Packers safety Xavier McKinney basks in others' success, knowing his time will come soon enough
GREEN BAY – This is not Xavier McKinney’s time to shine.
It’s Omar Brown’s, and any other defensive backs who want to show they belong on the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster.
McKinney, the Packers’ All-Pro safety, got to celebrate with Brown, who picked off three passes in the team’s annual Family Night practice Aug. 2 inside Lambeau Field.
The vet hugged the youngster on the sideline and then told him the game isn’t over.
“He said just keep balling, just keep being consistent,” said Brown, a second-year pro who was on the practice squad last year and was elevated three times for game day, playing twice. “You know, we’ve still got a long camp ahead of us. We’ve got a preseason game coming up.
“So, really, just keep stacking days and just keep balling and just being consistent.”
McKinney is stacking days, but it’s not the same ones he’ll be stacking the minute training camp ends. His focus now is sharpening his game through the repetition of running the basic scheme defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley installed last season.
His moment will come when Hafley presents the game plan for the season opener against the Detroit Lions. It’s then he’ll know exactly what Hafley has in store for him and the defense this year.
“I'm eager for that, but until then, we kind of just are doing camp things,” McKinney said. “I have an idea of what we're going to do, a little bit of what he wants, but we haven't got much into it just because we're still trying to get everybody to learn the scheme and understand what we're doing as a defense.”
Hafley is putting a huge emphasis on takeaways even though the Packers finished fourth in the NFL in that category last year. The ringleader was McKinney, who ranked second in the NFL with eight interceptions and became someone opposing teams tried not to throw at.
The way Brown has attacked the ball this training camp — five interceptions total — it’s obvious he’s been spending a lot of time studying McKinney.
On two of the interceptions in the Family Night practice, he held his position and let the ball come to him. On the other, he attacked wide receiver Julian Hicks and outjumped him, tipping the ball in the air and then corralling it as he fell to the ground.
He wasn’t the only defensive back with an interception.
Cornerback Kalen King undercut quarterback Malik Willis’ late thrown to Hicks along the sideline and returned his interception for about a 35-yard touchdown. Cornerback Carrington Valentine kept speedy rookie Matthew Golden from getting behind him and then beat him to quarterback Jordan Love’s deep ball.
These are plays the Packers are going to need all year long if they’re going to be an opportunistic defense. They may need them from more people just because teams are going to be leery about testing McKinney the way they did last year.
“I think we all are just trying to make sure that we continue to do our jobs within the scheme of the defense,” McKinney said. “So for me, I'm just gonna do my job.
“And, hopefully, some teams try me. And I'm sure they will once we play the good teams. It's going to come my way. Either way, I’ve just got to keep preparing the right way. And when those opportunities show up, make plays.”
McKinney said Brown’s big night reflects the talent he sees at his position.
McKinney is the constant at free safety. Second-year pros Evan Williams and Javon Bullard will share the strong safety position, but they’ll also be on the field together quite a bit because Bullard will be on the field a lot as the slot corner.
Last year, Williams was an interception machine in training camp, but when the regular season came around, he managed just one. Bullard, who split time at corner and safety, didn’t have any interceptions.
Backup free safety Zayne Anderson had the only other interception in the position group.
McKinney can’t be the only one with multiple interceptions this year if the Packers are going to take the next step with Hafley in charge.
“I'm focused,” McKinney said. “I'm laser focused more than I was last year. So, for me, it's just continuing to grind, continuing to figure out ways where I can improve. Not just for myself but continuing to elevate these guys around me.
“That's going to be the main thing. I’m trying to have the best safety room in league. So, I think we've done a great job with building that. And I think tonight everybody got to see what we have in our room, and we have a special one.”
As for Brown, he’ll keep trying to prove he belongs in that room.