Packers Rumors: Delusion at safety, Quay Walker’s growth, Zach Tom plans

Packers Rumors: Safety room drawing mixed, questionable message from coaches

When you look at the Packers depth chart, safety sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s by far the most unproven position group on the defensive side of the ball as only Darnell Savage returns with more than 20 starts to his credit — and we saw Savage sidelined by the coaching staff at times last season for his inconsistent performance on the field.

The other seats in the safety room are occupied by Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens, Tarvarius Moore, seventh-round rookie Anthony Johnson Jr., and Dallin Leavitt, among a few others. But if you ask at least one Packers coach, they aren’t in a bad spot at the position.

Safeties coach Ryan Downard had this to say about his position group, preaching optimism spawned from competition, which he believes “brings out the best”, via PackersNews:

"“I like where our safety room is in terms of the competition right now. There’s an opening there, and there’s only one guy in the room who’s played a ton of snaps for us. So I actually addressed the guys yesterday, ‘Hey, you guys have to be pros about this. Everybody in this room is trying to get a job. So it’s full competition when we go on the practice field, but we’ve also got to have each other’s back.'”"

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry sounded a little less cheery, noting in his press conference that he didn’t know who the other starter would be with Savage, though at least briefly echoing the sentiment that they have the offseason to try and determine that via competition.

With that being said, there is uncertainty of the highest order with this position group right now. Moreover, just because there is a competition doesn’t mean someone wins it with great play. As Adrian Amos remains a free agent and with the Packers still not having a definitive answer, this indecision and potential misguided hope for the safety room could ultimately lead to bringing back the familiar face if they don’t like the results they see in the offseason.