Packers positioned so drafting a safety isn’t a must
By Paul Bretl
Safety was one of the Green Bay Packers’ biggest positional needs at the beginning of the offseason. Even at this point, with three additions to the position during free agency, addressing safety should still remain high up on the to-do list. However, GM Brian Gutekunst has positioned himself so that taking a safety early on in the draft isn’t a must.
Unfortunately for the Packers, with safety being a big need, this isn’t a draft class loaded with high-end talent. In fact, within PFF’s prospect rankings, only one safety made their top 50. Over at NFL.com, Lance Zierlein ranked the 2023 safety class, as a whole, 10th in terms of positional strength out of 11.
Although the Packers still very much have question marks at safety, with uncertainty and inexperience everywhere, they’ve also given themselves options. Rudy Ford proved to be reliable last season as a tackler and was often positioned well to make plays on the ball, coming away with four takeaways. Tarvarius Moore, meanwhile, has nearly 1,100 career defensive snaps with San Francisco.
Other options on the roster include Dallin Leavitt, who will be entering his second season with Green Bay. Innis Gaines, who played 44 snaps over the final three games, 2022 seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter, and James Wiggins are other candidates as well. Perhaps even Rasul Douglas will become another option for Green Bay at safety once Eric Stokes returns from injury.
Now, is going into the season with this safety room ideal? Not really. There is certainly room for upgrades, especially at a position that routinely struggled to make tackles and had regular coverage communication breakdowns on the back end during the 2022 season.
But with that said, when it comes to the draft, one of the worst things that a team can do is try to simply check a box by selecting a player at a specific position because it’s perceived as a big need. This is how teams ends up reaching in the draft, and ending up with an unproductive player can happen. Without question, positional need does play a factor on draft night, but it’s far from the only consideration. Most importantly, organizations need to find good football players.
So say what you will about this current safety room, but the Packers don’t have to panic and feel like they absolutely have to take a safety early on in the draft. On the flip side, if the right player falls to them, then they also still have the ability to select him. With most of the safeties who are currently under contract on one-year deals, moving on from those players if they don’t make the final 53-man roster will be relatively easy and have a minimal impact on the salary cap.
With limited spending power in free agency and a weak draft class at the safety position, Gutekunst has had to get creative with how he goes about addressing a major need. Whether this approach works or not remains to be seen, but the Packers do at least have options, and they do not have to feel pigeon-holed into taking a safety if the right player isn’t on the board.