And not only is it a roster spot that these players not named Savage and Amos will be competing for but playing time as well.
Enter second-year safety Vernon Scott, who, in a recent article, I named as a possible under-the-radar breakout candidate this season.
Scott was on the field for 90 defensive snaps in 2020, according to PFF , and recorded one sack, five tackles, and in coverage, he allowed seven receptions on eight targets at 10.6 yards per catch.
“We really like his versatility,” said Gutekunst via Forbes.
If this is, in fact, the case, then as Packer Report’s Ross Uglem told us in the Cheesehead TV Draft Guide, we can expect two things from this defense: they will play with light-boxes often, and we will see a lot of two-high safety looks.
Scott, coming from TCU and playing under head coach Gary Patterson, is well-versed in the two-high safety scheme, taking 348 of his career snaps at that position.
Again, Scott has plenty of college experience playing closer to the line of scrimmage as he lined up in the box on 356 of his career snaps at TCU.
Ultimately, training camp and the preseason will be the true litmus test for Scott and give us the opportunity to see if he’s taken a step forward in Year 2.