Jonathan Gannon is barely into his run as the Green Bay Packers’ new defensive coordinator, and the early message from training camp is pretty clear: the secondary is going to be given room to move.
Third-year safety Evan Williams said the new setup has already changed the feel of the defense, especially for the defensive backs.
"It's been a lot of fun. It's been very fluid. They give us a lot of freedom to be places before the snap," Williams said.
That freedom, as Williams described it, isn’t leading to chaos. It’s creating more connection. He pointed to the safety group - himself, Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard - as being tightly synced up in the way they disguise looks and move around the field.
"It feels like me, X, and Bull are really tied in with our disguises, being on a string. I feel like I'll have the opportunity to do a little more than just playing the post or playing a quarter, getting some blitzing opportunities as well. I'm definitely excited for it."
That kind of flexibility sounds like a welcome shift for a Packers secondary that didn’t force nearly enough mistakes last season. Green Bay finished 27th in total turnovers with 14 and 28th in interceptions with seven. For perspective, that interception total was one fewer than McKinney had by himself in 2024.
The year before, the Packers were far more disruptive, finishing third in interceptions with 17 and fourth in total turnovers with 31. The source of the decline wasn’t pinned entirely on Jeff Hafley’s second season as defensive coordinator, but the results point to a unit that clearly lost some of its edge.
Williams still found a way to stand out. He posted a personal-best three interceptions, the highest total on the team, and that came while his playing time nearly doubled from his rookie season. He also earned a PFF grade in the top third at his position, a sign that his game is trending in the right direction.
For Packers fans, the appeal of Gannon’s approach is obvious: more freedom, more disguise and, ideally, more takeaways. That could also help unlock McKinney after a steep drop from eight interceptions in 2024 to two last season. Williams kept coming back to the idea that a dominant defense has to take the ball away, and Gannon appears to agree.
The ballhawking piece isn’t the only part that jumps out. Williams also talked about getting more chances to blitz, which would be a change from last season, when he logged only 10 pass-rush snaps, according to PFF, and Pro Football Reference credited him with six blitzes.
That extra pressure package could matter even more with Micah Parsons absent early in the year. And for Williams, the chance to do more than sit back and cover feels like another sign that this defense is being built to create problems instead of just react to them.
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