5 Packers' Rookies Who Could Start in Week 1 of 2024 NFL Season

Javon Bullard or Evan Williams, Safety

The Packers overhauled their entire safety position this offseason. Jonathan Owens (775 snaps), Rudy Ford (606), and Darnell Savage (558), who led the team in snaps at the position in 2023, are no longer on their roster. The only returning player with more than nine snaps at safety from last year's is Anthony Johnson Jr. (303).

That leaves plenty of question marks at the position heading into training camp besides Xavier McKinney. It is known he will start at safety in Week 1 (even if we don't know exactly where he'll line up on every snap). Who lines up next to him on the backend of the secondary is a complete mystery.

Sure, Johnson Jr. will challenge for a starting gig, but the Packers didn't use a second-round pick on Javon Bullard or a fourth-rounder on Evan Williams for them to sit on the bench behind a seventh-rounder (with all due respect to Mr. Johnson). Both players will get every opportunity to earn the starting job.

Both players are also very versatile and could line up in multiple alignments. Heck, the three safeties could even share time on the field if new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is feeling spicy. That versatility is what makes this defense so dangerous and difficult to predict heading into next season.

There's no question the Packers are in a better position at safety than in 2023. Last year at this time, they were relying on a veteran clearly holding onto his roster spot for dear life and multiple career special teamers and backups to fill in on the backend. Now, they have one of the better players in the NFL at the position and multiple Day 2 draft picks to fill the void.