When you think about the Green Bay Packers’ roster and the positions that are lacking, the first ones that come to mind are likely cornerback and depth along the offensive and defensive lines.
We saw that Green Bay’s front office agreed with that assessment by taking a corner, defensive tackle, edge, and offensive lineman with their first four picks in the draft. When you dig a little deeper into the roster, a position that may catch you off guard with the lack of depth because of the quality at the top is safety.
Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard are the stars of the safety room. That’s one of the best trios in the league. Last season, they only surrendered 156 snaps to other safeties on the depth chart, with nearly all of those coming in the throwaway Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Still, while Javon Bullard can play safety, he’s better and is going to play in the slot. The Packers didn’t deal with injuries to their safeties in 2025. However, in 2026, if one of McKinney or Williams suffers an injury and we’re taking Bullard out of the equation, then Kitan Oladapo is the third safety.
I don’t dislike Oladapo. His frame and athleticism coming out of college made him an exciting prospect. At the least, you’d think he could be a solid special teams contributor, and that’s what he’s been. Oladapo has played 264 snaps in 26 games on special teams in his two seasons with the Packers. However, he’s registered just 68 snaps on defense in each of his first two seasons, with 66 of his 68 last season coming in Week 18.
If Green Bay’s safeties stay healthy yet again, then Oladapo may end up being a non-factor. But this is the NFL. Injuries happen, and Oladapo being the next man up is a bit concerning. Still, he’s at least an NFL-level talent, has played a bit on defense, and has a frame and athleticism that you don’t worry about. The more concerning thing is what’s behind him.
I expect Green Bay to keep four true safeties. Therefore, there’s an available spot after McKinney, Williams, and Oladapo.
Can you name any other players on the safety depth chart? I bet not.
Mark Perry and Kenion Murvin – the latter also known as Justis Mosqueda’s favorite player – are Green Bay’s other safeties listed on the depth chart. I’m not sure how long they will be around. However, Johnathan Baldwin, a name you may be a bit more familiar with, is listed as the slot corner behind Bullard. He, like Oladapo, played 66 snaps in the Week 18 game.
Baldwin is likely the leading candidate to be the last safety based on what the pecking order seemed to be last season. He got the nod in Week 18.
My biggest concern with that group is that there isn’t a player in that room who can really replicate what McKinney does. Although, to be fair, it’s tough to find a guy that can replicate the play of a two-time All-Pro.
However, Oladapo is more of a bigger, downhill, box safety. He fits better as a backup to Williams. And Baldwin, as evidenced by the depth chart, is more of a nickel back. Green Bay doesn’t have a guy who even projects as a center-field, deep safety. If McKinney misses any time, who goes back there? Is it Williams by default because he’s the next-best safety? Is it Bullard because they have more slot depth to cover for him and he has the best coverage instincts?
In both of those cases, you’re making two positions worse. So, could it be Nixon that gets put back there, because they have outside corner depth to cover for him without downgrading?
Or is it just Oladapo, or Baldwin, and we hope for the best? I sure hope not.
If McKinney gets injured long term, I’d have to assume they patch it together for the rest of that game and Brian Gutekunst looks elsewhere for help beyond that.
However, I would never be opposed to preparing ahead of time and seeing Gutey go out to add a veteran safety that can somewhat replicate what McKinney does and come in and compete with the back end of the room in training camp.
Regardless, the safety room is awesome right now, and we’ll only know if they have enough depth if injuries occur. Still, it’s left me wondering whether we’re being too ignorant of the depth because of the quality at the top.
