Paul Bretl | 1/10/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The possible return this week of safety Evan Williams would give the Packers’ secondary some welcomed continuity as they go up against the high-powered Philadelphia wide receivers.
Williams suffered a quad injury during the Packers’ final practice before their Week 16 matchup against New Orleans. He has been sidelined since, and at that time, Matt LaFleur mentioned that the team would “hopefully” get him back for the playoffs.
Williams has been back at practice the first two days this week, practicing in a limited fashion, which still leaves his status for Sunday’s game a bit up in the air. However, there does seem to be some optimism that Williams can be available against Philadelphia.
“It’s good to have him back,” said Xavier McKinney about having Williams back at practice. “I think we’re getting the majority of our guys back, too, especially on the defensive side, so it’s good to be back out there with everybody and have everybody get back healthy, so yeah, it’s always good when we get our guys back.”
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Staying engaged while sidelined and working through an injury not only includes operating in the meeting rooms as if he was going to start that week, but on the practice field, while the starting defense is on the field, as Williams described, you could find him on the other side of the field, aligned as if he were in on that play–seeing the offensive personnel, making the calls to himself, and going through the progressions as if he were in the game.
“It’s really all about being a part of something so much bigger than yourself,” said Williams, “and understanding that you’ve got guys that depend on you, you’ve got guys that would, in the same situation, do everything to get back on that field. It’s the mutual trust and mutual love for each other and just understanding that even when you’re out, you have a role on this team.
“You have a role to pick everybody up if you’re not playing, if you’re not suited up. You have a role to do your utmost to come back. Yeah, that’s how I’ve taken it these past three weeks. Even though I haven’t been on the field, you try your utmost when you’re on the sideline to pick guys up in situations and give them clues on possibilities they can make plays and stuff. It’s just the love for each other.”
Not only with Williams being out, but due to other injuries over the last month, the Packers have seen quite a bit of movement on the back-end. Javon Bullard has missed time, which has then required Keisean Nixon to move back into the nickel position, and after initially asking Zayne Anderson to fill Williams’ role at safety, he suffered a concussion against Minnesota in Week 17.
In that game, the injury then led to Bullard having to make the in-game switch from nickel to safety–a tall task for any rookie–and then against Chicago, the Packers chose to keep Bullard at the nickel and gave rookie Kitan Oladapo his first NFL start next to McKinney.
Throughout the year, the Packers cross-train their defenders so that if injuries do arise, any needed position changes aren’t foreign to those players. There are also steps taken off the field in meeting rooms to help facilitate any potential position changes by keeping players familiar with different roles. But with that said, at a position group–the defensive backfield–where communication is always at a premium, there is something to be said for maintaining as much continuity as possible.
“If guys get a chance to work together over the long-haul they start to understand what the other one’s going to do in the moment without even really looking at him, it’s more of a feel,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard. “So the more that you have groupings together, I think that they’re going to be better off or at least smoother off the get-go.
“I will say, what I try to do at practice is, of course, in a gameplan and in a game week, I try to keep guys working together that we might project as being the guys that are going to work together in a game, but also try to mix guys in so that they work with one another. So that if we get into a game and guy gets a chinstrap, then the next guy is ready to go in and he can function and they’re compatible with each other.”
If Williams can go this Sunday, that continuity component will return to the Packers’ secondary. He will return back to his starting spot next to McKinney, while it will allow Bullard to continue focusing on one position–the nickel–and at boundary cornerback, the Packers can continue to rely on Nixon and Carrington Valentine, with Eric Stokes providing depth off the bench.
Williams has appeared in 12 games this season and did not play in the Packers’ season opener against Philadelphia in Week 1. He’s been a sound tackler and stout in coverage, allowing a completion rate of 56% at just 10.2 yards per catch with two pass breakups and an interception. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 69.7 when targeting him.
However, Williams’ impact on a play starts pre-snap with the aforementioned communication component and making sure everyone is aligned correctly and knows the call if adjustments have to be made. Having Williams on the field also frees up the Packers to have McKinney take on different roles because of the trust in Williams to patrol the back end.
“Evan is such a smart football player,” said Jeff Hafley, “and it comes so easy to him, and the communication back there it’s just like nice calming factor when he’s back there. I think for X too, it allows X to kind of not have to do it all, where it allows X to say all right, I’m going to play ball now. But I’m grateful for those guys who stepped in, they did a nice job.”
Naturally, Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ running game will garner a lot of attention, but this offense also has arguably the best wide receiver duo in football in AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. Combined this season, the two have totaled 155 receptions, for just shy of 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
In addition to Brown and Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert was an extremely efficient target this season, while Barkley saw his share of opportunities in the passing game as well. As a collective unit led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles finished the regular season ranking fourth in yards per pass attempt–showcasing the offense’s efficiency and ability to create big plays through the air.
“I think it starts with probably getting your hands on them pretty early,” said Williams about defending Brown and Smith. “Don’t wanna give them too much space off the line. When they get free releases and get to the second level, they can be dangerous and i mean, you’ve seen it this whole year, so yeah, I think getting hands on ’em early and just being detailed in all our approaches, getting to the right alignment, having the right keys pre-snap, I think all those things will allow us to be pretty successful.”
Williams and McKinney will have to be instrumental in helping the Packers’ cornerbacks against this group of pass catchers, but the defensive front can lend a big hand as well. Pressuring Hurts so that the defensive backs aren’t in coverage for extended periods of time will be crucial as will finding a way to contain Barkley, which can then put the offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations, where the defense often has the upper hand.
The obvious challenge with this Eagles’ offense is that they can win in a variety of ways. As a defense, if you’re successful at limiting one element, there are still multiple ways that Philadelphia can still attack you. However, any potential success for Green Bay is going to have to include being buttoned up on the back end, and having Williams back in the mix not only provides that aspect because of his own play, but his presence provides more versatility in the secondary and continuity.