In our continuing series on the Packers All-Quarter Century Team, let’s pick one last player for our secondary!
Nickel and dime packages have become more and more commonplace in the NFL over the last 10-15 years, with nickel being the league’s de facto base defense for the past decade or so. With that in mind and with our front seven fully defined, we’re going to select one more defensive back for our squad.
As a reminder, here are the players who have already made the team:
Cornerbacks: Charles Woodson,
Al Harris Slot: Micah Hyde Safeties: Nick Collins, Morgan Burnett
Here are the nominees for the additional DB slot!
Defensive Back Flex Nominees
Tramon Williams, CB (2007-2014, 2018-2019, 2020ish)
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 159 games played, 122 starts; 30 INT, 419 return yards, 1 INT TD, 125 passes defensed, 559 total tackles (461 solo, 98 assisted), 12 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 14 games played, 11 starts; 4 INT, 96 return yards, 1 INT TD, 16 passes defensed, 54 total tackles (44 solo, 10 assisted), 3 fumble recoveries
Tramon Williams, we DO love you. Before we start, it must be said that several (many) of his fumble recoveries were recoveries of his fumbles on special teams, and I simply do not have the time to find which ones came on actual defense. Williams went undrafted and signed to the Packers practice squad in 2006, eventually making the 53-man roster in 2007. In his first game with the team, he was listed sixth on the depth chart. By the next season, he was third on the depth chart behind Charles Woodson and Al Harris, and he eventually became the full-time starter upon Harris’ departure.
He had an incredible stretch of games during the team’s playoff run in the 2010 season, which included one of my favorite plays ever, a 70-yard pick six in the Divisional Round. Williams left the team in free agency after the 2014 season, and spent a few years with the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. He returned to the Packers for two more years, and was then signed by the Baltimore Ravens for the 2020 season. The Ravens waived Williams in January of 2021, and three days later, he was signed to the Packers practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for the NFC Championship Game, but did not play (he probably should’ve!). Williams just could not quit the Packers, and we simply cannot quit him.
Jaire Alexander, CB (2018-2024)
2x Second-Team All Pro, 2x Pro Bowl, PFWA All-Rookie Team
Regular season stats: 78 games played, 76 starts; 12 INT, 201 return yards, 1 INT TD, 70 passes defensed, 287 total tackles (241 solo, 46 assisted), 12 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 1 safety, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 6 games played, 6 starts; 3 INT, 16 return yards, 5 passes defensed, 28 total tackles (20 solo, 8 assisted), 1 TFL
Writing this made us sad. Jaire Alexander was one of the most talented defensive backs the team had rostered since Charles Woodson was playing for them. He was incredibly fun to watch, and had built up a reputation as one of the most annoying guys to play against (complimentary). He was their guy! After years of disappointment from the guys who came before him, they finally found a good corner. And then you realize he played fewer games for the Packers than Sam Shields. In fact, he played a full 16 game season just once. It was never supposed to go this way, but Jaire could not stay healthy. After playing 78 out of a possible 116 games, the Packers released Alexander a few weeks ago, and he signed with the Baltimore Ravens shortly thereafter.
Sam Shields, CB (2010-2016)
1x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 80 games played, 62 starts; 18 INT, 180 return yards, 66 passes defensed, 245 total tackles (214 solo, 31 assisted), 4 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
Postseason stats: 10 games played, 7 starts; 5 INT, 92 return yards, 1 INT TD, 12 passes defensed, 32 total tackles (28 solo, 4 assisted), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010, Sam Shields made an immediate impact along the team’s path to Super Bowl victory. Originally a receiver in college, he switched to cornerback in his senior season. One of the fastest players of his time, Shields showed a ton of promise as a defensive back, not only because of his speed, but because of his ability to track the ball like a receiver. Shields was an unfortunate victim of the injury bug, suffering some nasty concussions in particular, which ultimately derailed his career. He was very public about his struggles dealing with the physical and emotional toll this took on him.
Casey Hayward, Slot CB (2012-15)
3rd place in 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year Voting
Regular season stats: 51 games, 20 starts; 168 total tackles (134 solo, 34 assisted), 6 TFLs; 9 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 34 pass defenses, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries (one returned for a TD)
Postseason stats: 6 games, 2 starts; 20 total tackles (17 solo, 3 assisted), 1 TFL; 3 pass defenses
In 2012, the Packers loaded up on defense throughout the NFL Draft coming off a 2011 season that saw the team go 15-1 despite allowing the most yards of any NFL team. They went defense with each of their first six picks in that draft, selecting outside linebacker Nick Perry in round one (#28) and trading up in round two for Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy at pick number 51. Green Bay then traded back into the second round to select Hayward at 62, and the Vanderbilt product quickly became the team’s primary slot corner as a rookie.
Hayward was a bit on the smaller and slower side, but his elite agility times made him a perfect fit as a slot defender while Sam Shields and Tramon Williams manned the boundary positions. He recorded an astounding 20 pass breakups as a rookie and picked off six passes that year alone, landing him behind only Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner in the race for rookie of the year.
Much of Hayward’s second season was lost to a nagging hamstring injury, but he bounced back in 2014. Despite playing only about 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, he posted another three picks and a pair of fumble recoveries, taking one of each back for scores as the team marched towards the NFC Championship Game. Hayward got a little bit of run as a boundary corner in 2015, but that was limited as the Packers’ coaching staff seemed convinced that he was solely a slot corner.
Thus, the team did not make a major effort to re-sign him in free agency when his rookie contract came up during the 2016 offseason, and Hayward left for the Chargers, who offered him a chance to be a boundary corner for the first time. He far exceeded expectations and made both the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro in his first two seasons with the Bolts. He posted at least 20 pass breakups and four interceptions in each of those two seasons, proving that he could hold up just fine on the outside.
Still, he had a tremendous run as a slot defender for his four years in Green Bay.
Xavier McKinney, S (2024)
1x Pro Bowler, 1x First Team All Pro
Regular season stats: 17 Games, 8 INT, 128 Yards, 11 PDs, 1 FR, 7 Yards, 88 Tackles (60 Solo), 1 Sack
Postseason stats: 1 Game, 2 INTs, 5 Tackles (2 Solo)
It’s just one season, but what a season. In McKinney’s inaugural season with the Packers, he recorded eight picks and 11 passes defended while providing solid work in run support. If it’s presumptuous to include McKinney here after one season, I would argue that no one else has looked so much like Nick Collins since Nick Collins. The switch from Joe Barry to Jeff Hafley makes a world of difference, but it’s also not a coincidence that the Packer secondary was able to survive many injuries, frequent missed games and weirdness from Jaire Alexander, injuries to safety-mate Evan Williams, and a bunch of different Alentines all because of McKinney’s steady hand in the back.
And this is clearly not a fluke. While we’re not using time spent with other teams officially here, McKinney was brilliant for the Giants when healthy and should remain a force for the duration of his prime. Still a few days shy of 27 years old, the Packers have a great one here. Is one great season enough to vote for him? That’s up to you.
LeRoy Butler, S (2000-2001)
Regular season stats: 25 Games, 2 INTs, 25 Yards, 9 PDs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 132 Tackles (97 Solo), 3 Sack
Postseason stats: None
Butler isn’t just an all-time great Packer safety, he’s an all-time great safety, a Super Bowl champion, a Hall of Famer, and a Packer legend. But most of Butler’s truly outstanding work occurred in the 90s, and so here all was have to consider is an injury-plagued final season in 2001 and a still pretty great 2000 season at age 32, where Butler had a typical Butlerian season with 2 picks, 7 PDs, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 2 sacks, in addition to a ton of rock-solid tackling.
Butler definitely started to taper off in his 30s, as almost all players do, but even his diminished 30s are still better than like 90% of Packer safety play. Butler probably didn’t do enough or play long enough this century to warrant votes, but his swan song season was still outstanding.
More from acmepackingcompany.com:
- Black and Blue News: This Week in the NFC North for July 6, 2014
- Cheese Curds: Green Bay Packers News and Links for July 7, 2014
- Packers 2013 Top Plays Recap: Top Ten Best Plays of the Year
- Packers Featured Heavily in NFL's Top 20 Games of 2013
- Packers' 2014 Roster Preview: Returning Quarterbacks
- Packers' 90-Man Roster Countdown: Players 5-1
