[ad_1]
Very little has gone right for the Green Bay Packers defense this season, and very few players have played above expectations. But Rudy Ford has been one of the bright spots in a disappointing season and is setting himself up to be part of the Packers’ future plans at the position.
Ford was signed last summer following his release from Jacksonville. He was brought in to be a key special teams player with a reputation for being one of the game’s best fliers (a term Rich Bisaccia uses as a substitute for “gunner”), and we’ve seen those talents on display under duress. He has a fair number of catches this season.
However, in addition to Ford’s special teams abilities, he saw his role on defense expand as the season progressed. It was in part due to an injury to Adrian Amos and then poor play from safety Darnell Savage that resulted in him moving to the slot, with Ford taking over next to Amos. But after these last three weeks, Ford has become a regular member of the starting defense moving forward because of his upward play.
Ford brought two missing elements to the defense this season — playmaking and reliable tackling. Since becoming a regular member of the defensive unit in Week 10 against Dallas, Ford has forced two interceptions, including one in the end zone. Both picks came against the Cowboys and eventually led to 14 points from the offense in an overtime win. He also forced a fumble against Philadelphia that Green Bay’s offense turned into points again.
In the run game, Ford flies around the field, playing fast and physical. This season, he was credited with 29 total tackles, 27 of which were solo, and he only missed three. Of the 20 Packers defenders with at least 50 run defense snaps, Ford has the highest grade from PFF, and he’s actually the NFL’s fourth-highest graded safety overall over these last three games.
“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Matt LaFleur said following the Dallas game via The Athletic. “You can really feel his speed and physicality off the field. There were some open-field tackles he made that I thought were pretty impressive, so I thought it was, all in all, a really good day for him. Obviously, being able to trigger those two picks, especially the one in the red zone after turning the ball over, I mean, that was one of the pivotal plays in the game that gave us a chance to stay in the game. , and we turned both into points.”
The safety position is one that will really suffer this coming offseason due in large part to the Packers not planning ahead. Right now, the only safeties under contract through 2023 are Savage on a fifth-year option, but he doesn’t look like a long-term answer at the position, and 2022 seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter, who has been a special teams player as a newbie Everyone currently on the roster or practice squad is a free agent, including Amos, who is unlikely to return after his worst season since arriving in Green Bay.
The uncertainty at the position, however, leaves the door wide open for Ford to return next season. At this point, it might be a little premature to push him into a roster spot in 2023, but I’d either push Ford this time, from the perspective of the safety position after this season, along with his excellent play.
[ad_2]
Source link
