Acme Packing Company
The Green Bay Packers are a little thin across the board after the first line of the depth chart, but one position where they have bodies to spare is safety, arguably the deepest position on the team. In the final defensive edition of our 2026 roster preview, we’ll touch on every safety on the team and how they’re expected to contribute this upcoming season.
If you want to read any of our previous installments, here are our breakdowns of Green Bay’s other position rooms:
While he didn’t make the All-Pro team in 2025 like his first year with the Packers in 2024, Xavier McKinney is still one of the better ballhawking safeties in the NFL. The difference between 2024 and 2025 is that opposing offenses rarely tested McKinney in the air, as they now understand his potential following his eight-interception 2024 campaign.
McKinney was recently voted as the 70th overall player in the NFL by the league’s players, so the appreciation didn’t stop with his two-interception 2025. Look for McKinney to continue to start for the Packers and continue to alter the deep middle of the field, whether it’s him making plays on the ball or teams avoiding him entirely.
Initially, Evan Williams started the 2025 season in a rotation with Javon Bullard, but he eventually ended up winning the starting job outright after a month or so. Last year, Williams recorded 100 total tackles and brought in three interceptions with the Packers.
More of an all-around player than McKinney, Williams can play in the box, in the middle of the field or as a split-high safety and perform well in all of those roles. Because McKinney is generally in the post, Williams is usually the drop-down safety when the Packers play single-high safety looks.
At just 24 years old, the former fourth-round pick is one of Green Bay’s best young players. He might also end up being one of general manager Brian Gutekunst’s best draft choices, as the selection was considered a “reach” on draft day but has panned out extremely well for the Packers over two years.
Williams should continue to start opposite McKinney at the safety position in 2026.
As mentioned previously, Williams and Bullard began the season splitting the safety position before it eventually went to Williams full-time. Now, Bullard is a full-time slot defender, a role that is still played for about two-thirds of defensive snaps.
While his man-to-man ability in the slot is not great, and can get the Packers in trouble when they face players like Justin Jefferson or Amon-Ra St. Brown, Bullard fits blocks well — which helps in both the run and screen game. Considering the cornerback room doesn’t have much experience in the slot, Bullard should continue to be the starting slot in 2026.
The only note I would add here...
