Adrian Amos: Underrated and Underappreciated

Adrian Amos is a guy whose impact is undervalued on the Packers defense.

The Green Bay Packers got great value when they signed free agent safety Adrian Amos last offseason. Sure, Amos may not make a ton of Pro Bowl in his career, but he will always be an above-average performer who plays at a fraction of the cost of a premium safety. Last year the Packers could count on Amos every game for a positive impact, but because he is not a Za’Darius Smith, Kenny Clark, or Jaire Alexander, he is sometimes overlooked.

A former fifth-round pick, no one expected Amos to be an immediate starter, but he did,  starting all 16 games his rookie year. For his first four seasons, Amos was a staple for the Chicago Bears backend. When his rookie deal was up, however, Chicago opted to save money to ensure a  deal for safety Eddie Jackson.

Lucky for them, Amos fell right into Green Bay’s lap as a second-tier free-agent signing. Hindsight is 20/20, but the Amos deal turned out to be extremely cost-effective. There were rumors that the Packers were in the market for a top-tier safety. Landon Collins and Earl Thomas were two candidates that made the most sense.

Turns out the team made the right call, especially when you look at who else came to Green Bay as a part of their free-agent class. Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith were a great packaged deal, but it may have been one or the other if they went hard after a Collins or Thomas. Not to be forgotten, it was savvy roster construction by Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball.

Upon arrival, Amos’ presence was felt immediately. In the season opener against his former team, he made the game-sealing pick with under two minutes remaining. Amos will never go down as a “ballhawk”  per say, but he managed to tie his season-high two interceptions by the end of the year. He also posted a career-high 84 tackles.

These numbers aren’t glamorous by any means, however, they are significant in comparison to past safeties to be featured in this secondary. In Amos’ first season in Green Bay, his film could probably go up against any safety from the past three years. That may not mean much to some, but it definitely meant a lot to this defense.

At his current trajectory, Amos will continue to prove the Packers played the market right. At the same time, he will be a crutch for guys like Darnell Savage, Raven Greene, Will Redmond, and Vernon Scott. 

Unfortunately for Amos, his play on the field and presence inside Green Bay’s locker room probably won’t get him many accolades. However, without him, this defense doesn’t have the reliability and consistency he provides.

 

 

Brandon Carwile is a Packers writer who also enjoys watching and breaking down film. Follow him on Twitter @PackerScribe.

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Comments (14)

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Handsback's picture

June 08, 2020 at 07:26 am

Amos may never be in the conversation as an all-pro safety, but he's steady when teaming with a person's ability like Savage....those two will provide synergy in the defensive backfield. Gutsey did a good job in getting Amos to and drafting Savage. This year or next we will see a big jump.

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Coldworld's picture

June 08, 2020 at 06:33 pm

Certainly help if we don’t have to have him playing hybrid linebacker as he did for a good part of the season after Greene went down. That he did as well as he did despite that deserves more credit than he often gets.

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Guam's picture

June 08, 2020 at 07:42 am

In the era of the cap, you can not have all-pros at every position. Guys like Amos are invaluable as solid contributors who play at reasonable prices. I wish we could get more like him at other positions.

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Daren726's picture

June 08, 2020 at 07:59 am

Definitely an upgrade over a much higher paid 21. Glad we got Amos and the Bears got our cast offs. 21 has already moved on from the Bears and Amos will be around for a little while.

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Lare's picture

June 08, 2020 at 10:19 am

Teams find a way to keep players that are good both on the field and in the locker room.

HHCD is on his fourth team in four years.

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dobber's picture

June 08, 2020 at 08:42 am

Amos is fairly versatile, assignment sure, a solid tackler, and a key running-mate for a developing safety like Darnell Savage. Amos' value to the Packers may be linked to how quickly Savage becomes a playmaker.

In edit: didn't read your post, Handsback. Obviously I agree with you.

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gkarl's picture

June 08, 2020 at 11:15 am

Great value and always available excellent decision by Gute. That sound you hear is me knocking on the nearest wood I can find, thank god my head is still attached.

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PatrickGB's picture

June 08, 2020 at 11:19 am

I watched a couple of games in which Amos played for Chicago. He was a good but not great player. I saw a couple of his defensive fouls. I did not see him doing that in GB. In short he looked improved over his time in Chicago. I think that is because of superior coaching. I wonder what the loss of our DB coach is going to make on our defensive backfield.

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Leatherhead's picture

June 08, 2020 at 11:26 am

I’ve been wondering.......

Pettines pass defense, on 3rd and must pass, features a “hybrid guy”, two safeties, and three corners....essentially six cover guys. I’m wondering if Amos , or maybe Savage, becomes that guy and we put another safety in for him?

I know Raven Greene gets a lot of love here, but I can’t really say he’s shown much on the field (yeah, injured). Jackson, maybe, as the deep centerfielder?

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flackcatcher's picture

June 08, 2020 at 03:42 pm

That's the downside of having a 5'11 200 pound guy play in line. Gotta have more than one, even if your defensive guru decides to play DL/OLB/ hybrids besides him...

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Coldworld's picture

June 08, 2020 at 06:37 pm

No please! Waste of Amos. Hoping one of the several 200lb plus undersized ILB/ plus sized safeties makes Amos at hybrid extinct. I assume from the nature of the additions, so do the Packers. Amis us good deep. Better than any alternative: leave him there and let him play.

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Packers0808's picture

June 08, 2020 at 02:01 pm

I think Amos is a hell of a good steady reliable performer who makes for a strong D backfield!

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Rossonero's picture

June 08, 2020 at 02:39 pm

Amos was an excellent signing. He hits guys with authority-- something Damarious Randall and Haha Clinton-Dix rarely did. He doesn't make a ton of splash plays, but he also doesn't give them up. He's a smart, tough, assignment sure football player.

On the flip side, look at what Amos' departure from Chicago caused: they gambled on Clinton-Dix-- a guy we all knew hated tackling and had a negative attitude -- and now, they have a gaping hole back there and are struggling to fill it.

I think the best was listening to Chicago radio guys in February talk about how they need a "thumper" at safety. I just laughed in my car and said out loud: "you guys had one! His name was Adrian Amos."

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

June 08, 2020 at 09:10 pm

Amos would be better as a free safety or in two high. He isn't a hybrid though he isn't terrible there.

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