The Green Bay Packers have questions to answer at safety, but rookie HaHa Clinton-Dix will provide an instant upgrade at the position.
Pass defense was an issue for the Green Bay Packers in 2013, and this was largely because of their poor safety play. None of them were able to come up with a single interception, so HaHa Clinton-Dix was taken in the first round.
The former Alabama star is expected to be the best safety the Packers have had since Nick Collins, who has been missed since being forced to retire after a career-ending injury.
Clinton-Dix has not been promised the starting free safety position, and Micah Hyde has taken significant first-team reps in practice. This is probably to ensure depth at the safety position though.
Either Hyde or Clinton-Dix will provide an immediate upgrade over M.D. Jennings, who performed atrociously and was let go in free agency.
Strong safety Morgan Burnett also had a disappointing 2013 season, but this was largely due to having no help across from him. He has great potential, as demonstrated by the team signing him to a four-year, $24.75 million contract last offseason.
He has no interceptions in the last 44 of his 47 games though, so he will need to take the next step forward that the team is expecting.
Sean Richardson returned from a neck injury late last season and started receiving more reps than Jennings, and he is expected to make the team again to provide depth.
If Clinton-Dix can live up to his billing and Burnett can bounce back, safety will become a much stronger position for the Packers and make their secondary dangerous.
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