For the second consecutive week, the Green Bay Packers have elevated practice-squad safety Omar Brown to the gameday roster.
The Packers are dealing with injuries at the position, with rookie starter Evan Williams out for a second consecutive week with an injured quad and rookie safety/nickel Javon Bullard questionable with an ankle injury that held him out of the previous two games.
In his NFL debut last week against New Orleans, Brown, an undrafted rookie from Nebraska, played six snaps on special teams and the final eight snaps on defense in a 34-0 win. He did not contribute statistically.
“He’s easy to like,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s got a great personality, comes into work, always is busting his butt and working as hard as he can every day. What an opportunity for him. To get him in the game and have some snaps was big for him.”
A native of Minneapolis, Brown opened his career at Northern Iowa. He was the FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-American in 2019, when he had six interceptions and 11 passes defensed.
Brown had eight picks in three years at UNI, then spent his final two seasons at Nebraska. In 2023, he had one interception, two forced fumbles, three passes defensed, three tackles for losses and 51 tackles.
At 6-foot 3/4 and 205 pounds, Brown ran his 40 in 4.53 seconds with a 35-inch vertical leap, good for a Relative Athletic Score of 6.57.
“I’m a bigger safety,” Brown told The Draft Network after the Shrine Bowl, where he met with the Packers. “There’s always that question about how us bigger-bodied safeties move around. This past season, I was covering some of the fastest playmakers on the opposition. I did what I had to do by locking them up.
“I also came downhill and hit some running backs. I feel like I’m a versatile all-around player. I can guard fast guys, but I can also creep towards the line of scrimmage and lay the wood.”
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projected Brown to be a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick with starter potential.
“He has adequate size and plays fast with quick eyes and explosive closing burst,” Zierlein wrote.
Brown had a predraft visit with the Packers, who selected three safeties in this year’s draft. He spent training camp with the Denver Broncos, who gave him a $20,000 signing bonus and $245,000 guaranteed – a sign of what they thought of his potential.
“He's got corner skills in a safety’s body. I think he’ll be excellent on special teams,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said of Brown before the draft.
In three preseason games, he had six tackles, including one for a loss. The Broncos released him at the end of training camp, and the Packers signed him to their practice squad.
Back home in Minneapolis, Brown lost several of his childhood friends to gun violence.
“I do it for them,” Brown said.
His mom, Solana Anderson, is Brown’s biggest supporter. She attended most of his games, from youth football through Nebraska.
“Omar has the discipline, dedication, and commitment that I haven't even done in my own life. That really inspires me,” Anderson said.
With the injuries to Williams and Bullard, the Packers last week started Xavier McKinney and Zayne Anderson. The Packers could go that way again, even with Bullard practicing all week.
“I think he’s taking steps,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of Bullard on Thursday. “Certainly be nice to get him back. He brings a physicality to the game, whether he’s playing nickel or safety.
“He’s good in the run game, he’s aggressive in the pass game. I thought he was playing really good football and he’s one of our better players so, hopefully, we’ll have a chance to get him back and get him going. But we’ve certainly missed him.”
