"Countdown to camp" is a position-by-position overview of the Packers' roster heading into training camp. The series continues with the secondary.

GREEN BAY – What a difference one year can make.

The Packers' complete overhaul of the safety room in 2024 resulted in one of the greatest year-over-year turnarounds for a position group in franchise history.

First-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney produced the most decorated season by a free-agent signing in Green Bay since Reggie White finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting after a 13-sack debut in 1993.

The 6-foot, 201-pound safety obliterated already high expectations in becoming the first NFL player since the 1970 merger to record an interception in each of his first five games with a team. That streak of five straight games with a pick tied for the longest streak in franchise history (Irv Comp, 1943).

McKinney's eight INTs in 17 starts were the most by a Packers player since Charles Woodson captured NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2009 on the heels of a nine-INT campaign.

Still only 25, the sixth-year veteran was tasked with mentoring a promising array of young talent, including second-round pick Javon Bullard and fourth-round selection Evan Williams.

Both rookies delivered, with Williams (5-11, 200) earning a place on the PFWA All-Rookie team after recording 49 tackles, three passes defensed, one INT and one forced fumble.

Bullard (5-10, 198) split his rookie season between strong safety and nickel cornerback en route to 90 tackles, a fumble recovery and pass deflection.

Injuries hit both players, though, as Bullard missed two games with an ankle injury while a quad issue sat Williams down for the final three games of the regular season.

Yet, the next safety continued to step up whether it was Zayne Anderson (6-2, 206), the only holdover from 2023 who caught his first career INT against New Orleans in Week 16, or rookie fifth-round pick Kitan Oladapo (6-2, 216), who had five tackles on 50 defensive snaps in the regular-season finale against Chicago.

The Packers could tap further into their depth on the back end after a shakeup in the cornerback room that saw four veterans, including former first-round picks Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, depart during the offseason.

The top three at the position heading into the 2025 season appear set with key free agent signing Nate Hobbs joining Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine.

Hobbs was a fifth-round find for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 6-foot, 195-pound cornerback played both the perimeter and slot, registering 281 tackles, three INTs and three sacks in 51 games (38 starts) the past four seasons.

Hobbs lined up mostly at nickel cornerback during the offseason program, but defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has been vocal about his desire to play Hobbs on the boundary as well.

While Nixon has gained three seasons of experience playing nickel, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound cornerback proved a fit outside in Alexander's absence last season.

The two-time All-Pro kick returner responded with his best defensive season, producing 88 tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles, seven passes defensed and an INT. Nixon, who has yet to miss a game in Green Bay, also led the Packers' corners in playing time (1,020 snaps) for the second consecutive season.

Valentine is positioned to step into a greater role on defense in 2025 after two seasons spent spelling Alexander, resulting in the former seventh-round pick making 19 regular-season starts.

Still only 23, Valentine finished Year 2 on high note. He not only nabbed a game-clinching INT in the end zone during a 30-13 December win over Seattle but also picked off Sam Darnold two weeks later in a pivotal game against Minnesota.

Valentine (6-0, 189) focused his offseason training on balancing out the weight he put on entering the 2024 season after a hamstring issue sidelined him during training camp last summer.

The Packers have fewer proven cornerbacks than most years but feel strongly about the potential of recent seventh-round picks Kalen King (2024) and Micah Robinson (2025).

King, who was just 21 years old when Green Bay selected him 255th overall, spent his rookie year on the practice squad while learning the nickel position.

When asked about King in May, defensive pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley said the 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback looked "really, really good" during the first portion of the offseason program.

Robinson (5-11, 185) joins the cornerback room following a prolific run with Furman in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision and a graduate season at Tulane, which saw him earn second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors after racking up 34 tackles, six passes defensed and two INTs.

Also competing for cornerback jobs this summer will be veterans Gregory Junior (6-0, 203) and Isaiah Dunn (6-0, 189), intriguing undrafted rookie Johnathan Baldwin (6-0, 190), plus Kamal Hadden (6-1, 192) and Tyron Herring (6-1, 201), while Omar Brown (6-1, 205) and Kahzir Brown (6-1, 223) round out the safety room.

Countdown to camp series:

QBs - Packers possess strong 1-2 punch at quarterback

RBs - While Josh Jacobs looks for more in Year 2, competition abounds for No. 2 back

WRs and TEs - Packers are crowded but plenty capable at receiver

OL - Packers’ offensive line undergoing change at multiple spots

DL - Packers’ D-line looks to dial up more pressure

LBs - Packers look to further unleash linebackers’ potential