Despite having a trio of former No. 1 draft picks (Jaire Alexander, Darnell Savage, and Eric Stokes) and two highly-paid veterans (Adrian Amos and Rasul Douglas) in the secondary, Green Bay's pass defense underachieved in 2022, finishing a mediocre 21st in completion percentage, 19th in yards gained per attempt, and 18th in quarterback rating. But instead of a complete overhaul, fifth-year coach Matt LaFleur appears to believe a few relatively small changes will make a big difference.
LaFleur would've been justified in firing his entire defensive staff after the disappointment of last season; instead, he chose to make only a few tweaks. He promoted longtime safeties coach Ryan Downard to defensive backs coach after Jerry Gray left for the Falcons and hired Greg Williams as passing game coordinator. It's debatable whether this will be an upgrade. Also debatable is whether it even matters, considering that embattled defensive coordinator Joe Barry will be returning.
Barry looked to be in more trouble than a wild turkey in November, but he survived thanks to a strong finish. LaFleur talked at length about how well the defense played late in the season when pressed by reporters on Wednesday as to why he didn't make a change at coordinator. He spoke about the importance of continuity and chemistry and credited Barry with simplifying the scheme in December and January. Of course, what LaFleur conveniently failed to mention was facing a concussed Tua Tagovaiola and a pair of the most anemic passing offenses in the league in the final five weeks.
Most Packers fans were still coming to grips with the decision to retain Barry when LaFleur made some on-the-field news in regard to his pass defense at the owners meetings. He announced Savage would start at safety despite being benched late last season, Douglas would shift back outside from the slot, and Keisean Nixon would replace him in the nickel.
The only one of these moves that should excite fans is returning Douglas to where he belongs. As I opined ad nauseam last summer, the former Eagle, Panther, Raider, Texan, and Cardinal didn't possess the skill set to match up with quick slot receivers. He has too much body tightness, especially in his hips. That it took professional coaches an entire season to figure out what I knew to be true after watching Douglas practice a few times in August 2019 is as surprising as it is disturbing.
What's even more surprising and disturbing is heading into training camp with Savage as a likely starter at safety and Nixon as the preferred No. 1 nickel corner, a position that figures to be on the field for at least 70 percent of the snaps. Savage was so disappointing last season that he was replaced by journeyman Rudy Ford in early December. Expecting the former Maryland star to play a lot better in the same role and with mostly the same coaches seems to be wishful thinking.
As for Nixon, the Packers seem to be putting too much stock in the 290 decent snaps he played in the slot last season. It's important to remember that nearly two-thirds of those snaps came against an offense missing its top three wide receivers (Bucs), a third-string rookie quarterback (New England), and two of the worst passing attacks in the league (Rams and Bears). Based on watching a lot of tape, Nixon looks to be the type of corner a team turns to when a better player gets injured and not the type of corner a team names the presumptive starting nickel back in the last week of March.
Here's something else to consider, assuming what LaFleur said on Wednesday comes to fruition, Nixon will play more snaps next season than Stokes and/or Douglass. That's a lot to take in, considering the former was a No. 1 pick in 2021, and the latter signed a $20 million extension just a year ago. But there are only so many snaps to go around at corner, and Alexander, who's been named to the All-Pro team in two of the past three seasons, won't be leaving the field very often.
Since I don't like to criticize a plan without providing a better one, my thoughts heading into the spring were to move Douglas to free safety, sign an inexpensive but proven veteran to start next to him, and give Savage every opportunity to be the nickel back. I'd also draft a corner on Day 1 or 2 to add depth or fill in for Stokes in case the serious lower leg injury he suffered last November isn't fully healed by the beginning of the regular season (recent reports suggest the former Georgia standout is "ahead of schedule" and should be ready when training camp opens in approximately four months).
Could things change between now and September? Of course, but unless GM Brian Gutekunst uses a very high pick on a defensive back in April's draft, it sure appears that both Savage and Nixon will play significant roles in the secondary next season. That, along with Barry's retention, makes it difficult to feel optimistic about the pass defense heading into OTAs. Instead of a much-needed overhaul, this feels a lot more like rearranging a handful of chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
You’d think four seasons is enough time to figure out Savage isn’t a good safety.
It’ll be interesting to see who starts next to Savage. There aren’t a lot of good options on the roster, and the draft isn’t very deep at safety. Maybe Tariq Carpenter will surprise us.
It looks as if Nixon will be the No. 1 returner, starting nickel corner, and he might even play on offense. Gutey got a bargain if Nixon does all of those things next season.
Im sick of using 1st and 2nd round picks on the secondary while other areas have been neglected for years. My plan since we appear to be in a rebuild is to add players to the DL and Edge if we draft defense early. A strong front on defense will, as shown by the top teams help the secondary. We are only 1 player ( a Kenny Clark Injury ) from having a disaster on the line and an injury to Preston Smith to being in the same boat on the edge( who knows when Gary will be back). Other top teams have not spent the draft capital we have on the secondary but instead build terrific front sevens. We can find some depth to the DB’s later in the draft, free agency or cutdown time, it will have to be a work in progress . Unfortunately when you draft poorly you wind up with many holes to fill.
Regarding Savage, maybe he is part of the trade with Rodgers with WR Davis coming back to us as the vet Wideout Gutey has said he wants in the room, the contracts are both similar in money 8.5 to 10 million. It’s not something I’m for but it’s crossed my mine. Davis is OK but not at that price.
Not meant as a reply to John. Sorry