The Green Bay Packers seem to have things figured out at cornerback, as long as Keisean Nixon effectively takes over the nickel job.

But, things are far less settled in the safety room.

Incumbent starter, Darnell Savage, returns for his fifth season with the team, but even he is facing questions heading into 2023. Opposite him is a wide-open battle, however, and it's one that is not only filled with plenty bodies – it will likely come down to the wire.



So, without further ado, let's take a look at the upcoming battles for jobs in the safety room.

Five Packers Players Competing for Safety Jobs

Rudy Ford

Ford is largely considered as the front-runner for the job. That’s not a permanent status, however.

Ford has been in the system for almost a calendar year, now, but he obviously has an entire football season of experience after playing a career-high 442 defensive snaps in 2022. He also made several splash plays, recording three interceptions, and both forcing and recovering one fumble.

He's good in coverage, but is very inconsistent when it comes to run defense. He should open camp with the 1s. He needs to stay on point, though, because while it's his job to lose – he can certainly lose it if he's not living up to expectations. 

That's more about the competition than it is Ford. And it starts with the very next candidate… 

Jonathan Owens

Owens is a former undrafted free agent that is coming off the best year of his career. He led the Houston Texans in tackles and started/played in every single game last year, which caught the Packers’ attention.

"He's a good football mind who’s been in the league for at least some years, and his best attribute, at least off of tape and in the past, was his ability to tackle," safeties coach Ryan Downard told the media a couple months ago. "That was the thing that I had him graded out the highest."

Don't underestimate the importance of Owens' tackling ability. The Packers like to use light boxes on defense, so the safeties are more responsible for filling gaps and closing off edges than usual. This could certainly lead to a role for Owens on early downs. 

Tarvarius Moore

Another veteran candidate is Moore, who has a good mix of playing experience on both defense and special teams. He is insanely fast and is an excellent, athlete, as well.

He should immediately slot in on special teams. It'll be interesting to see how much he pushes the others now that he's a full season out from Achilles surgery.

If Savage continues to struggle, don't be surprised if Moore is able to steal some snaps. It would be familiar territory, as Moore was one of the primary competitors for the 49ers' starting free safety job last year.

“He played half a year as a starter and we thought he finished his last five games as a true starting safety, and before that he was always one of our best special teams players,” San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said about Moore back in May 2022.

Dallin Leavitt

Leavitt can fill in on defense in a tight spot, but he’s mostly special teams.

He's not just a special teamer, however, he's a core guy. In fact, the coaching staff considers him to be the special teams ace.

That in itself seals up a roster spot for Leavitt, who is on pace for his third-straight season with 300+ special teams snaps.

Anthony Johnson Jr.

The final candidate is the seventh-round rookie, who simply finds himself smothered on the depth chart. 

Johnson Jr. is really going to have to stand out in camp if he wants to make the team. No one is saying that can't happen – it absolutely could. But it's going to take a ton of preparation, effort, and even a good bit of luck for this to work. 

That doesn't mean Johnson Jr.'s career as a Packer is over, by any means. Brian Gutekunst got some pretty solid value drafting the former Cyclone in the seventh round (I had him going in the late 5th-early 6th) and he has traits that can help him make an NFL roster.

There's a good chance the Packers get him on the practice squad after final cuts, which will allow Johnson Jr. to develop and possibly compete for a job in a less-crowded 2024 room.

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There's certainly a world in which Savage loses his job, but he won't get cut since his salary is fully guaranteed a la the fifth-year option. So, when counting that and Leavitt, there's really only two, maybe three safety jobs open, with four competitors vying for the spots.



A room with solid cover guys in Ford and Moore, two box guys like Owens and Leavitt, and then a guy like Savage seems like a versatile room that could also help the backend of the defense.



Every decision and every rep will matter, which makes this camp battle one of the more intriguing to monitor here in a few weeks.

Packers Training Camp Battle: Slot Receiver

The Packers utilize the slot position a lot, so this battle is a very important one to monitor as training camp progresses.

Featured image via Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin