Zayne Anderson Is Doing More Than Patching A Hole In Depleted Safety Room

One of the joys of the Green Bay Packers' 34-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football was seeing some lesser-known players get a chance to shine.

Running back Chris Brooks got his first career touchdown, while safety Zayne Anderson recorded his first interception. All of Green Bay's depth pieces got in on the fun on the big stage.

With a depleted secondary, Anderson, primarily a special teams player, got his first NFL start and made the most of it with an impressive showing. With a playoff spot locked up and the safety room banged up, expect to see more of Anderson on defense for the remainder of the regular season. It's a good test for Anderson and a chance for the Packers to show that their safety room glow-up goes beyond their big names.

Anderson was known for two things. First, no one knew who he was when he appeared on the weekly injury report. Second, he was a special teamer once removed from the injury reports.

In 10 games, Anderson recorded four tackles on 127 special teams snaps. Even with a less-than-stellar safety group, Anderson didn't play a defensive snap until the end of the Wild Card matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Anderson's special teams ability made him a good option to return to Green Bay for the 2024 season, but in the offseason, we saw some sparks of defensive ability. Anderson had a highlight day in minicamp after intercepting Sean Clifford thrice, including a practice-ending play. With six interceptions at BYU, Anderson was something of a ballhawk, and seeing that translate to the NFL level was promising.

Still, it looked like Anderson would be a long shot at making a remade safety corps thanks to the high-profile signing of Xavier McKinney and Brian Gutekunst's three drafted safeties. But, surprisingly, Anderson made the initial 53-man roster over 2023 seventh-rounder Anthony Johnson Jr., likely thanks to his special teams acumen.

Fast-forward to the past month: Evan Williams and Javon Bullard have been dealing with injuries, and the safety depth has been tested. Anderson is getting his chance on defense. Some were unfamiliar with Anderson's game, but the lights weren't too bright for the former UDFA.

Anderson had a critical third-down stuff of David Montgomery against the Detroit Lions, showing some big play ability.

Against the Saints, Anderson made his name known with the best game of his career.

It was his first NFL start, and he made the most of it. Anderson's first career pass breakup turned into his first career interception, ruining one of Spencer Rattler's closest attempts at scoring. He almost had another and didn't allow a single completion.

For his efforts, he was Andy Herman's highest-ranked Packer defender (+0.80), PFF's second-ranked defender, and Green Bay's third-overall player (85.2). While it's an admittedly small sample size, his overall 80.9 PFF rating is impressive for a player who wasn't expected to have a big role on defense.

Williams' injury occurred late in the week, meaning Anderson did all this with limited practice, which impressed his head coach.

"He's done an outstanding job," Matt LaFleur

While Bullard returned to practice on Thursday, Williams’ status is much murkier.

“There’s concern. I would think he’s going to be out a period of time,” LaFleur said, adding they hope to have their emerging star back by the time playoffs begin.

That means Williams is a long shot to play in the regular season. With a playoff spot already clinched, there's little reason to rush Bullard back into the lineup. That means we'll see more Anderson on defense, giving him a longer audition for a bigger role in the future.

One of the most well-known NFL colloquialisms is that it's a “next man up” league. Every team faces injuries, and success often comes down to depth. The Packers made every effort to rebuild their safety room, and Anderson is quickly showing that applies to the whole room — not just the well-known names. Seeing a relatively unknown player emerge and play meaningful snaps at a high level this late into the season bodes well for this Super Bowl-hopeful team.