Where does newcomer Johnathan Abram fit with Packers?
The Green Bay Packers claimed safety Johnathan Abram off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, narrowly beating out the Denver Broncos, who had a slightly better record with one less loss.
In 36 games, including 34 starts with the Raiders, Abram produced 255 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three interceptions, and 12 pass defenses. He is the latest bust from the Mike Mayock era to be released from Las Vegas after a disappointing start to his career.
The Raiders tried to trade their 2019 first-round pick ahead of last Tuesday’s trade deadline but found no takers. After starting the first six games of the season, Abram’s poor performance led him to appear in less than 50 percent of the snaps over the last two weeks. This season, his defensive grade ranks 73rd out of 81 safeties with at least 200 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Per PFF, Abram has missed nine tackles this season and allowed a passer rating of 114.6 in coverage.
It was surprising to see Green Bay add another underperforming safety to a position in which they already have two underachieving players.
Packers starting safeties Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage are both dealing with their own disappointing years. Amos and Savage are also among the worst-graded safeties with at least 200 snaps, falling in at 65th and 77th, respectively. Coming in four spots lower than Abram, Savage has seen a similar decline to his 2019 draft classmate.
So, after painting a pretty gloomy picture of their newest safety, where does Abram fit with the Packers?
The most obvious answer is special teams. Rich Bisaccia is familiar with Abram after spending three years with him in Las Vegas (2019-21). During his career, Abram has played 233 snaps on special teams with four career tackles.
However, Abram should be able to contribute on defense, although his role may be limited. Over the last two seasons, Abram has been reduced to more of a box safety. In 2021, almost 53 percent of his defensive snaps were in the box, and a majority of his snaps this year have come from the box as well. The reason why is he can’t be trusted as a deep safety.
Take this play, for example. Las Vegas is in the correct call to defend a deep pass, but poor decision-making from Abram leads to a touchdown anyway. If Abram is going to be a liability in deep coverage, Green Bay can’t play him there. Therefore, the addition of Abram won’t allow Savage to play the nickel, unfortunately.
Here is where Abram thrives. His run defense is his greatest attribute and should get him on the field for the Packers, who are currently fielding the 26th-best run defense. Abram will likely miss some tackles along the way, but he is super physical with the necessary speed to set the edge.
In conclusion, Green Bay should have a clear vision of how to use Abram for the rest of the season. When he is on the field for defense, it would be wise if most of his snaps were near the line of scrimmage so he can contribute in the run game and hopefully not make egregious mistakes in coverage. On top of that, he will be a core special teamer that can hopefully provide a veteran boost.
