Six of the 11 picks in this spring's draft are defensive players. Three of those six were ranked inside the top 100, and when you include Evan Williams in that group (111th overall), the investment in defense this year becomes pretty clear.
Of course, this is a common story in Green Bay and it remains to be seen if it makes any difference this year, but for now, you can look at what they did in the preseason, and in case you missed it, they did the same thing today on offense.
Edgarin Cooper – LB (45th overall)
Like Jordan Morgan on the offensive line, Cooper started well and earned praise from head coach Matt LaFleur for his on-field savvy. However, a groin injury limited him to only a few training camp practices and he did not appear in any of the Packers' preseason games. At the start of training camp, our readers voted to start Isaiah McDuffie over Cooper in the Packers' nickel package, and it's hard to imagine the coaching staff disagreeing at this point.
Javon Bullard – S (58th overall)
Unlike most of this spring's draft picks, Bullard only saw a little playing time in the preseason, logging 20 snaps in the preseason opener and adding eight more in the second. Of those 28 defensive snaps, exactly half came in the slot as the Packers tested the option behind Keishan Nixon. Bullard has plenty of experience in the slot dating back to his time at Georgia and could seek playing time there this season if the Packers need Nixon elsewhere on defense. Bullard recorded two solo tackles in the Packers' exhibition games.
Tyrone Hopper – LB (91st overall) Unlike Cooper, Hopper has been a productive player throughout training camp, although he was limited early on by injury. Hopper played 89 snaps in the Packers' final two preseason games, racking up 16 total tackles during that time and tying him with Christian Welch for the most tackles on the team in exhibition games. Evan Williams – S (111th overall)
With Xavier McKinney making a brief cameo appearance and Javon Bullard appearing a bit less, Evan Williams was busy in the Packers' first two preseason games but was held back in the third. He made the most of his time on the field, playing 23 snaps in the first preseason game and another 20 in the second. He logged snaps as a deep safety, in the box and as a slot corner, totaling eight tackles and one forced fumble. He's obviously third in the safety pecking order but looks like a solid third option at this point.
Kitan Oladapo – S (169th overall)
Oladapo looks like a special teams player, and that's how the Packers have used him. Fresh off an offseason injury, Oladapo dove right into special teams as soon as he was cleared to return. He's made 33 special teams appearances in three preseason games and will likely play a key role in the Packers' special teams plans if he makes the roster.
Oladapo also played 58 times on defense, primarily in the deep safety position, totaling four tackles.
Karen King – CB (255th overall)
The Packers, with the 2024 class inherently a redemption story, gave King a long-term consideration. You've probably heard he was once a potential first-round draft pick. No player on the Packers defense has played more snaps than King, 127 of them, including a rare preseason feat in which he played every snap against the Ravens.
Perhaps surprisingly, most of King's defense came in the slot, where he wasn't used much at Penn State, playing 76 times as a slot defender compared to just 38 times as an outside corner.
King, for all his hard work, recorded nine tackles and one forced fumble, and if the Packers thought they needed a lot of evidence to make a decision on King, it certainly seems like they have it.
