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Green Bay Packers free safety Xavier McKinney.
The Green Bay Packers made one of the savviest additions of last offseason when they signed safety Xavier McKinney away from the New York Giants in free agency.
McKinney inked a four-year deal worth $67 million to join the Packers in March 2024 and began paying dividends immediately. The 25-year-old tallied an interception and a pass breakup along with 4 tackles in his first game in green and gold. He went on to record 11 passes defensed, 8 interceptions, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown while starting all 17 games on the season, per Pro Football Reference.
Meanwhile, the Packers earned a record of 11-6 and made the playoffs despite a secondary that endured significant issues throughout the campaign, namely injuries to cornerback Jaire Alexander who missed 10 games for the second consecutive year.
Given McKinney’s significant impact for a double-digit-win playoff team and his Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranking as the fourth-best safety this season out of 98 players at the position who qualified based on the website’s advanced metrics, one can make a reasonable case for him as a finalist for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
However, when the NFL announced its five DPOY finalists not only was McKinney absent from it, but zero safeties made the cut. It didn’t take long for McKinney to take to social media in protest of what he clearly believes is a massive oversight by the voters.
“No safety nominees on DPOY,” McKinney posted to X on Thursday, January 23. “Crazy work.”
Xavier McKinney, Top NFL Safeties Snubbed From List of DPOY Finalists
GettySafety Xavier McKinney of the Green Bay Packers.
The three safeties who outranked McKinney based on PFF’s overall players grades in 2024 were Kerby Joseph of the Detroit Lions (90.4), Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens (90.0) and Brandon Jones of the Denver Broncos (84.8). McKinney finished the year with a grade of 84.7.
However, it was pass rushers who dominated the final five in the DPOY competition, with three of the spots going to players who terrorize opposing quarterbacks off the edge: Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, the reigning DPOY, T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers who won the award in 2021 and is a perennial finalist, and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals who led the league with 17.5 sacks and is the favorite in the clubhouse to take home the hardware.
Rounding out the field was Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun.
Packers May Move on From Star CB Jaire Alexander
GettyGreen Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander.
McKinney’s job may get significantly more difficult next season if Green Bay decides to part ways with Alexander.
When healthy, Alexander has proven himself among the best cornerbacks in the NFL. But he’s missed 20 games over the past two seasons, has had behavioral issues that have caused clashes with the front office and the coaching staff and is carrying a $25.5 million salary cap hit in 2025.
All of these factors combine to render Alexander a likely cut candidate in Green Bay over the coming months, as the team reshuffles its personnel deck in hopes of elevating to true Super Bowl contention after two strong seasons that have resulted in consecutive playoff appearances.
