The Las Vegas Raiders, whose pass defense has been dreadful the past couple of years, discarded corner Keisean Nixon and safety Dallin Leavitt after last season. These two players are now the top backups in the secondary for the Packers. Behind Nixon is Shemar Jean-Charles, who logged only 38 snaps as a rookie in 2021; behind Leavitt is career special teamer Rudy Ford and seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter, who’s probably better suited to play linebacker at this level.
Nixon played for special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia in Vegas, and his signing in March appeared to be a move made primarily to upgrade special teams. After all, the 25-year-old from South Carolina logged nearly 700 snaps as a core member of all four units the past three seasons. Conversely, Nixon played only 273 snaps on defense during that same period. He was reasonably competent in the slot but really struggled when lined up outside. He tended to bite on routes and double-moves too easily. The Packers clearly have more faith in Nixon’s ability to hold up at corner than the Raiders.
If Nixon is forced to play significant snaps and isn’t the answer, the other option would be Jean-Charles. The former fifth-round pick from Appalachian State was much improved in his second camp, but he also wasn’t facing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a couple of ex-Packers who gave him fits a year ago. Jean-Charles is also best suited to play in the slot where his transitional quickness is a strength. When lined up outside, his lack of ideal size (5-10 1/2, 190) often leaves him at a disadvantage when matched against bigger and stronger receivers who can go up and get the ball.
Leavitt and Ford are very similar players. Both run pretty well in a straight line and love to hit, which makes them effective on special teams and has kept them employed long enough to qualify for their pensions. But neither has the skill set to be an effective safety. Leavitt’s hips are stiff, and he’s slow to open and transition in coverage, while Ford’s route recognition and anticipation are below average and his downfield ball reactions leave something to be desired. Simply put, Leavitt and Ford are No. 5-type safeties who are currently at least one spot too high on the Packers’ depth chart.
Carpenter likely secured a spot on the 53-man roster by making a few nice tackles on special teams against the Chiefs in the preseason finale, but he struggled on defense throughout the summer. There’s a reason most scouts projected the former Georgia Tech star as a hybrid linebacker at the next level. Very few 6-foot-3 safeties have thrived in the NFL. Players that tall tend to be leggy long-striders who struggle to get off a track, open their hips, and transition quickly. Carpenter is no different. He also exhibited below-average eyes and instincts in college and at times during training camp.
It’s difficult to remember a time when the gap in talent between the top five defensive backs and the next five was so extreme. If general manager Brian Gutekunst chooses to go into the season with Nixon, Jean-Charles, Leavitt, Ford, and Carpenter as the top backups in the secondary, he better pray for one of two things – either the starters remain healthy all season, or there’s another Rasul Douglas out there on some team’s practice squad just waiting to come to the rescue.
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Already on our p s Abernathy !!!
Abernathy is a nice story, but I’d include him with Jean-Charles and Carpenter as another late draft pick/UDFA with no experience.
I anticipate that Abernathy will be brought up from the practice squad early in the season for the very reasons stated in the article.
After Alexander, Stokes, Douglas, Amos and Savage who are the next two? Jean-Charles and ????
I don’t see much dime coverage!
I agree, Gutekunst will continue to look for players, but we all knew this concern prior to the draft.
The presence of 6’4, 4.5 Quay Walker decreased the need for great depth in the secondary. His presence in the middle suggests, I would guess, that they’ll be in nickel for at least 90% of the time. In the rare cases when they’re in dime, I’m hoping they give Jean-Charles a shot and see how he does. It would be nice to see a twitchy slot and see Douglas play a zone-safety position. I like what Jerry Gray has done a lot and hope he can cover the deficiencies of the sixth man. And barring injury, this is the best secondary in the league. I’m not saying the secondary won’t be a problem at any point – I wouldn’t be surprised if they get torched a bit week 1 – but this is a unit that we’re spoiled to be worrying about.
For this reason alone it would’ve been nice to keep Chandon Sullivan. Of the guys you mention, Jean-Charles is the one I like the most primarily due to the fact he has some cover skills but has yet to play.
There’s always competent cover guys out there, the question is will we pay the price to get one via trade or otherwise?