Green Bay Packers 2018 roster review: Damarious Randall
Recapping the roller coaster that was 2017 and looking ahead to 2018 for the Arizona State alum.
Damarious Randall has quietly become a consistent figure in the Green Bay Packers secondary. Randall was a part of the 2015 draft class that has produced many starters for the Packers.
What many don’t remember about Randall was that he was a safety at Arizona State. The selection of Randall was shocking at the time. The Packers did not need another safety — Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix were two of the best at their respective safety positions.
However, when he arrived in Green Bay, he soon found out that he would play cornerback. He played a little bit of it during college.
It is hard to say whether it was a lack of depth or a skill move.
Season in review
The season started out really rough for Randall. After totally blowing coverage in a first-half touchdown against the Bears, Randall was benched for the rest of that Thursday night game.
The following week in Dallas, Randall made up for it by intercepting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for a momentum-changing pick-six.
The 2017 season was the best year interceptions wise for Randall. He recorded a career-high four picks. That may not sound like much, but he would ultimately lead the Packers in interceptions for 2017.
Randall saw considerable improvement in 2017 compared to his mediocre 2016 campaign. Randall struggled all year long that season.
The move from outside to slot corner certainly made a difference. Randall fits the slot much better, and the stats certainly prove that theory.
However, with a long time veteran safety potentially on the way out, it is possible that Randall moves back to his natural position.
Related Story: Have we seen the last of Morgan Burnett in Green Bay?
Looking forward to 2018
It will be a very interesting 2018 for Randall. The Packers have yet to pick up his fifth-year option. If they decide not to do that, Randall will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018 season.
Hopefully, the Packers pick up that fifth-year option. Other than 2016, Randall has been a very consistent component of a weak secondary. He still has time to improve and become an even bigger piece of the secondary.
If the Packers let Randall go, they will be making a huge mistake, similar to what happened with Casey Hayward.
Another interesting note for Randall in 2018 is that the Packers might let Morgan Burnett walk in free agency. If that happens the possibility of moving Randall back to safety, where he played in college, could happen.
There are many great options in this year’s draft to address the safety need too. So the Packers may decide to keep Randall at the slot, where he flourishes, and look to fill Burnett’s void in the draft.
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If Burnett decided to stay, all this won’t matter in the end. It hard to say what will happen at this point, however.
If Randall can stay healthy, 2018 may just be the best year yet.