Packers are paying the price for taking the risky route, and now their options to fix it during the season are very limited
The plan got exposed on Sunday.
The Green Bay Packers haven’t spent a draft pick before the seventh-round on a cornerback since Eric Stokes was a first-round pick in 2021. In free agency, the only significant investment over the past few years is Nate Hobbs, who signed a higher-than-projected four-year, $48 million deal this past March. The current starting group has Hobbs; Keisean Nixon, who had initially signed in 2022 to be a special teamer and grew in that CB role; and seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine.
By releasing Jaire Alexander and allowing Eric Stokes to walk in free agency, the Packers correctly admitted that those players weren’t the answer anymore for different reasons. But the process to replace them was risky—and it’s showing.
Weak-link system approach
The Packers don’t have a bona-fide CB1, and that was somewhat the plan. The idea was to invest in the defensive front, and put a competent group of cornerbacks on the field betting that it’s a weak-link position.
“We have three guys that combined started over 90 games in the National Football League, and we feel really good about those guys and the versatility that they bring,” Gutekunst said in an interview with Cheesehead TV in June. “All three guys are able to play inside and outside, so we are excited about that. There are not many teams in this league that probably have three guys that they feel really good about, and we do.”
The idea is not absurd, until there is a weak link on the field. On Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys, both Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine were treated as such. Dallas devoted extra protection to Dak and needed fewer players running routes to beat coverage. When the pressure didn’t get home, the secondary had no answers.
Packers CB’s passer rating when targets vs. Cowboys
- Carrington Valentine 158.3
- Nate Hobbs 135.4
- Javon Bullard 98.6
- Xavier McKinney 95.8
- Evan Williams 89.6
- Keisean Nixon 78.0
What’s next
Theoretically, there is still time to make changes. However, options to improve a team during the season are usually limited. We discussed some trade options here, and the best is likely Seattle Seahawks’ Tariq Woolen. The best free agent option is Asante Samuel Jr., who is recovering from an offseason neck surgery—he’s expected to be available at some point during the second half of the season. Gutekunst had mentioned his willingness to make a move if necessary.
“We’re always going to look to add to that,” Gutekunst added. “If guys become available, whether it’s today, tomorrow, as we get into camp, certainly we’ll be looking at that. But I like where we are right now. There are some guys who are going to have to go earn it to solidify the back end of the corner group. But I’d like to see those guys have the opportunity to compete for those jobs.”
Sure enough, not every team will be able to execute a smart and effective gameplan like the Cowboys did. But the Packers want to compete for Super Bowls, and matching top offenses is all that matters. The risky approach has a price, and it won’t be easy to overcome it—even if Keisean Nixon deserves respect for what he’s done.
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Packers’ roster has a chance to become even stronger and deeper over the next few days with important moves on the horizon
Those are impactful possibilities.
