The Green Bay Packers overhauled the safety position during the 2024 offseason. Their biggest addition was signing Xavier McKinney away from the New York Giants and making him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL at the position.
This overhaul was much needed for Green Bay as safety has been a weakness for years. General manager Brian Gutekunst made sweeping changes, as the only holdover from the 2023 roster is Anthony Johnson Jr., who was a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Packers used three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on safeties. In Round 2, Javon Bullard was selected out of Georgia. On Day 3, Evan Williams out of Oregon and Kitan Oladapo out of Oregon State came off the board in Round 4 and Round 5.
Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is going to love this group. They are all versatile pieces, capable of filling different roles on the unit. Just how good could this group be? In Xavier McKinney’s opinion, it is the best group of safeties he has ever played with.
“I’d like to say this is the best group I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in the league, and that’s from me to the whoever the last person is, doesn’t matter. Everyone has done a great job,” McKinney said. “I think the talent level in our room is out of this roof. It’s going to be fun to play with these guys because everyone is smart. We’re all working off each other and build off each other and compete with each other to make each other better.”
The Packers are hoping that Xavier McKinney can bring consistency and production to the back end of their defense. He also brings durability after playing every single snap for the Giants in 2023 on defense.
That is something Green Bay has not had with starters and backups missing time due to injury. In addition, despite being set to turn only 26 years old in August, he is the elder statesman of the group; the only player who isn’t on a rookie contract.
That will present some bumps in the road, as young players will make some mistakes. But this is a unit that could quickly become a strength for the team after years of being a weakness.
