Super Bowl teaches a tough lesson about roster building that the Packers will have to learn as league contenders evolve
Brian Gutekunst will have to adapt his approach.
Cornerback is a weak-link system, and having only one good one isn’t enough. But that doesn’t mean an elite cornerback can’t have a monster impact on the game, and Super Bowl LX is a huge example of that.
Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks and Christian Gonzalez of the New England Patriots were hugely impactful, as they have been throughout the first few seasons of their NFL careers. For the Green Bay Packers, it’s a tough lesson as a team that has invested so little in the position.
The Gonzalez performance hurts a little bit more because the Packers passed on him in 2023 to select Lukas Van Ness. Witherspoon was the fifth overall pick of the same class, so he was long gone when Green Bay selected.
Roster construction at CB
The Packers haven’t used a draft pick before the seventh round on a cornerback since taking Eric Stokes in the first round in 2021. You can see the impact of that on the team. Keisean Nixon was a free agent signing initially added to play special teams, Nate Hobbs was a mid-level free agent signing with more experience in the slot, and Carrington Valentine is a former seventh-round pick.
At least publicly, though, general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t sound overly concerned with the group. Last week, at his post-season press conference, the executive said he’s satisfied with the top of the room.
“We had some injuries there, obviously [Nate] Hobbs was missed for most of the season, never really got going,” Gutekunst said. “I thought Carrington [Valentine] stepped in and did a great job. He’s a young player who’s still getting better. Keisean, obviously, he had a very, very good year. I think he was in the top three in PBUs, and he did some really good things.
“So, do we need wholesale changes? No. I do think it’s an area, though, that those guys can get hurt. They’re the smaller guys on the field. We ask a lot of those guys in run support. So the depth there for me is important that we have answers.”
While Gutekunst may or may not have told the truth, as sometimes lying is part of a GM’s job description, it’s clear that what the secondary put on the field wasn’t enough, even with high-level safety play.
Throughout the regular season, the Packers were only 22nd in dropback EPA — and that’s with Micah Parsons generating pressure upfront. After Parsons got hurt, including the final few games of the regular season and the playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, Green Bay fell to 28th.
It’s important to have secondary and tertiary cornerbacks to put together a defense, but that doesn’t mean an elite CB isn’t highly impactful. Green Bay saw that during Jaire Alexander’s prime, and it might be time to search that profile again.
Green Bay Packers News
Packers are set with a plan to fix a premium position, and Jordan Love should feel good about what’s coming
Jordan Morgan is the natural long-term solution at LT.
