Could the Packers Move Douglas to Safety?
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine has gone from afterthought to the star of training camp in a span of about two weeks.
The seventh-round pick’s two pick-sixes in practice, coupled with three pass breakups and an interception in Friday's preseason opener vs. the Bengals, could have the Packers not only locking him into the roster but finding a way to get him onto the field.
“He’s a guy that, obviously, has a lot of talent,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Wednesday’s practice against the New England Patriots. “I think he’s approached it the right way. I think G-Money [defensive passing game coordinator Greg Williams] and Hoody [defensive quality control coach Justin Hood) are doing a great job with him.
“He’s getting a lot of opportunities, especially with a guy like (Eric) Stokes being out, and he’s taken full advantage of those. Every practice, he makes a play. You guys saw the end of the last practice we had making that pick-six. He’s super-talented and he’s maximizing those opps.”
When Rasul Douglas was giving his exit interview going into free agency after the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 playoffs, he said he would be willing to do anything. That included playing safety.
Douglas re-signed in Green Bay that offseason, giving the Packers a good problem. With a healthy Jaire Alexander, Stokes coming off an All-Rookie-caliber season and Douglas returning after picking off five passes, the team had an abundance of cornerbacks.
The problem?
They are all best suited to playing on the boundary.
That led to some experimentation.
Douglas played safety in camp for one day last year. Nothing came of it. Instead, Douglas was the slot corner when the season began.
The experiment didn't go well, and Douglas returned to his more natural position of outside corner by midseason.
The experiment wasn't as useful last season because they had Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage as the established starting safeties.
With Amos signing with the Jets in free agency, Savage fighting for long-term stability and no clear-cut second starter, the safety position next to him is unsettled.
The cornerback position, meanwhile, has a bit of a logjam. Alexander and Savage are one of the top starting tandems in the NFL, Stokes will return soon from last year’s foot injury and still has first-round talent, and Valentine has done nothing but make plays.
None of those players are best suited to play inside, so how do they get all of them on the field?
LaFleur might at least be considering a position change.
LaFleur did use the word potentially to describe the ways the Packers could experiment in camp to get all of their talented defensive backs on the field.
Douglas' skill-set as a ball-hawking, physical cornerback seems to be best suited for a potential move to safety – assuming LaFleur truly is considering shifting around his secondary.
No such move happened at practice on Wednesday.
“I think that’s certainly a possibility, yeah. I think you could absolutely do that,” LaFleur said. However, such a move would be easier said than done.
“There is a different requirement, I would say, in terms of just coming up and fitting some of the runs. There’s different responsibilities, totally different positions. Although they’re all classified as defensive backs, I think the job criteria is a little bit different between a corner and a safety and even a nickel.”
It's early enough in camp to where the Packers could still do some experimenting with their secondary.
The goal would be to get their best group of defensive backs on the field. With the safety position unsettled, it's worth considering.
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