All-Pro safety, All-Pro recruiter. Xavier McKinney hasn’t just transformed the Green Bay Packers’ secondary but played a pivotal role in the team’s decision to sign Isaiah Simmons.

McKinney and Simmons played together with the New York Giants, and the Packers’ star safety gave head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst the seal of approval.

“I asked X, and X gave him two thumbs up,” said LaFleur. “That is meaningful, though, when you have a player like X, coming from New York who was a teammate with him. You just ask those questions, and he said he’s a great teammate, and that’s all I needed to hear.”

The two spent one season together in New York, with Simmons splitting time between linebacker and safety.

Green Bay handed Simmons, a former eighth-overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals, a one-year, prove-it deal. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley loves versatility and will have a chance to move Simmons around the field. That may include lining up alongside McKinney at safety.

It sounds like most of his opportunities will come at linebacker, at least initially, although LaFleur praised his versatility.

Matt LaFleur had high praise for Packers’ new signing Isaiah Simmons

You either win, or you learn. Green Bay had to learn harsh lessons from its two most recent games against the Giants, having lost to them in 2022 and 2023. It gave the Packers a front-row seat to watch McKinney shine against their offense, and LaFleur also found life difficult against Simmons.

“He’s going to be in the linebacker room,” said LaFleur. “The thing that you love about him is he has got a lot of versatility to do a lot of different things. I know in New York when we against him a couple years ago, specifically, situationally, he was all over the place.”

Now, it’s over to Hafley to help Simmons finally reach his first-round potential.

He made 8.5 sacks and five interceptions (including two pick-sixes) in his first four seasons in the league but struggled with the Giants last year. His overall Pro Football Focus grade ranked 170th of 189 linebackers, and he finished 155th in coverage. A new role in a different system could help get the best out of Simmons.

It’s a low-risk move for the Packers, and they believe in his potential. They could watch as much tape as they wanted, but McKinney provided the missing ingredient. His confirmation that Simmons is a great teammate provided the extra confidence to bring him in.