Good cornerbacks are hard to find in the NFL. And if that isn't tough enough, more anxiety is added to the situation when we combine the fact teams can never have enough of them.

Little supply, huge demand.

The Packers are one of the few, fortunate teams in the NFL to have not just one, but three good cornerbacks at the top of their depth chart. The trio of Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, and the recently re-signed Rasul Douglas is one that any defensive coach would love to have.

The return of Douglas is huge. It gives the Packers three corners that can play the perimeter, which is most of your 1-v-1 matchups lie. But that's not the only advantage Douglas' return creates for Joe Barry's defense.

Alexander can now become a true shadow corner in the secondary. He'll obviously stay on the outside if a team's No. 1 target resides there, but he has the versatility to move inside in case the Packers are playing, let's say, a Cooper Kupp or Chris Godwin – two players known to be effective on both the inside and outside of their respective offenses.

The fifth-year corner has experience shadowing in the past and he's done pretty well when asked to do so. Per PFF, Alexander's worst shadow job in 2020 came in Week 1 against Adam Theilen. He was on Theilen for 78.1% of defensive snaps and allowed four catches for 66-yards and a touchdown on six targets. Afterward, he shadowed Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans, and Will Fuller V in Weeks 4, 6, and 7. He gave up a total of one receptions for six-yards and a touchdown on seven combined targets. Alexander shadowed each player for no less than 75% of defensive snaps in those three games and he gave up his lone catch to Fuller.

Brian Gutekunst alluded to all of Alexander's potential within the defense Monday.

"With Ja [Alexander], he's going to go where some of the receivers are going to go," Gutekunst told reporters. "He's going to follow some of those guys in different packages. He can do everything. It's a nice luxury for us to have."

Alexander wouldn't be alone in the slot or as the team's nickelback, either. Per Pro Football Focus, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage Jr. combined for 200 coverage snaps in 2021 and it was nearly a 50/50 split. This means Green Bay's defensive base package wouldn't be stressed if an opposing offense presented a matchup problem in the slot. Depending on who the matchup problem is, of course.

Douglas' physicality in the run game and his traits will also allow him to slide inside on occasion, only furthering Alexanders's ability to shadow.

"He's obviously very physical in the run game, which is an important part of playing nickel," Gutekunst said. "He's a taller, bigger corner, which obviously sometimes those quicker slot receivers can give those guys problems, but his instincts and his ability to anticipate make up for a little bit of that.

"Quite frankly, our entire corner group that we have right now probably could play both inside and out."

One item that helps will all of this is the fact that Alexander has experience in the slot. And he's performed well when asked to do it on a regular basis. Granted, it was only his rookie year and he hasn't seen extensive time inside since. But at the same time, 112 of Alexander's 174 total slot snaps were in coverage -good for second-best on the team- and he allowed a 70.5 quarterback rating on 19 targets.

And this all ties back to 2019 when Barry was the assistant head coach/linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams acquired Jalen Ramsey from Jacksonville that year, which allowed then-defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to turn the Rams secondary into one of the best units in the league.

The numbers don't lie.

Ramsey didn't enter the picture until the seventh game of the season in Week 7. Through those first six games the Rams were a middle-of-the-pack secondary, at best. Per Sports Info Solutions, they allowed the 15th-lowest completion rate (64.4%), 17th lowest quarterback rating (91.7), 10th-highest positive play percentage (49.1%), and they gave up nine touchdowns, which was right around league average. The Rams secondary had five interceptions, which was 11th-most.

Ramsey played in the next nine games before missing the season finale. Over those nine games the Rams allowed the 10th-lowest completion percentage (61.0%), eighth-lowest QBR (85.7), they tied for allowing the ninth-lowest EPA/att (-0.11), and they allowed the fourth-lowest positive play rate (39.9%) and gave up the ninth-fewest passing touchdowns (12). The only statistical category that didn't see major improvement was interceptions – the Rams had the 11th-fewest (6) during this span.

It's not just about the secondary, however. A shadow corner like Alexander -and an elite secondary, in general- will help the pass rush in a major way. Going back to the Rams – they averaged just a tick over two sacks per game before Ramsey, but averaged over four sacks per game after he came to the team.

If the secondary stays healthy and this plays out like it appears it will, then the front seven that includes the pass-rushing prowess of Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, and even De'Vondre Campbell should receive plenty of time to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.

And we haven't even started talking about the draft, yet. The Packers can easily find some young, fresh blood to mix in and provide a spark on the defensive side of the ball, which only helps.

If everything goest to plan, then it won't be a surprise if the Packers have one of the NFL's top secondaries in 2022. The versatility of Green Bay's top-3 corners and then the versatility/effectiveness of Amos and Savage is one of the league's best combinations and they should only get better in Year 2. Especially with a healthy Alexander on board.

And if they can figure out their issues with their run defense then we could very well be looking at one of the top defenses, in general.

Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports