With this week’s release of Jaire Alexander, the Green Bay Packers are going into this season with the likely top three at cornerback, Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine and hybrid corner/safety Javon Bullard as an option as a slot corner. The team will also go into training camp with several undrafted and late-round round picks as potential options at the position: Kamal Hadden, Gregory Junior, Kalen King, Micah Robinson and Jonathan Baldwin.

After the decision to move on from two former first round picks in Alexander and Eric Stokes, what stands is the lack of investments in recent drafts at cornerback. Dating back to when Brian Gutekunst took over in 2018, the Packers have only drafted three cornerbacks in the first two days: Alexander, Stokes and former second rounder Josh Jackson. Gutekunst gave up on Jackson after just three seasons and zero career interceptions.

For this upcoming season, the Packers top three cornerbacks are two free agent pick ups and a former 7th round pick. Because of injuries to both Alexander and Stokes in recent years, it’s more often that the Packers have had to play cornerbacks who were acquired from free agency or on Day 3 of the draft.

Starting in 1992 when Ron Wolf became general manager through the most recent draft under Gutekunst, there has been varying degrees of reliance in the drafts on the position.

Ron Wolf Era 1992-2000

From 1992 to 1999 with Wolf in charge, the Packers took three first round cornerbacks: Terrell Buckley, Craig Newsome and Antuan Edwards. Buckley played just three seasons in Green Bay before being traded after 1994. Newsome was a standout in both 1995 and 1996 before a knee injury ruined a promising career. Edwards transitioned to safety by his second season, but a numerous amount of injuries cost him a chance to be a consistent player.

The Packers Super Bowl winning team in 1996 not only had Newsome, but also hit on Doug Evans and Tyrone Williams in the later rounds, forming a terrific trio during the Super Bowl run. The 1999 “Randy Moss Draft” did not produce starters from its first two picks, but Mike McKenzie was a solid starter opposite Williams for five seasons.

Mike Sherman Era 2001-2004

In 2001 Mike Sherman became the general manager to go with his head-coaching duties. In the four years under his helm, the Packers struggled to draft at cornerback. Ahmad Carroll lasted just two seasons and four games as a former No. 1 pick. Maybe Sherman's best move as a general manager was finding starting cornerback Al Harris with a trade before the 2003 draft. Harris would start from 2003-2009 before an ACL injury ended his starting days in Green Bay.

Ted Thompson Era 2005-2017

The longest tenured of the four Packers’ decision makers, Thompson invested heavily in the position during the draft. He used four 2nd round picks over 10 years on Pat Lee, Casey Hayward, Quinten Rollins and Kevin King. He also used a first round pick on Damarious Randall in 2015. Despite trying to draft the position, there were varying degrees of success. Randall and King were the only players to start more than two seasons. Hayward and Hyde both showed promise as inside cornerbacks, but both had their most success in the league after they left Green Bay.

For Thompson, his two best moves at the position were on players he found outside of the draft. He signed Charles Woodson in 2006, where he became an All Pro, Defensive Player of the Year and a Hall of Famer. Also in 2006, Tramon Williams was added as a street agent and when he finally entered the lineup in 2007 as a nickel back, he would remain a regular in the Packers secondary for another decade. He had two of the most important plays in the Packers Super Bowl run in 2010. Thompson also found one of the Packers' best all-time undrafted free agents in Sam Shields after the 2010 draft. Shields became a mainstay as a starting outside cornerback from 2010 to 2016 and will always have his game-clinching interception over the Bears to seal the NFC Championship game victory.

The Packers hit a home run on Alexander in 2018. After trading down from his original pick, Gutekunst traded up 10 spots to select Alexander out of Louisville. Despite being smaller than their typical cornerbacks, Alexander became one of the league’s best cover men for three seasons. After an injury in 2021, he returned to Pro Bowl level in 2022 with a career-best five interceptions. However, his body began to break down on him in both 2023 and 2024, leading to his release this past week.

The current group of draft picks on the roster are three 7th rounders. The opportunity is there for all three of them to be vital contributors for Jeff Hafley on defense.