Brian Gutekunst: Rasul Douglas could transition to safety if Packers need
By Paul Bretl
Despite quite a bit of capital, both in terms of draft picks and salary cap space, being spent on the secondary in recent years, the Green Bay Packers have some potential unknowns surrounding this unit in 2023.
The safety position is arguably the biggest need that has to be addressed this offseason by Brian Gutekunst. The only player on the roster with any legitimate experience on defense is Darnell Savage, who was benched for a few games last season and is only under contract for 2023.
At cornerback, we do not know when Eric Stokes will be available, and the depth beyond him, Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas, is again void of experience. On top of that, how the Packers will utilize this trio when Stokes is available is up in the air as well. Douglas was at his best on the boundary, where he has spent just about all of his career, rather than in the slot. Alexander, meanwhile, was most effective when being moved around.
Perhaps one solution to each of these issues would be moving Douglas to safety. It would add experience and playmaking to the safety position – two things that are very much needed – along with there being more flexibility with how Alexander and Stokes are used. Gutey also feels that this could be a good fit for Douglas, given his skill set.
"“(Douglas) has such good eyes and instincts when he’s back there and seeing the whole field,” Gutekunst said at the NFL Combine via Packers.com. “Anytime you move a guy inside, whether it’s the nickel or the safety, and you have both sides you really have to worry about, there’s a curve there that’s going to take some time to really understand that. But his skill set as far as his eyes, his ability to go get the ball, his angles, his instincts and he’s a pretty good tackler, too, he could make that transition if that’s what we decided to do.”"
Douglas has just 44 career snaps as a traditional free safety, according to PFF ($$), but the Packers did experiment a little bit with using him in this capacity during training camp last summer. He does, however, have some experience being a box defender, a position where he could see more snaps if moved to safety.
In his two seasons with Green Bay, Douglas has nine interceptions and 14 pass breakups, showcasing that ability to go and get the ball that Gutey highlighted. He’s also been active in the run game, a key element to playing safety in Joe Barry’s defense, where there is frequent usage of light boxes, recording the fifth-most run stops among cornerbacks in 2022 while being a sound tackler.
With that said, moving Douglas to safety doesn’t solve all of the Packers’ issues in the secondary. For one, just like with the move to the slot, there could be a transition period for Douglas. Also, addressing the position in the draft should still be on Green Bay’s radar, given that they would still lack long-term options at the position–not to mention that Savage has had his ups and downs and could be better utilized in the slot rather than as a safety.
And that brings us to the next conundrum: Green Bay would really need to bolster their cornerback depth in this scenario. As I just mentioned, Savage could be the slot cornerback, but again, that requires another safety to join Douglas. Re-signing Keisean Nixon would also give Green Bay another nickel cornerback option.
But in the instances where Alexander is in the slot, who lines up on the boundary at cornerback opposite of Stokes? Maybe they move Douglas back to cornerback on those downs and Savage to safety, or perhaps the answer to this question isn’t on the roster yet.
Although there are unknowns, what we do know is that the Packers will keep their options open, and the overall versatility that they have in the secondary provides Joe Barry and new cornerbacks coach Greg Williams with some flexibility.
Regardless of how Gutekunst addresses the secondary, the safety position will have to be added to, and to a lesser extent, cornerback may as well. But for a position group in search of both reliability and some playmaking, maybe the player this defense is looking for is already on the roster in Douglas.