Paul Bretl | 5/30/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Safety Xavier McKinney came in and made an immediate high-level impact on this Packers’ team, both on and off the field, during the 2024 season. So, after an impressive performance, which included being named a first-team All-Pro, what’s next for McKinney in 2025? How does he follow up that performance?
“There’s always going to be levels of improvement,” said McKinney following Wednesday’s OTA practice. “I think my biggest thing is I like to say, I have my foot on their necks, and really, it’s going to be the same. I’m not going to let off the gas for nothing or nobody. That same intensity, that same energy, it’s going to stay the same.
“Obviously I know what I want to accomplish by the end of my career and I know that in order to hit that goal these years are going to matter. So I take that seriously, I don’t take that lightly. So for me it’s just keep grinding, keep my head down, and keep locking in on the small details so I don’t get complacent and I keep having these All-Pro years.”
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McKinney brings a do-it-all skill set to the Packers’ defense. He can patrol the back end, limiting big play opportunities for an offense, play closer to the line of scrimmage, and help out in run support, along with being a key figure in Jeff Hafley’s ability to disguise coverages. Oftentimes, where McKinney was lined up pre-snap was not where he ended up when the quarterback hit the top of his drop.
As the offense breaks the huddle, you can see McKinney directing traffic on the back end, making sure everyone is aligned properly, knows what their responsibility is, along with calling out any adjustments that need to be made.
McKinney finished the 2024 season with eight interceptions, including five through his first five games as a Packer, and quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 57.1 when throwing his direction. After McKinney’s scorching hot start to the season, his opportunities to make plays on the ball diminished as quarterbacks weren’t looking to throw in his direction.
Helping McKinney progress will be the added familiarity he has with Hafley’s defense as he enters his second season in the system. With that continuity comes added comfort and not only in what McKinney’s technique needs to be or how he’s supposed to play a certain play call, but also for everyone around him, including along the defensive, as well as further understanding how opposing offenses may attack the Green Bay defense on a given play.
Having a full offseason to fully dive into those details rather than being in the early stages of just learning the defense, which was the case this time a year ago, can be a catalyst moving forward.
“Absolutely there’s more that he can improve on,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard of McKinney. “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.
“Things that may not have–not 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.”
McKinney’s long-term goal is to put on the gold jacket and be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame once his playing career is over. That’s been a goal of his since he was a kid and remains a key motivator for him. Accomplishing that starts with stacking All-Pro seasons, as he’s already done, but also a part of that equation and playing a role is team success.
In Hafley’s first season as defensive coordinator, we saw a much-improved Packers’ defense overall. This was a unit that was malleable, molding to the skill sets that are on Green Bay’s roster, and one that was quick to adjust based on what the opponent was doing.
The Packers’ defense finished the 2024 season ranked sixth in points per game, 12th in passing yards per game, and they were top-10 in takeaways. Green Bay’s biggest improvement, however, may have come against the run, with the Packers ranking seventh in rush yards per game, which included allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game for the first time in a season since 2009.
And as Hafley has pointed out, this was a group that was trending upward as the season went on, playing its best football late in the year. Similarly to McKinney, the question at the forefront is, what’s next for this unit as they head into Year 2 of being in Hafley’s system?
“I think just fine-tuning the small details is going to be super important for us,” McKinney said of the defense. “I think that’s something we’re focusing on right now. Obviously we’re going into a second year with the same DC, the same defense, so for us just fine tuning the little things. Just fixing little areas that maybe we weren’t as clean on last year and it’s really going to be fun, to be honest.
“I’m happy that Haf is still here. Everybody’s happy that he’s still here, that the defense is still the same. We just finding little small things to kind of correct and make sure that it’s clean.”
Having a long-term vision and big picture goals, both individually and for the team, are important. But one can’t get lost either in looking too far down the road. As McKinney said, “by building for the future, we gotta work on the present.”
So, for now, while McKinney, the Packers’ defense, and the team as a whole have a lot that they want to accomplish, both in 2025 and beyond, putting themselves in a position to do that begins with what they do in the here and now. And for McKinney, this time isn’t only for focusing on his own game, but making sure that he is bringing everyone along with him, because with team success will come individual success.
“Right now, my main focus is just focusing on the team,” McKinney said. “Trying to make sure that the young guys are coming along. Making sure they know what’s going on, knowing the ropes, and trying to help them as much as I can. I think that’s the biggest thing for me right now. And then really just tightening up the little things. But right now, my main focus is I’m trying to lead these young guys that just got in, trying to make sure that they are comfortable and are going to be ready to go when the season comes around.”