My 10 most important Packers for the 2026 season! 🧀
Moving onto Lucky #7…. Xavier McKinney 🍀
The secondary’s version of a “quarterback” he prevents explosive plays and controls everything on the back end, setting the structure for how the defense operates snap to snap.
He’s elite, he’s a true playmaker, and since arriving in Green Bay he’s consistently been a top 5 safety in the league. Beyond the production, he’s become a key communicator and leader in the secondary, helping get everyone aligned and limiting coverage busts.
In 2024, he finished with 8 interceptions, but this past season his interception total dropped significantly down to only 2 Interceptions. On the surface, that looks like regression, but in reality, it reflects how quarterbacks started avoiding his side of the field entirely. The impact was still there, it just didn’t show up in turnover volume.
Some people see the lower interception numbers and assume a drop off, but the film tells a different story. He was still eliminating deep shots, closing throwing windows, and forcing quarterbacks to hold the ball longer or work elsewhere.
His PFF grades show the consistency: 84.8 in 2024 and 81.2 in the 2025 season. That kind of sustained high end grading reinforces his impact as one of the most reliable safeties in the league, even when the ball isn’t coming his way.
At his core, McKinney remains one of the most reliable and impactful safeties in the league, and a stabilizing force for a defense that relies on communication and discipline on the back end.
How many interceptions will Xavier McKinney have this year ?!?🧀 👀