley wants to play.

Unlike Joe Barry’s preferred Cover-2, in which two safeties played deep to take away the big play, Hafley’s defenses are predicated on having one ground-covering safety roaming deep. To state the obvious, having one player doing the job once done by two requires a special talent.

“I think that guy back in the middle of the field, when things break down – when they throw the ball up in the air, he has to go and get it. I think it’s a very important spot in the defense,” Hafley said recently.

The most famous Cover-3 defense belonged to the Seattle Seahawks and their famed Legion of Boom secondary. In that, Earl Thomas played deep and Kam Chancellor played underneath. That’s not necessarily how general manager Brian Gutekunst wants to build, though.

“The other thing is, as you guys know, particularly defensive backs, you do have a lot of injuries with defensive backs in this league. So, guys got to be versatile and do a number of things because you just don’t know what lineup you’re going to throw out there each week.”

In fact, in a “perfect world,” Gutekunst said he’d like his two safeties and the slot defender to be interchangeable. If he’s unable to find safeties with that level of versatility, it will fall upon Hafley to make it work.

“If you have a player that’s really good at one thing, maybe not another, I feel good that he’ll find that spot,” Gutekunst continued. “From a personnel man’s perspective, when you have some of those guys, it can limit you a little bit from a roster-building thing. So, I’d like those guys to be versatile enough that they could be interchangeable.”

What’s almost non-negotiable is finding that Thomas-style safety to play deep. The post safety position requires athleticism to take away deep passes and last-line-of-defense tackling ability. Savage can run but he can’t tackle. Owens can tackle but doesn’t have full-field coverage ability.

“I want a guy who can go from sideline to sideline and take the ball away. I think that position has to be a guy with high ball production, meaning he’s got to be able to intercept the ball. He’s got to be a guy that can communicate and he’s got to be a guy that can get guys lined up and make some calls back there. And I’d love a guy that can play man. So, I guess I’m describing the perfect player to you, but those are some of the traits I’d look for in playing that position.”

Armed with five picks in the first three rounds, Gutekunst should be able to find an instant starter from the quality group who will show their skills at the Combine this week. A strong group of free agents awaits, too, even if Antoine Winfield and Kyler Dugger are franchise-tagged by the Buccaneers and Patriots, respectively.

Playing mostly deep, Baltimore’s Geno Stone had seven interceptions last year. The Giants’ Xavier McKinney, the Commanders’ Kamren Curl, the Colts’ Julian Blackmon, the Jets’ Jordan Whitehead and the Lions’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson are among the in-their-prime veterans who are versatile defenders and not just specialists.

Asked if he needed a veteran, Gutekunst hinted he could take the same approach he followed last year at receiver and tight end. Talent will trump experience.

“To me, it’s really about the player, not necessarily whether he’s a veteran or not,” he said. “I think it’s about getting the right person and player in that position. It’s not necessarily whether they’re a rookie or veteran. Everybody would like guys with experience, but I think hopefully over the past few years people will realize that sometimes it’s not always the wisest thing to do.

“Sometimes, it’s better to be young and let these guys grow together. We’ll look at it all and make the best decision, but I don’t think it’s a necessity that there’s a veteran back there.”

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