With cornerback Jaire Alexander missing his second game in a row on Sunday, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley decided to switch things up against the Los Angeles Rams. As a result, the Packers may have created a blueprint for the secondary moving forward.
A significant domino effect took place in Green Bay’s secondary in its Week 5 win. With Alexander out, the Packers moved cornerback Keisean Nixon from the slot to the outside all Sunday afternoon. Rookie safety Javon Bullard moved from his normal starting spot next to safety Xavier McKinney, down to the slot. Fellow rookie Evan Williams took Bullard’s spot next to McKinney.
You may need a flow chart to help explain this better. That’s fine.
Bullard’s snap count decreased due to moving to the slot, but his impact on the game felt larger.
On LA’s first play of the game, running back Kyren Williams was trying to navigate toward the far side. Bullard lined up in the slot on the near side. It looked as though he was shot out of a cannon as he barreled towards Williams to make the solo tackle after a one-yard gain.
It wasn’t just Bullard feasting in his new role.
Williams earned his first start of the season at safety. He went from zero snaps in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles to playing 100% of the snaps against the Rams. Williams’ pass breakup at the end of the game turned the ball over on downs back to Green Bay, allowing them to go into victory formation.
Bullard and Williams looked like natural fits on Sunday.
Why did Hafley decide to do this now?
It’s a question we may never have an answer to. However, one would have to wonder if Hafley would have taken this approach had the Rams been at full strength.
With Los Angeles missing Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua at wide receiver, perhaps Hafley thought this was an opportunity to experiment. Missing Kupp and Nacua, the Rams weren’t the threat they typically are offensively.
Whatever the reason behind the now for Hafley, it paid off in the short term. But what about the long term?
The one looming question that will eventually be answered is who the odd man out is once Alexander returns.
Let’s get the easy parts out of the way: Alexander is the top cornerback once he returns, and McKinney is Green Bay’s best safety. At the second cornerback spot on the outside, Green Bay likely keeps working with a rotation of Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine.
After that, things get interesting.
Based on how things looked Sunday, how do the Packers not roll with Bullard in the slot and Williams at the other true safety spot? That solution means Nixon is on the outside looking in.
Nixon isn’t a long-term answer for Green Bay on the outside. Hafley didn’t tinker with these changes on Sunday to see if Nixon could be the solution playing away from the slot. He’s a placeholder at that spot until Alexander returns. Nixon is also a secondary option to Stokes and Valentine at the second cornerback spot.
If Nixon moves back to the slot when Alexander returns, the decision will come down to Bullard or Williams at safety. The question for Hafley is whether Nixon is that much of an upgrade in the slot from Bullard or whether it’s an upgrade at all.
The youth movement is fun in the short term, but it also seems like the answer in the long term.
Having that conversation with Nixon wouldn’t be easy. However, if the Packers truly want to stick to their word of putting their best players on the field, you’d be hard-pressed to have Bullard or Williams watching from the sidelines at this stage.
General manager Brian Gutekunst went all in to address the need at safety this offseason. Green Bay scooped up McKinney, the best safety on the market, and then doubled down by taking Bullard in the second round of the draft. The Packers later traded picks No. 126 and No. 190 to move up to No. 111 to select Williams. If there was one certainty leaving this offseason it was that Gutekunst and Co. would solve the riddle at that position.
That strategy has left Green Bay with options, which is always good in the NFL.
Sunday opened people’s eyes to what Green Bay’s future could look like if they keep using Bullard in the slot and Williams at the second safety spot. The only question remaining is whether or not that will be how Green Bay rolls it out once Alexander returns.