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Green Bay Packers: Five free agent targets in 2019

By Paul Bretl

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans celebrates after a sack against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter of the game at FedExField on November 18, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. The Texans won 23-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans celebrates after a sack against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter of the game at FedExField on November 18, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. The Texans won 23-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 19: Rodger Saffold #76 of the Los Angeles Rams wears an LAFD hat in honor of the Los Angeles Fire Department battling the Woolsey fire before playing in the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 19: Rodger Saffold #76 of the Los Angeles Rams wears an LAFD hat in honor of the Los Angeles Fire Department battling the Woolsey fire before playing in the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

4. Rodger Saffold, Guard

One of the biggest issues in 2018 for the Green Bay Packers was pressure on Rodgers, who was sacked a whopping 49 times this season. Most of the time the pressure came up the middle from the guard position.

The constant pressure led to Rodgers losing trust in his offensive line, which resulted in his eyes to drop instead of going through his progressions. A cardinal sin amongst quarterbacks.

Rodger Saffold is a nine-year vet who can help bring a lot of stability to the guard position for Green Bay. He has great awareness in pass protection and consistently picks up his blocking assignments.

Saffold is about as reliable as they come, having missed just one game in the past three seasons. Pro Football Focus has Saffold ranked eighth overall amongst qualifying guards in 2018.

Saffold is coming off of a five-year deal with the L.A. Rams that paid him over $31 million. He is going to be a highly pursued free agent that will be looking to sign another big contract.

5. Maxx Williams, Tight End

Tight end has been a position that the Green Bay Packers have struggled to find consistent production in since the days of Jermichael Finley.

Due to the cap hit if he is cut, I am assuming that Jimmy Graham will be back for 2019 along with Robert Tonyan. Both can be dynamic in the passing game but neither are known for their blocking abilities.

Blocking at the tight end position was the reason Marcedes Lewis was brought in, but he was used very poorly by the coaching staff. Williams could fill a similar role at a lower cost and he is much younger than Lewis.

Although he wasn’t targeted much in the passing game, Williams was efficient when he was. In 13 games this season Williams caught 16 of 17 passes thrown his way for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Williams received a base salary of $987,646 from the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 and could be a relatively cheap addition that would help fill a specific role in the Green Bay Packers tight end unit.

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This is going to be a critical offseason for the Packers if they hope to get back to being Super Bowl contenders. It is going to take another solid draft, but they will also need some free agent signings that can come in and make an impact on day one.

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