Packers: Taking stock at safety ahead of free agency

Free agency is set to begin next week, and there are plenty of options for the Green Bay Packers at one of their most glaring holes.

Safety has seemed to be a troubled spot on the Packers defense since the forced retirement of Nick Collins.

Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix made for a good combination for three seasons, but Burnett couldn’t avoid the injury bug and Clinton-Dix seemed to have fallen off after his 2016 Pro Bowl selection.

Like edge rusher, the Packers will have plenty of options between the draft and free agency.

Unlike pass rusher, the franchise tag wasn’t used on the top free agent options, leaving the Packers with more veteran help available than on the edge.

The Packers’ options currently on the roster are uninspiring. After having a good showing in spot duty his first couple years, Kentrell Brice couldn’t track a deep ball and missed too many tackles as a starter.

Josh Jones continues to tease potential but has yet to put it all together. Tramon Williams was moved to free safety after Clinton-Dix was traded but will look to return to corner next season.

Behind Williams, Brice and Jones is Eddie Pleasant, who filled in admirably late in the season when injuries struck. The Packers also have exclusive-rights free agent Raven Greene and unrestricted free agent Ibraheim Campbell, but both are coming off season-ending injuries.

The free agent market has everything you could ask for. An All-Pro center-fielder in Earl Thomas, a do-it-all, play-everywhere safety in Tyrann Mathieu, former corners in Jimmie Ward and Lamarcus Joyner, and what seems to be every Packers fan’s top choice, Landon Collins.

There are veteran options like recently cut Eric Weddle and Mike Adams that are near the end of their careers and could be cheap options to pair with a rookie.

It’ll be interesting to see how the market for safeties takes shape. Last year the market was slow developing and players had to sign for much less than they expected when entering free agency. Some players like Kenny Vaccaro and Eric Reid had to wait till after the season started to get the call.

Of the safeties available, it’s hard to see anyone after Thomas, Mathieu or Collins getting top dollar. But free agency is fickle thing and you just never know.

In my opinion, Earl Thomas would be the player to help fix the Packers’ needs. Even though Thomas finished last season on injured reserve with a broken leg, he has more than enough veteran knowhow and instinct to make up for any skills that may have diminished due to injury.

Teaming Thomas with Jones could be a good combination for the Packers. Jones could be the enforcer at the line and underneath with Thomas roaming the back end, much in the same way Thomas worked with Kam Chancellor.

But Thomas’ price tag will probably be too high. Even coming off of injury, Thomas is expecting top dollar for his services. The Packers will have room to sign Thomas but if they do at his price, they might not have enough to make many more signings.

Mathieu gambled on himself last year in Houston and won big time. He showed he still has what it takes to be a difference maker even if he has lost some speed. Mathieu can cover from the slot, blitz off the edge and makes sure tackles in run support. I’d be very curious to see how Mike Pettine would use someone like Mathieu. He could be to this defense what Charles Woodson was for Dom Capers.

In somewhat of a surprising move, the Giants decided not to use the franchise tag on Landon Collins. Collins is young and a multi-time Pro Bowler for the team that drafted him. That usually screams franchise tag. Yet the deadline came and went and Collins wasn’t tagged and is now set to hit the free agent market.

Maybe the Giants thought they could get him a a cheaper price than the tag is giving? Either way, Collins can now see what he’s worth to other teams and sign with the highest bidder if he so chooses. Collins doesn’t have one distinct trait that separates him like Thomas or Mathieu, he is just an all-around solid player who is best used near the line of scrimmage.

Signing Collins would still leave a hole in center field that would have to be filled in the draft.

Eric Weddle is a player that is very intriguing. He isn’t a spring chicken and some of his physical skills have diminished, but he was still a solid player for Baltimore and could be again this season if the Packers decided to go that route.

Weddle wouldn’t be the long-term solution but he could be a year or two player. Like Thomas, his veteran savvy could help the Packers secondary and he has been the model pro to help lead the young guys. With players like Weddle and Tramon Williams in the locker room, the young guys would have two of the very best in professionalism to see and model their behavior, work ethic, and life after.

Someone who could be an absolute steal for the Packers could be Tre Boston. Boston was a part of the slow developing safety market last offseason and had to settle for a one-year deal with he Cardinals. Boston seems to be forever under-appreciated but has put up back-to-back solid seasons with eight interceptions total over the last two years.

Should the Packers sign one of these free agents, the team should still turn to the draft to add more talent.

There is not a player in this class that is worth taking at pick No. 12, but there are a few that could be there at No. 30 or their second-round pick No. 44 that fit that draft position.

Johnathan Abram is considered one of the best all-around safeties in this draft. Much like Collins, he can do most of what is asked of a safety. He can play in the box, help in coverage and play the enforcer underneath. Abram has plenty of speed, running a 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine, to close on deep balls.

The other player to lay claim to the best safety in the draft is Alabama’s Deionte Thompson. Thompson is another in a line of Alabama defensive backs to make it to the NFL. An injury to his wrist has forced Thompson to wait till his pro-day to let scouts see his measurables, but at 6-foot-2, he is the biggest of the early-round prospects and his skills should translate to the NFL nicely.

Nasir Adderley could be the sentimental favorite for Packers fans. Adderley is the cousin of former Packers player and Hall-of-Famer Herb Adderley. Beyond the Hall-of-Fame relative connection, Nasir Adderley is a fine player.

He made a good showing in the Senior Bowl but was still battling a high ankle sprain that affected his availability to perform at the combine. But based off of his game tape, he is best suited in the free safety role and could help end the Packers’ problems playing the deep ball.

Adderley was also a cornerback at his time in Delaware, so coverage won’t be a problem. At the moment, Adderley is slated to go early in round two, but with a good showing at his pro-day, he could sneak into the first round.

My ideal scenario would see the Packers sign Earl Thomas, but with what I’d like to see them do in free agency at pass rusher, I don’t think that would fit under the cap.

So the next best thing would see the Packers sign a veteran like Eric Weddle or Tre Boston and draft Nasir Adderley with their second-round pick at No. 44.