As the preseason winds to a close, the Green Bay Packers seem to love their chances in the NFC North entering 2024.
They believe they have their franchise quarterback in Jordan Love. They've assembled one of the youngest and deepest offenses in the National Football League. And their defense, though it struggled at times in 2023, is loaded with former first-rounders.
If anything is going to derail the Packers in 2024, though, it might end up being the secondary. Green Bay finished in the bottom 10 in both passing yards per attempt and passer rating allowed in 2023.
The Packers seem to be banking on a healthy season from Jaire Alexander and the acquisition of Xavier McKinney to shore up the last line of their defense. But one football writer believes they could further address the secondary in a trade with a fellow NFC squad.
In a trade proposed by Bleacher Report's Alex Kay, the Packers would acquire safety Darrick Forrest from the Washington Commanders, who are deep at the safety position, for a 2025 seventh-round pick.
"Rather than lose the 2021 fifth-rounder for nothing, the Commanders may want to offer him to Green Bay for a late-round pick," Kay said. "Forrest is a talented safety who possesses schematic versatility and produced well on the field in a major role prior to his injury. He'd provide the Packers with a great insurance option."
Forrest, 25, has played in 30 NFL games thus far in three seasons, all with Washington. In 2022, the lone season in which he saw significant time on defense, he recorded 88 total tackles, four interceptions, nine passes defended, and two forced fumbles.
Now that they have Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin anchoring the safety group, Kay believes Forrest is expendable for Washington. But he could be valuable depth for the Packers, who have free-agent signee McKinney and a pair of rookies atop their own safety depth chart.
Though trades involving seventh-round picks don't often steal headlines, you never know when a role player might step up for a championship team. Green Bay has championship aspirations, and it's always possible a depth move like this one helps bring them closer to that goal.
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