Ninth in a series.

GREEN BAY — Ryan Downard knows how good he’s got it.

It’s not just that the Green Bay Packers up-and-coming defensive backs coach work for the guy he’s emulated since they were together on the Cleveland Browns staff way back in 2014 — defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

It’s not just that he gets to coach one of the best safeties in all of the NFL, or that field-tilting player — first-team All-Pro Xavier McKinney — wants to be coached hard and leads by example.

It’s also that the group Downard coaches at safety might be the deepest unit on the entire roster.

“I think the possibilities are endless. I think we can do [anything],” Downard said during the Packers’ offseason program. “The more guys that you have that can play more positions, the better off you are. You’re more versatile. Offenses don’t know who’s going to line up where.”

The Packers head into the first practice of training camp feeling pretty certain that they’ll line up with McKinney and second-year man Evan Williams, who started six games as a rookie fourth-round pick last season, as their starting safeties with the No. 1 defense.

But they also have Javon Bullard, who started 11 games as a rookie second-rounder a year ago; Zayne Anderson, a special-teams ace who started two games late in the year when both Williams and Bullard were dealing with injuries; and Kitan Oladapo, the third safety take by general manager Brian Gutekunst during the 2024 NFL Draft who saw action on defense and special teams in nine games after missing most of training camp with a toe injury.

So while Williams was the clear-cut starter alongside McKinney at season’s end, he’ll have to earn the right to keep that job in an ultra-competitive room.

“I’ve talked to these guys [about how] we are in competition. And I try to promote that, facilitate that the competition within the room,” Downard said. “All those guys are battling for spots. Whether it’s a spot on the roster, a spot on the active [game-day roster], a starting spot, and all the other accolades they can achieve.

“But I think that Xavier has done a good job of setting the example of, it doesn’t matter [who] the guy in the room [is]. We used all six of those guys last year.”

Added McKinney: “I think just fine tuning the small details is going to be super important for us. I think that’s something we’re focusing on. Obviously, we’re going into a second year with the same DC, the same defense, so for us it’s just fixing little areas that maybe we weren’t as clean on last year. It’s really going to be fun, to be honest.” 

Here’s a closer look at the safeties as the Packers prepare for training camp, which kicks off with its first practice on Wednesday morning:

Depth chart 

No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Age

Exp.

College

29

Xavier McKinney

S

6-0

201

25

6

Alabama

33

Evan Williams

S

5-11

200

23

2

Oregon

20

Javon Bullard

S

5-10

198

22

2

Georgia

39

Zayne Anderson

S

6-2

206

28

3

BYU

27

Kitan Oladapo

S

6-2

216

24

2

Oregon State

40

Omar Brown

S

6-1

205

24

1

Nebraska

35

Kahzir Brown

S

6-1

223

22

R

Florida Atlantic

Burning Question | What does Xavier McKinney do for an encore?

Given what a field-tilting player McKinney was last season, his four-year, $67 million free-agent contract to leave the New York Giants looks like an absolute bargain. (It also makes you wonder how on earth the Giants let him escape their building.

The 25-year-old McKinney registered 85 tackles (58 solo), a sack, two tackles for a loss, a team-best 11 pass break-ups, a fumble recovery, and those eight interceptions — second-most in the NFL — on his way to earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition.

And while McKinney was thrilled with the accolades, his coaches say he’s the furthest thing from complacent.

“I’m not going to let off the gas for nothing or nobody,” McKinney said. “That same intensity, that same energy, it’s going to stay the same. I know what I want to accomplish by the end of my career, and I know that in order to hit that goal, these years are going to matter. So I take that seriously. I don’t take that lightly.”

On the rise | Williams.

Williams proved to be the perfect running mate for McKinney because of his high football IQ and ability to flip-flop safety positions with McKinney moments before the ball was snapped. He registered 47 tackles (30 solo), one tackle for loss, an interception, three pass break-ups and a forced fumble in 13 games (six starts).

But he also missed the final three games of the regular season with a quadricep injury (and another game earlier in the year with a hamstring injury), which is why head coach Matt LaFleur made a point of emphasizing Williams’ need to take better care of himself.

“He’s got to continue to learn his body — because there were some injuries last year — and just to make sure that he’s available,” LaFleur said. “ [He’s] another guy that loves the game. He’s extremely intelligent. He comes in with the right mentality. And he just works.”

Player to watch | Bullard.

Bullard actually won the starting job alongside McKinney coming out of training camp last year, but eventually his role morphed into playing the slot in the nickel defense. Now, with free-agent addition Nate Hobbs and self-proclaimed CB1 Keisean Nixon both having the ability to play inside or outside, it’ll be interesting to see where Bullard fits in Hafley’s plans.

“We knew with Javon he had the positional flex, he had the versatility. And we verified that last year,” Downard said. “Javon, he did a great job playing violently. I mean, that guy plays the game the right way. He addresses blocks the right way. We saw it in Week 1 and we saw it throughout the season.”

Key competition | Who doesn’t make the roster?

McKinney, Williams, Bullard, Anderson and Oladapo all have value, and it’s worth noting that the Packers didn’t add any safeties in the draft and didn’t make the position a priority in undrafted free agency, either. The one guy they did sign who played safety in college was UNLV’s Johnathan Baldwin, whom they list as a cornerback on their official depth chart.

But given the competition in the room, there’s no place for complacency.

Bold prediction | Williams, not McKinney, will lead the team in interceptions.

If Williams can manage to stay healthy for all 17 games, and given opponents’ unwillingness to test McKinney, Williams figures to see more opportunities than he did last year. Although Williams only intercepted one pass in 2024 and only had four INTs during his college days at Fresno State and Oregon, the guess here is that he puts up a big number in 2025.

Next: Special teams.

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