It's almost training camp time for the Green Bay Packers, so it's time to evaluate each position group on the roster.

Safeties

It's not a coincidence that the Green Bay Packers drafted three young safeties right after giving veteran Xavier McKinney a four-year, $67 million contract in free agency. McKinney can do it all in terms of positional flexibility, and his expected high-level allows the new defensive coaching staff to build around him.

This means the Packers can develop their young players with patience, and at the same time use them where they can impact the defense right away. Meanwhile, McKinney will do what's needed — presumably, with much better results than the Packers had at safety over the last few years.

Changes everywhere

The Packers had a solid safety pairing with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, but the duo fell apart in 2022, leading to the Packers allowing Amos to walk in free agency. Last year, they tried again with Savage — with similarly underwhelming results — and a combination of cheap veterans in Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens.

The deals of all three expired, and Green Bay decided it was time to allow them to leave. Savage signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Owens went to the Chicago Bears, and Ford is still unsigned.

By that point, the only safeties on the roster were last year’s seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson Jr., undrafted Benny Sapp III, and special teamers Zayne Anderson and Tyler Coyle.

How it was built

The first step to rebuilding the unit was also the biggest one. During the legal tampering period, the Packers agreed to a contract with former New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney. He is expected to be a building block.

“It’s been so nice to have X. What a pro. How hard he works, the communication, the way he is in the meeting rooms, the way he looks out for the younger guys, that’s the stuff you don’t see,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley mentioned. “Really excited to have him here, continue to have him grow in the scheme and really understand the scheme. It’s our job to put him in position to make a lot of things happen. It’s been fun to see everything that he can do and how quickly he can learn. I’m really glad we have him.”

During the offseason program, McKinney started as a strong safety, with second-year player Anthony Johnson Jr. deep as a free safety.

In the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst added three safeties to the equation, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Kitan Oladapo. Despite their differences in style, all have versatility to play multiple spots.

“They are very versatile in different ways, and I think they will all have an opportunity to help us in more than one way,” Gutekunst said. “They’re all very aggressive, downhill players that will hit you. That’s certainly something we were looking for.”

Training camp and preseason will be a valuable opportunity for the external public to understand how the pieces will fit together. But it’s something the Packers don’t need an immediate answer — it will come throughout a developmental season for a talented group.

Packers see free agent addition as a building block for the present and future

Safety will make up to $17 million per season