I look at it this way:
A) Nixon is way more valuable
He's actually three different players in one-a nickel corner, a safety (more on that later) AND an All-Pro level returner
Hence, why he basically signed a 3 for 20M deal exactly around the range I saw his value at
B) New scenery will work for Savage
Savage made the dagger pick six down in Big D so he'll always be GnG to me
With that being said he didn't duplicate it in Cali while Nixon at least had that big return late
Savage signed for 3y 21M; he will surely be a starter at S for the Jaguars moving forward
The talk became too negative around him returning despite his overall postseason flashes
He gets a clean slate in JAX and a chance to build on what he did as a member of the Green+Gold career wise
C) How Hafley will use Nixon
4-3 base I could definitely envision Nixon being the other starting S alongside McKinney + 3 off-ball LBs not named Gary/Smith
He's a better tackler than Savage and is the better man-to-man cover guy; m2m will be more emphasized in the new schematics of the D
Now when we take off an LB/guy from the front to go nickel we're in the enviable position of already being able to easily disguise coverages for one little nugget of a reason-our nickelback will likely already be on the field
Meaning, we could go 'base nickel' with SS1 go with an extra corner (CB3 CV) or go w/FS2 AJJ allowing McKinney to drop down and line up in a moneybacker-esque DB position
All the possibilities make it that more difficult to know if they're single high or split zone or man
Especially if the Pack, say, go bring back Hyde as a savvy vet with versatility to fill the SS1 spot in an actual reduced yet still technically 'starting' role within the secondary on a team-friendly 1 year contract
The net net of it is this-with K9 you're receiving 3-for-1 value at a million plus LESS than the price of a lower-tiered solid starting NFL DB in Savage
Gute can't beat that #GPG
