Packers are paying the price in real life for a key flaw in an approach that only made theoretical sense
Green Bay Packers thought their cornerback group was enough, but reality has been much different.
Cornerback is the talk around the Green Bay Packers for most of the offseason. The defense lost Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, among others, and the only significant addition to the room was free agent Nate Hobbs.
General manager Brian Gutekunst’s main argument for how the Packers built the cornerback room was based on a theoretical premise that makes total sense: Cornerback is a weak-link system. That’s real — it doesn’t matter that much if you have a star at the position if the rest of the group is flawed.
While that’s the reality in the NFL, and analytics people have extensively proved it, the Packers’ particular situation brings a different reality into focus. Green Bay’s cornerback group is full of weak links, and that’s just the reality of the situation.
Weak-link approach doesn’t work if you’re full of weak links
In the Packers’ cornerback room, just three players have had significant defensive snaps in their NFL careers — Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and Nate Hobbs. Kamal Hadden played some snaps earlier this season, and Bo Melton has only played on offense despite being converted from wide receiver to cornerback in training camp.
“We feel good about our group right now,” Gutekunst said after the draft, when he only took Micah Robinson in the seventh round. “I feel the guys we have in that room got some pelts on the wall, so to speak, as far as what they’ve been able to do in the National Football League. We’ll kinda see how it goes.”
Narrator: It hasn’t gone well. In theory, Keisean Nixon is the team’s CB1. He has had some good moments with multiple pass breakups and a huge game-winning interception against the Chicago Bears in Week 14. But he’s just too inconsistent and allows too many receptions. Over the past two games, he’s allowed a 158.3 and 135.4 passer rating when targeted. On Saturday, Nixon was responsible for the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter and for the game-ending one in overtime.
Nate Hobbs hasn’t come close to justify the contract the Packers gave him in free agency, even though he’s been better since moving to the slot. Against the Bears, though, he gave up a 103.1 passer rating when targeted. On the field, the best cover corner has been Carrington Valentine, a former seventh-round pick. However, his inefficiency as a tackler is evident and has been costly at times.
Now, it’s probably too late to find real solutions — and the unit tends to be more exposed without Micah Parsons generating pressure upfront. It’s just something the Packers will have to overcome with high-level safety play, and hopefully find new options next offseason.
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