Competition for Packers second starting safety role still up in the air
By Paul Bretl
At the beginning of training camp, the safety position for the Green Bay Packers may have been the biggest question mark on the roster. Now, a few weeks into camp, that still seems to be the case.
What we know at this moment is that Darnell Savage is going to be starting come Week 1. However, who will be playing next to him, whether that be Tarvarius Moore, Jonathan Owens, or Rudy Ford, is still very much up in the air.
As Matt LaFleur said early on in training camp, we were going to see a heavy rotation at this position, as they search for Savage’s running mate. At the beginning of camp, it was Ford lining up next to Savage. But for the last two-plus weeks, it has largely been Owens who was starting, with Moore seeing some snaps here and there with the ones, but most of his time being spent with the second unit.
"“They’ve all had a lot of opportunities and there will be a lot more,” said Brian Gutekunst on Friday. ”I don’t think that’s settled by any means. There was a couple things in the game last week that we need to improve upon. But at the same time, I do think those guys are competing hard.”"
Ford was originally signed by Green Bay just before the start of the 2022 season to be a primary special teams player. But when called upon during the second-half of last season, he was able to provide some stability to the position, and showcased some playmaking, coming away with four takeaways. Owens, meanwhile, was a first time starter in 2022 with Houston, and was one of the more reliable tackling safeties in football.
Moore was a core special teamer with San Francisco last year, and last played significant defensive snaps in 2020. He brings physicality to the position, something Matt LaFleur discussed recently, and he was also able to showcase in Cincinnati a week ago. Coming out of that Bengals game, Moore might have been the most impressive of the three, but collectively, there is still room for improvement at the position.
"“They all bring a little bit of a different skill set to the table,” added Gutekunst. “But it’s going to be interesting to see how that shakes out. I think this game (New England) and the Seattle game, it’ll be important for somebody to step forward, and I don’t think anybody’s done that yet.”"
More than anything, what the Packers and Joe Barry are looking for in their second safety is consistency. Last season, this position group was plagued by missed tackles, coverage breakdowns, and miscommunications, all of which contributed to big plays for the opposing offense.
Along with being the last line of defense in hopefully preventing any big plays over the top, the safeties in the Barry defense are also tasked with playing a critical role in the run game. Because of the heavy usage of light boxes, safeties are responsible for sometimes taking snaps from the box, in addition to filling gaps, taking on blockers, and making tackles.
There still remains two weeks of training camp practices left, in addition to two preseason games for this roster battle to work itself out. But a few weeks in, it doesn’t sound – or look like – any one of these three players has been able to regularly distinguish themselves from the others.
"“Competition is always great,” said Barry on Friday, “especially this time of the year in training camp. It’s an open competition right now, and you’re talking Rudy, you’re talking T-Moore, you’re talking J.O. We’ve given all those guys opportunities based on the day to go with the first group and that will continue. We’ve still got two weeks of camp and it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.”"