Green Bay Packers: Best/Worst Case Scenarios for Adrian Amos
The Green Bay Packers safety position was among the worst in the league last year. So in 2019, they’re looking to Adrian Amos to help provide stability and leadership on the back-end of the secondary.
The Green Bay Packers expected Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to be the man. The man to make everyone forget about Nick Collins and the man to be the next great safety in a line of defensive backs that is impressive in terms of Packers’ history.
Following the 2016 season, it looked like Clinton-Dix was emerging as the player the team hoped he would be, but something strange would follow. Clinton-Dix never got better in Green Bay following that season. He would continue to provide durability, and the occasional interception, but little else.
He seemed like a lock for a contract extension but instead, he was traded for a fourth-round pick at the trade deadline. That signaled that the Green Bay Packers were ready to start over at the safety position.
To get by for the remainder of the season the Packers ran out a slew of players, including converting Tramon Williams from cornerback to safety.
None of them represented a long-term solution, but rather stopgaps to get through the rest of the season.
As a result, GM Brian Gutekunst went to work at that position in the offseason. He traded up nine spots to select Darnell Savage in the first round of the draft, a sign of how much they appreciated his abilities.
A month before that, the Packers dipped into free agency and stole Adrian Amos from their rival, the Chicago Bears.
Amos was an interchangeable chess piece for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense a season ago. He was able to play both the single high safety and be the player in the box. He has earned a reputation as a player that plays fast and is a reliable tackler in space.
The knock on Amos is that he didn’t make enough splashy plays to warrant the contract he was going to receive on the open market. That is something that can change, but it’s also one reason why the Packers were attracted to Darnell Savage.
The Packers hope that Amos and Savage represent a solution to a safety problem that has existed since Nick Collins’ career was cut short.
With that in mind here are the best and worst case scenarios for Amos for his first season in Green Bay.
Best case
Amos steps in and immediately assumes a leadership role on the back-end of the secondary that is searching for someone to take charge. With all the youth that is currently in the secondary, they’re looking for a veteran with the ability to start and be on the field for the majority of the snaps.
Amos is the player best suited to fill that role because he is more talented than Tramon Williams at this point in time. Amos quells the concerns about his lack of playmaking ability and makes a few big plays in the secondary.
He becomes a mentor for rookie Darnell Savage and earns credit from the young corners for keeping everything in line in a complicated system. In addition, Amos becomes a physical presence in the secondary and makes the Packers a feared unit.
By the end of the season, the Green Bay Packers secondary goes from one that has a lot of potential, to a force throughout the NFL. Amos leaves no doubt that he is the better player between himself and former Packer Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Worst case
Amos does not calm the concerns about his inability to make big plays. He proves to be more of a one-hit wonder and is often caught out of position while learning a new scheme.
His skill set does not fit as well with Darnell Savage as the team hoped at the beginning of the year and Savage is left wondering if he’ll soon be looking for a new partner.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix ends up having a big season in Chicago, making people wonder if the Packers made the wrong decision both in letting Clinton-Dix go, but also for shelling out for Amos. The Packers secondary fails and continues to allow big plays at the alarming rate that they have since 2011.
dark. Next. Fans vote Amos to have biggest impact
Instead of having the problem at safety solved, the Packers problem is bigger. Not only do they still have a safety problem, but it is an incredibly expensive mistake they made that does not have a good solution.