Paul Bretl | 5/19/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — This offseason for the Packers’ safety room and defensive backs coach Ryan Downard has been quite different than what it was this time a year ago.
“So much different,” said Downard. “So much different. From the players and a coach, going through a first year in a system, you kind of figure out the snakes in the system as well too. Like, okay, this is an issue for us and certainly they’re probably feeling the same thing. I don’t want to speak for our players but they’re probably feeling the same thing. They’re so far ahead of where we were last year. Just naturally because it’s Year 2.”
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During the 2024 offseason, Downard himself was learning a new defensive system under first-year coordinator Jeff Hafley and then helping teach that scheme to the players. However, it wasn’t only a defense that was being implemented, but the safety position for the Packers had undergone a lot of turnover as well.
From the 2023 roster, the only returning players for the 2024 season were Zayne Anderson and Anthony Johnson, who was eventually waived during roster cutdowns and then claimed by the New York Giants.
To reshape this room due to so many departures and also there being a need for improved play, GM Brian Gutekunst signed Xavier McKinney in free agency and then used three more draft picks on the safety position as well, selecting Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Kitan Oladapo.
As impressive as last season was for McKinney, there is still certainly more that is out there for him in Year 2 with the Packers. A lot of that growth can come from the continuity of being in the same defensive system for a second year, because with that, not only comes a greater understanding of what his roles and responsibilities are, but also those around him, and how offenses are trying to attack Green Bay’s defense.
“Not to get into too many details, but there are things within the game that him and I have communicated about that he wants to grow in,” Downard said about McKinney. “Things that they didn’t come up in Year 1, but we’re trying to get the system down and his technique and his job, so he’s done a great job trying to learn different pieces of the game.
“Whether it’s other positions, what’s going on around him, what’s happening up front, what’s the offense trying to do to attack our system, what’s the offense trying to do formationally, just things like that.”
Bullard and Williams, like McKinney, will benefit from that continuity element as well. But also further propelling them forward will be the experience gained during their rookie years.
It’s one thing to know the playbook and your responsibility on paper, but it’s an entirely different ball game to execute it on the football field when there are so many variables in play.
“They were just trying to figure out and stay afloat last year as rookies, whether they’ll tell you that or not I think they did a hell of a job,” Downard said of Bullard and Williams. “But as a rookie you’re coming in and you got so much going on.
“See when X came in, he had more experience than those guys. He was in the league for however many years, four years, so last year he was speaking to these young guys trying to share some of that with them. So they’ve acquired one year, so we’ve just got to keep getting them more and more reps. It’ll keep making them better because of the process.”
As we look at the Packers’ safety room, depth and versatility are two hallmark traits that this unit possesses. As Downard described last week, every safety last season saw snaps at some point during the 2024 season.
Oladapo played 68 defensive snaps over the final three games of the regular season and played 75 snaps on special teams throughout the year. Anderson was, again, a core special teams contributor and played 122 defensive snaps, which included making two starts. Undrafted rookie Omar Brown would see a few opportunities of his own late in the season as well.
Just like at other positions on the roster, Downard heavily promotes competition within his safety room. But along with that competitive nature, there is also a hefty dose of collaboration as well. McKinney sets the example for how things should be done and is always more than willing to share that information with others, and everyone else then follows suit, which helps elevate the entire unit.
“Xavier has done a good job of setting the example of it doesn’t matter the guy in the room, it could be one of these younger guys we just brought in, these undrafted free agent guys, he’s still out there in the CRIC coaching these guys,” Downard added.
“And so when he sets that example, Javon and Evan are doing the same thing, they’re sharing knowledge. Zayne’s talking to this guy and KT’s talking to Omar (Brown) and when you can continue promoting that type of environment I think the whole group gets better.”
The versatility that the Packers have at safety and throughout the secondary can be a real advantage for them. From a game planning perspective, it can put a lot of prep work on an opposing offense because there can be so many looks to account for. Jeff Hafley also has an immense amount of flexibility when it comes to how he utilizes players and how he attacks offenses.
Then, when in the game, pre-snap it becomes very difficult for an opposing offense to decipher what is coming just based on where defenders are lined up, not to mention the potential for unscouted looks.
As I detailed recently, the continuity that the Packers have on defense as a whole in Hafley’s second season can be a real catalyst for growth for this entire group. However, the safety position, more than any other, may benefit the most from the experience gained over the last year.