The Green Bay Packers hired Jeff Hafley as their new defensive coordinator. It will be a totally different scheme compared to what the team ran under Joe Barry, and that brings new opportunities and challenges for players.

It's a man-heavier, single-high centric scheme, and the base should be 4-3. So, let's discuss which players can benefit the most from the change.

Lukas Van Ness

At Iowa, Lukas Van Ness played primarily as an interior defensive lineman. That won't happen again in Green Bay for the most part, but the system Jeff Hafley runs is more similar to what Van Ness had seen previously. Under Hafley, the Packers 2023 first-round pick will be able to put his hand on dirt, move around the defensive line, and attack opposing offensive linemen from a stance that favors his main characteristics.

In today's game, the differences between 4-3 and 3-4 aren't as pronounced, but the style of alignment and stance might be different from system to system and from coach to coach. Looking at Hafley's background, it seems like his scheme will benefit Van Ness.

Isaiah McDuffie

McDuffie played under Hafley at Boston College as a senior in 2020. He was not only a regular player, but a main part of the defense. Sure, Hafley and McDuffie didn't have as much contact as they would have liked because it was the covid year, but the linebacker was highly praised by his coach.

"He cares so much, and football is so important to him," Hafley told Buffalo News.com at the time. "His production is two-part, in our scheme, the way we play, he has to make a lot of tackles. If he's not, we're not going to be very good on defense. He can run, he can hit and he flashes all over the football field. He's like 'The Waterboy' out there, he just runs around, looking to hit, and hits everything that moves."

Hafley will certainly adapt points of his scheme transitioning back to the NFL, but it's a single-high heavy system with loaded boxes.

McDuffie is the third linebacker on the depth chart right now, behind Quay Walker and De'Vondre Campbell. But first, Campbell may not be a part of the team much longer, and McDuffie will certainly have significant playing time either way.

Jaire Alexander

In 2022, there were some exposed differences between what defensive coordinator Joe Barry ran and what players thought would be the best for the team. And the most pronounced example was Jaire Alexander, the highest-paid defensive back in football history by yearly average.

Jaire prefers to play man coverage, and taking advantage of his ability to do so will be a big factor for Hafley, who runs a man-heavy system.

"Zone helps as well. It's good to mix in zone. Me, myself, I like to play man," Alexander said during the 2022 season. "I like to play man a bunch. I think 'Sul (Rasul Douglas) likes to play zone a lot, (Eric) Stokes likes to play man. So you get a good combination of both when it's necessary."

Rasul Douglas is not a Packers player anymore. So you can make your own determination right there.

"It's much simpler (to play man), because you know that’s your man," Jaire added. "He can't go anywhere without you."

Eric Stokes

Stokes, just like Jaire Alexander mentioned, is better suited and prefers to play man coverage. But he hasn't had the opportunity to do so in the NFL. He was drafted by the Packers in 2021, exactly Joe Barry's first season in Green Bay.

Now, Stokes' priority is to get healthy again. He missed the second half of the 2022 season because of ankle and knee injuries, and most of the 2023 season because of hamstring issues. But if healthy, there's still hope he can be what he showed signs of in his rookie season, and playing under a scheme that puts him in a better position certainly helps.

It bears mention that Carrington Valentine, who was a starter for most of the season for the Packers, is also better suited to play man coverage. So Hafley's scheme is better aligned with the type of players general manager Brian Gutekunst likes to draft.

Darnell Savage

Savage is not under contract with the Packers for 2024, as he's slated to be an unrestricted free agent. However, Green Bay's decision to hire Jeff Hafley actually helps the safety. Hafley worked under former Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine with the Cleveland Browns, and Savage's best years with the Packers happened in the previous scheme.

Savage plays better when he's closer to the line of scrimmage, so a single-high scheme fits his skill set better. The former first-rounder can't be the center-fielder safety, but he can play in the slot or eventually inside the box.

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