Green Bay’s secondary might be the scariest part of this team right now. And that’s saying something with Micah Parsons lining up off the edge.
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame dropped his rankings of the NFL’s best safety tandems this week, and the Packers’ duo of Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams landed at No. 3 overall. That puts them behind only Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton-Marcus Williams pairing and Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick-DeShon Elliott combo.
McKinney, who signed with Green Bay as a free agent in 2024, has been everything the Packers hoped for and more. He earned second-team All-Pro honors last season and finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The guy just finds the football. Over two seasons in Green Bay, he’s picked off 10 passes. Eight of those came in his first year with the team.
“McKinney has proved to be an excellent signing for the Packers,” Verderame wrote. “He’s one of the best coverage safeties in the game.”
What makes this pairing work is how Williams has developed alongside him. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Williams didn’t waste time becoming a full-time starter. Last season at 24 years old, he played 86 percent of defensive snaps and put up three interceptions, four tackles for loss, 100 total tackles and five passes defensed.
“Williams is already one of the better safeties in the sport,” Verderame added.
The Numbers Back It Up
Together in 2025, McKinney and Williams combined for 207 tackles, 15 pass defenses and five interceptions during the regular season. That’s production you don’t see from many safety duos around the league.
The chemistry between the veteran and the young guy has been obvious since they first took the field together. McKinney’s instincts and range let Williams play more aggressively near the line of scrimmage, and Williams has the speed to recover if things go sideways.
Now add Parsons into the equation. The pass rusher’s return should mean quarterbacks have less time to sit in the pocket and test that secondary deep. If the front seven can generate pressure consistently, this safety duo could look even better in 2026.
Green Bay’s defense quietly became a strength last season. With McKinney and Williams patrolling the deep zones, the Packers have a legitimate case for having one of the league’s top defensive backfields. And with Parsons coming back healthy, opposing offenses are going to have a problem figuring out who to focus on.
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