Packers Safety Kentrell Brice could take a step up on defense with Morgan Burnett gone
Green Bay saw its best remaining safety in Morgan Burnett leave for the Pittsburgh Steelers eight days ago. That certainly leaves a hole in the secondary that will need to be filled quickly. One guy that could end up filling that hole would be Kentrell Brice. A soon to be third year player out of Louisiana Tech, Brice saw very limited action in his career (25 games with only 7 total starts, including the postseason).
His limited action was most likely due to the play of Haha Clinton-Dix, Morgan Burnett, & Josh Jones, all of whom have contributed more to the team than Brice has in only two years. This is not to say that Brice doesn’t have the talent or ability to play as a starting caliber safety in the league, because he does.
For only being an NFL player for two years, Brice still tallied some pretty good stats for a third string safety on the depth chart behind both Josh Jones & Morgan Burnett. He ended up recording 17 total tackles to go along with one interception in 6 games played (3 total starts) in 2017. In 2016, his first year, he started in only one game, recording 17 tackles, & one fumble recovery. He saw his 2017 season end on injured reserve due a very severe ankle injury.
2018 could see a step up for Brice in both games played and overall production on the field so long as he stays healthy. Green Bay needs to find another answer to its bleakness in the secondary. Another free agent may be in mind as well as some more help via the defensive laden NFL draft in late April. There are a plethora of great options. The top options for them include Josh Jackson out of Iowa, Derwin James out of Florida State, Minkah Fitzpatrick out of Alabama, & Denzel Ward out of Ohio State. All of these options can be attainable either by waiting for them to fall to #14, or trading up to get one or two. Green Bay has the most picks of any team in draft (12), so any of these players can & would certainly bolster a very weak secondary.
Brice could also have to see a position change in order to see his production go up which won’t necessarily be a bad thing. Haha Clinton-Dix, a player listed ahead of Brice on defense, plays free safety, which is Brice’s natural position. A transition from free to strong safety would either mean he would compete with fellow starting strong safety Josh Jones for the starting job, or get snaps on a rotation with Jones. Whichever route Green Bay chooses to go should benefit Brice. He showed flashes of the great player he can be within his first two years in the NFL. Let’s hope that Brice doesn’t get left in the dust in the secondary. He has the ability to be a great & capable starting caliber safety in the secondary, so long as he stays healthy.
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