In part one of our Green Bay Packers draft needs, we took a look at the offensive side of the ball. For this piece, we’ll take a look at what new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley might want for 2024. Here is our breakdown of the defensive needs for the 2024 Green Bay Packers draft.

t is hard to believe that the Packers would need to spend more capital on the defense, but it appears they might again. Since taking over as general manager, Brian Gutekunst has spent seven first-round picks on defensive players. With having another first-round pick this year, they might add their eighth.

Head coach Matt LaFleur just hired his third defensive coordinator. Although LaFleur didn’t hire Mike Pettine, he retained him from Mike McCarthy’s staff. Three defensive coordinators in six years don’t paint the Packers defense in a very good light.

While Gutekunst put together a very impressive Packers draft class in 2023, this year’s draft for the defense will be important. If Hafley and the Green Bay Packers defense falter again, some will start to question Gutekunst. Instead of pointing the finger at the defensive coordinator, they might start to point it at Gutekunst and his ability to draft for the defense.

Entering this draft, the Packers have several needs on the defense. Several are crucial for Jeff Hafley’s new 4-3 defensive style. With so little salary cap room, it will be up to Gutekunst to find help through the draft.

In a perfect world, the Packers would sign Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield and trade for Arizona Cardinals Budda Baker. But that isn’t how the Packers work, especially with lacking the salary cap to do so. So, Gutekunst will have to land not just one, but two safety prospects in this year’s draft.

There isn’t a position on the Green Bay Packers roster that needs a bigger makeover than the safety position. It was pretty obvious that safety was a weakness heading into 2023. Their play didn’t do much to change that thinking either.

Former first-round pick Darnell Savage has yet to live up to his draft status. He has one year left on his contract, which gives him one last chance to prove himself. Fellow veteran safeties Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens are both free agents. There is a chance one of them will return, but that will be more for special teams than safety. 2023 seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson Jr. played sparingly in his rookie season. But with such little depth, Johnson Jr. might see more time in 2024.

The time has come for a massive overhaul of the position. That is why it wouldn’t be surprising if the Packers draft includes at least two safety prospects. Miami’s Kamren Kinchens and Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin are the top two safeties in this year’s draft. It wouldn’t be surprising if one of them is a selection of the Packers in this year’s draft.

Hafley’s shift to a 4-3 defense makes inside linebacker an important position in the 2024 Green Bay Packers draft. The Packers look like they have a good one in Quay Walker. While he has had some rough patches, especially mentally, Walker can flourish in Hafley’s scheme.

Walker has one of the three starting spots locked up, but the other two spots are up for grabs. It appears that veteran De’Vondre Campbell has played his last game as a Packer. Campbell had a career season in 2021 after being signed as a free agent in training camp. But since then, he has struggled to stay healthy and even when he was healthy (which wasn’t often) he has struggled. There is a good chance he will be a salary cap casualty this off-season.