How are the Packers using their young safeties?

We didn’t learn much from the Packers’ second preseason game, but we had at least one noteworthy learning opportunity: Kitan Oladapo appeared on defense for the first time as he continues his recovery from offseason foot issues. That meant for the first time, the Packers had full use of all their drafted rookie safeties.

What does that mean? Well, not terribly much, but now that we’ve had a something resembling an extended look at all of the Packers’ non-Xavier McKinney safeties, I thought it would be prudent to see what they’re doing with them.

Here’s how each of the Packers’ young safeties has spent his time on the field through two preseason games, broken down by percentage. 

With respect to Benny Sappy and Zayne Anderson, and I suppose even to Anthony Johnson Jr., the story here is Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Oladapo. There seem to be at least two clear roles here between the three of them, and I think we can draw some tentative conclusions about how these players will be used.

First, Bullard is rapidly straying into territory that would have us reclassifying him in our pre-draft work. He’s a safety, sure, but his real job appears to be as a slot corner. I don’t think he’s going to take Keisean Nixon’s job in short term, but if Nixon falters, the Packers will have Bullard waiting in the wings. It’s a job he’s done before and seems to be prepared to do again.

Second, both Williams and Oladapo appear to be playing pretty much to type. Both get plenty of snaps all over the secondary, but the details of their usage reflect the differences in their skill sets. When Williams isn’t deep, he’s either in the box or in the slot; he never aligns at or near the line of scrimmage (the “DLine” category, via Pro Football Focus). That’s basically what he did in college, too. He’d play deep, but often was in the slot or in the box — and when he played in the box, he was often a bit deeper than the linebackers but not quite so deep as a traditional deep safety. Call it deep box, if you like. But from there, he could use his high football IQ to make plenty of plays on the ball.

But Oladapo? He’s exactly the big enforcer safety that he looks like, lining up right on the defensive line like a mugging linebacker for five of his 19 snaps on Sunday night.

Will any of this carry over to the regular season? We won’t know until we get there, and that picture will change when Xavier McKinney is a part of it. But so far, at least, the Packers seem to be trotting out exactly the kind of Swiss Army knife-style safety position we hoped for after seeing the three safeties they nabbed in April, and that’s very much a step in the right direction.