GREEN BAY \u2014 In the span of two years, Brian Gutekunst has taken the Green Bay Packers safety position from the most problematic depth chart on the roster to the best.<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019d forgotten where the Packers were at safety before signing Xavier McKinney in free agency and drafting Evan Williams, Javon Bullard and Kitan Oladapo, let\u2019s rewind to the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst did everything he could to remake the position. Already on the hook \u00a0for the fully guaranteed $7.9 million fifth-year option for 2019 first-round pick Darnell Savage, which turned out to be ill advised. But he\u2019d also tried to fill the spot alongside Savage with low-cost veterans (Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens, Tarvarius Moore), a rookie seventh-round draft pick (Anthony Johnson) and an undrafted rookie free agent (Benny Sapp III).<\/p>\n
After the season, Gutekunst decided to start over. He signed McKinney to a four-year, $68 million free-agent deal, drafted Bullard (second round), Williams (fourth round) and Oladapo (fifth round) and \u2014 voila! \u2014 \u00a0what was once a position of weakness is the strongest, at least on defense and perhaps on the entire roster.<\/p>\n
McKinney was a first-team All-Pro in 2024 and a second-team All-Pro last season, and he and Williams make up one of the best safety tandems in all of football \u2014 according to, no lie, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who doesn\u2019t like saying anything nice about the archrival Packers.<\/p>\n
Bullard, meanwhile, came on strong last season as the fifth defensive back in the team\u2019s nickel package, lining up in the slot and setting himself up for a breakout 2026 season as one of the defense\u2019s impact players and leaders.<\/p>\n
And while Oladapo has played only 136 regular-season defensive snaps in his first two NFL seasons, he\u2019s a core special teams player and likely would see more action on defense on a team with fewer top-flight safeties in front of him on the depth chart.<\/p>\n
Even more interesting is how the Packers\u2019 depth at the position lines up perfectly with one of new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon\u2019s core tenets: He loves to have three safeties on the field simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think [Gannon] did a lot of creative things,\u201d Gutekunst said of the three-safety looks he deployed as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator and the Arizona Cardinals head coach. \u201cIt\u2019s really going to be adjusted to what we have with Evan, McKinney and \u2018Bull.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Bull\u2019 plays the nickel, but he was a safety by trade coming out of Georgia. We had a lot of three-safety looks for the majority of the season last year. So I think you\u2019ll definitely see some of that moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
For McKinney, seeing Williams and Bullard elevate their games last season \u2014 while knowing how much improvement both players still have in front of them \u2014 already has him excited for what comes next.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Their growth] has helped our defense out tremendously. And it’s given, the guys in the back end \u2014 safeties, the DBs as a unit \u2014 the ability to be able to move in different places, and play in different spots,\u201d McKinney explained. \u201cIt gives freedom for everybody else. It gives me more freedom to be able to move around. And so we love to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Packers depth chart<\/p>\n
29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Xavier McKinney\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 201\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alabama<\/p>\n
33\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Evan Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 200\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oregon<\/p>\n
7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Javon Bullard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5-10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 198\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Georgia<\/p>\n
27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kitan Oladapo\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 216\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oregon State<\/p>\n
37\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Johnathan Baldwin\u00a0 6-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 190\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 UNLV<\/p>\n
41\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Perry\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 211\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 TCU<\/p>\n
Best in class | Caleb Downs, Ohio State.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old Downs, whose father Gary played in the NFL, is a third-year junior who played one season at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State following Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban\u2019s retirement. In his two seasons for the Buckeyes, he was a unanimous all-American both years and registered four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 1.5 sacks.<\/p>\n
In defensive coordinator Matt Patricia\u2019s system, he played all over the back end and should be able to do the same at the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I have a lot of versatility to be able to be used in a different system in a lot of different ways,\u201d Downs said at the NFL scouting combine. \u201cSo whatever they feel like that’s the best place for me to play, if that \u00a0opportunity comes up, that would be awesome.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I feel confident every time I step on the field, so if I walked on the field and thought anybody was better than me, that’s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next men up | Dillon Thieneman, Oregon; Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo; Keionte Scott, Miami; A.J. Haulcy, LSU; Zakee Wheatley, Penn State.<\/p>\n
Pick to click | Jacob Thomas, James Madison.<\/p>\n
A walk-on who wound up playing in 50 career games and earning All-Sun Belt honors twice, the 6-foot, 215-pound Thomas was a team captain on the Dukes\u2019 College Football Playoff team last season, when he recorded 71 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, two interceptions and seven pass breakups.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t get invited to the annual NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in February but ran a 4.45-seconds 40-yard dash at his on-campus pro day and was one of the 30 players the Packers brought in for pre-draft visits.<\/p>\n
Projected as a late Day 3 pick or undrafted free agent, Thomas certainly intrigued the Packers enough to use one of their 30 allotted visits on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you just keep putting your head down, keep working and keep grinding and stay where your feet are, you are bound to do big things,\u201d Thomas said at his pro day. \u201cIt was [a matter of me] just trying to find who I was and what I wanted to do at JMU, me trying to prove myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really just [about] trying as hard as possible as I can at everything I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
History lesson | It\u2019s been 15 years since the Packers lost their star safety Nick Collins \u2014 a player then-head coach Mike McCarthy believed was on a Pro Football Hall of Fame trajectory \u2014 to a career-ending neck injury. And try as the might, they couldn\u2019t find themselves a commensurate replacement \u2014 until Gutekunst signed McKinney in March 2024.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst\u2019s predecessor, Ted Thompson used his 2014 and 2015 first-round picks on college safeties: Alabama\u2019s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Arizona State\u2019s Damarious Randall. Randall, who moved to cornerback as a pro, was a bust. Clinton-Dix, meanwhile, made a Pro Bowl but was traded before the end of his rookie contract. Thompson also used a second-round pick on North Carolina State\u2019s Josh Jones in 2017, but Jones flamed out quickly, too.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst took over in 2018 and used the second of his two first-rounders a year later on Savage, who was better during his first two NFL seasons playing in Mike Pettine\u2019s scheme than he was in his last three in Joe Barry\u2019s system. Since leaving Green Bay, Savage has bounced around to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills. This spring he signed a one-year, minimum-salary $1.488 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
PACKERS 2026 NFL DRAFT PREVIEW SCHEDULE<\/p>\n
Sunday, April 12 \u2014 QUARTERBACKS<\/p>\n
Monday, April 13 \u2014 RUNNING BACKS<\/p>\n
Tuesday, April 14 \u2014 WIDE RECEIVERS<\/p>\n
Wednesday, April 15 \u2014 TIGHT ENDS<\/p>\n
Thursday, April 16 \u2014 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN<\/p>\n
Friday, April 17 \u2014 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN<\/p>\n
Saturday, April 18 \u2014 EDGE RUSHERS<\/p>\n
Sunday, April 19 \u2014 LINEBACKERS<\/p>\n
Monday, April 20 \u2014 CORNERBACKS<\/p>\n
Tuesday, April 21 \u2014 SAFETIES<\/p>\n
Wednesday, April 22 \u2014 SPECIALISTS<\/p>\n
Thursday, April 23 \u2014 DRAFT DAY PREVIEW<\/p>\n
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