Packers emphasize tackling and run defense at safety this offseason

Between free agency and the draft, there isn’t a position that the Green Bay Packers have added to more this offseason than safety. And with those additions, the Packers have put an obvious emphasis on finding willing run defenders.

One of the first moves Green Bay made this offseason was re-signing Rudy Ford, who provided some stability at the safety position last season, in larger part because of his willingness against the run. According to PFF’s run-stop rate metric, Ford ranked 19th in that category among all safeties in 2022.

Tarvarius Moore was signed as a free agent after spending the last few seasons with San Fransico. In 2022, he was primarily a special teams player and missed all of 2021 with an injury. During the 2020 season, he played over 500 defensive snaps and ranked 29th out of 97 safeties in run defense grade from PFF.

Anthony Johnson was a seventh-round pick made by the Packers and could push for playing time as a rookie. In his final season at Iowa State – his first as a safety – Johnson ranked 26th out of 200 eligible safeties in PFF’s run-stop rate.

Most recently, Green Bay signed free agent Jonathan Owens. 2022 was Owens’ first as a full-time starter, and he was all over the field, making 117 tackles, missing just 11. His tackling grade from PFF was the 15th best out of all safeties last season.

Kenny Clark said this past week when speaking with reporters that if the Packers’ overall defense is going to improve in 2023, they have to be better at tackling and against the run.

"“I think it starts with tackling and stopping the run,” said Clark on Wednesday. “Whenever guys got in third and long situations, we usually got off the field and made plays on the ball, got sacks, or whatever the case may be. So that’s our goal, stop guys on first and second down, and get them in third and long situations. If they throw the ball short, be able to tackle the ball carrier.”"

Doing this, of course, begins on the defensive front, but in the Joe Barry defense, where light boxes are utilized often, the safeties play an important role as the second line of defense in the run game, tasked with limiting the explosive plays. And whether against the run or the pass, being able to make open-field tackles is a prerequisite for playing safety in any defensive system.

In total, Green Bay ranked 28th last season, allowing 5.0 yards per rush, and 31st by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. It’s not a coincidence that over those last few games, when the defense was playing its best football, the Packers were holding up much better against the run, giving up just 4.4 yards per carry during that span.

Not to be forgotten in all of this is the importance of coverage ability at the safety position as well. Last season, there was a lack of playmaking and far too many coverage breakdowns. However, perhaps given the strength of the cornerback room, the Packers felt that they were able to shift their focus elsewhere. Also, a potential determining factor was simply who was available to them.

As just alluded to, with limited spending power in free agency, along with a draft class that was short on top talent and depth, there are still very much questions that remain at the safety position for the Packers–most notably, who will be playing next to Darnell Savage, and who’s even going to make the 53-man roster?

Those questions ultimately won’t be answered until training camp and the preseason take place, but in terms of the type of safeties that the Packers added to their roster, it’s clear what their intentions were.