Why the Packers Will Look To Get Bigger at Cornerback This Offseason
Brian Gutekunst is yet to hit on a longer cornerback in the draft, and will probably go back to the well in 2025.
By markoldacres
With a decision over Jaire Alexander’s future in Green Bay looming large, the Packers may well be in need of reinforcements at cornerback this offseason.
More than just another body at the position, they need a specific type of player to add some variety to their group. General manager Brian Gutekunst is likely to be on the search for a taller corner to complement his smaller group.
The Packers have only drafted two corners over six feet in Gutekunst’s tenure, but it is well established they like length, and it is important at cornerback to have at least one guy on the bigger side who can play outside.
Neither prospect he selected has worked out, with Josh Jackson, taken in Gutekunst’s first draft, and Eric Stokes, drafted in 2021, both failing to establish themselves as quality corners.
Ted Thompson also took a shot at it during his final draft as GM, drafting King in 2017. All three of those players were top 45 picks, indicating the Packers place a premium on cornerbacks with size.
Rasul Douglas filled the gap for a while, which made the misses on King, Jackson and Stokes more palatable, but with Douglas long gone, and Stokes about to depart, Kamal Hadden, a former sixth-round pick of the Chiefs, is currently set to be the only corner at least 6’0” tall on the roster.
Four years after their last big swing at a bigger corner, it feels like the time is now to try again. Gutekunst has shown that when he wants a certain type of player, he will keep trying until he hits on it.
After missing on Darnell Savage in the 2019 draft, he took Javon Bullard, a very similar profile of prospect to Savage in terms of size and ability to play multiple spots in the secondary, in 2024.
Amari Rodgers was another miss as a slot receiver, which Gutekunst then corrected with the selection of Jayden Reed in 2023.
Cornerback is a general need for the Packers, but they have plenty of options to play in the slot, even if Alexander leaves. Bullard, Keisean Nixon and Kalen King could all vie for playing time inside.
What they need is a longer corner to compete for snaps outside with Nixon, who transitioned to boundary corner during last season, and Carrington Valentine, who has shown real flashes in his first two years in the league.
Free agency does not offer too many enticing options. Unless Douglas comes back, which seems unlikely, there are only two pending free agent corners over 6’0” who would likely provide good starting level corner play.
They are Charvarius Ward, who had a down 2024 but previously played extremely well for San Francisco in 2023 and 2022, and Carlton Davis, who has enjoyed a solid career in Tampa Bay and Detroit.
The good news is; this draft has what they need.
Factoring in that the Packers also like their corners to be over 190 lbs, or at least close, there are already six prospects who are currently projected to be selected in the top 150 picks, according to the consensus big board, and have official measurements which fit the bill:
- Zy Alexander - LSU
- Trey Amos - Ole Miss
- Tommi Hill - Nebraska
- Darien Porter - Iowa State
- Shavon Revel - East Carolina
- Azareye’h Thomas - Florida State
After drafting Eric Stokes, Gutekunst made a point of mentioning his long arms at 32.5”. Kevin King also had long arms at 32”. Amos, Hill, Porter, Revel, and Thomas all have arms officially measured at 32” or longer.
There are also another four names to watch out for at the NFL scouting combine this week to see if they meet the marks, as their unofficial height and weight suggest they will:
- Denzel Burke - Ohio State
- Will Johnson - Michigan
- Benjamin Morrison - Notre Dame
- Nohl Williams - California
There are plenty of potential options for the Packers in the draft, and if the Packers spend a top 50 pick or sign a notable free agent at the position this offseason, expect it to be a corner on the longer side, rather than a Jaire Alexander type.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (61)
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 06:52 am
It sure sounds like Jaire is going to be gone. If he is, I hope it's for good reasons. I know about the injurie/availability issues, but everything else is just rumor. If he wants to go, then for sure they can't keep him in the locker room. If he wants to stay and prove himself and create good competition in the backfield, they should keep him if only because of the cap hit. If he stays, maybe he'll rework his contract which would be another good reason to keep him. He is good, if he wants to be, but his last most memorable showing was when he shut down Justin Jefferson. Seems he hasn't wanted to face him since.
GregC
February 24, 2025 at 07:11 am
So you think Alexander did not play against the Vikings because he didn't want to face Justin Jefferson? After shutting him down? That doesn't make sense. He missed a lot of other games too, you know.
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 07:34 am
That's what I'm trying to find out. All I know is that the injury reports showed him practicing all week, then on game day he went inactive. Why take practice snaps from the others? That happened more than once during the season. Was that just gamesmanship the Packers were playing to add to game planning? You'd think they'd have to drag him off the field when he's faced with that kind of challenge. I wish we could get some facts not just rumors.
TOMMY'63
February 24, 2025 at 05:12 pm
He didn't play because he couldn't, not because didn't want to play. For me keep him this next year. He should be healthy and under contract, why loose him in fa. He's like back and bulaga suffered injuries, often couldn't play, but very good players. For me is to keep him
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 08:07 am
People are going after his lingering in practice and in the active roster and not getting surgery sooner, but many players will try to avoid surgery and opt for rehab if they can. The fact that he DID need surgery, and that he was having issues with recurring swelling in the knee makes me less angsty about how this particular season transpired. That doesn't alleviate questions about his overall availability, though.
greengold
February 24, 2025 at 10:05 am
dobs, I'm starting to question more and more about how this team is being run, top to bottom. There's much that I find myself disagreeing with, the more I learn with the passage of time.
I'm still baffled as to why Matt LaFleur would start Jordan Love while he was clearly not recovered from his injuries v. both MIN and DET...
GregC
February 24, 2025 at 11:42 am
I didn't love that decision either, but I think there is a pretty strong precedent in the NFL that if the starting QB can play, he plays. It's about earning and keeping the respect of teammates. We saw it with Favre and Rodgers too. I didn't love it then either, but I think that's the way most coaches play that situation.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 03:35 pm
There was no need to create a QB controversy.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 05:58 pm
"how the team is being run....""
Well, Gutekunst/LaFleur has had quite a bit of success over the last six years. Our salary cap is in good shape. We're hosting the draft. We were top end on both offense and defense. Especially, we're good at running the ball, which is something we all wanted.
Don't be lured to the Darkside here, gg. The Packers organization may have flaws, but we're not the Bears or the Jets or the Browns, either. Overall, this works. We're not trading for Hadl. We're not drafting Bruce Clark or Tony Mandarich.
Cheezehead72
February 24, 2025 at 07:20 am
I agree. Jaire is a shutdown corner when he is on the field. The negatives are his injuries and his attitude. Not much can be done about the injuries and any player can get injured. If he is unwilling to change his attitude we need to get rid of him and I will help him move but I will not drive him to the airport.
WD
February 24, 2025 at 07:28 am
I agree completely T7 All this talk about signing a free agent CB with Jaire still officially on the team is baffling. If he is healthy you absolutely keep him! Another option is CB/Safety Javon Bullard. This will be only his second year and he can play safety or CB.
/The easiest way to improve our secondary is to get a premier edge in free agency. We draft too low to get one of the top four or five.
On offense we will get both OL Josh Morgan and RB Marshon Lloyd back for the season. This is like two high round draft picks on offense.
We can then draft a WR DL and CB with rounds 1-3; not necessarily in that order.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 07:43 am
"/The easiest way to improve our secondary is to get a premier edge in free agency. We draft too low to get one of the top four or five."
I would argue a disruptive, 3-down IDL is going to do more for this defense than an outside guy who's only going to play 40-50% of the snaps in rotation.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 09:08 am
Any DT we draft is going to be in a rotation with Clark, Wyatt, and Brooks. He's not going to be on the field for three downs.
AT DE, we have Gary, VanNess, and Enagbare, so if we take a DE he'll be in the rotation, too.
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 10:02 am
Have you guys seen CW on here for a while? Can't remember the last time I saw a comment from him.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 07:57 am
The offense also gets Musgrave back. That's a first round pick, a second round pick, and a third round pick that they didn't have for most of last season. That's a lot of help without spending one single pick in the 2025 draft.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 08:02 am
To add: that's how you improve without spending cap. You make the most of the rookie contract guys in-house and then focus on filling around them in the draft/FA.
If it were me building this offense for 2025 and knowing the limitations at WR coming back, I'd be looking long and hard at how to maximize the impact of those two TEs (Kraft and Musgrave). I'd also be thinking about bringing in a day 3 TE to challenge Sims...preferably someone with enough receiving chops to make it so the offense doesn't need to shift dramatically if there's an injury at the top of the depth chart.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 09:31 am
It's nice to know at least one other person is concerned about improving the offense.
In my simulations, particularly the ones where I can trade down and get another pick, I've been taking a TE in the third round. Kraft and Musgrave are in their third year, and Musgrave hasn't really proven to be a reliable guy. If we want to play more 2 TE sets, I think we should look for a guy who maybe has more upside than Sims.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 10:08 am
Yes the offense needs some more talent (OL as well as TE), but it also needs a shift in philosophy. If they can get the OL and TE rooms fully stocked along with the existing talent at RB, I really would like to see LeFleur move away from his WR oriented offense and have more use of the RBs and TEs in the passing game as well as continuing to run hard with Jacobs and the other RBs. This roster screams West Coast offense, not run hard and throw deep.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 11:00 am
I like that we run the ball a lot, and I like the fact that when we pass, we take the ball downfield to guys who are faster than the TE. Our average completion last year was 12.8 yards....best in the NFC. Our net yards/attempt was 2nd in the NFC, behind only Detroit.
If you've got a guy like Kellen Winslow or Travis Kelce, then throw him the ball. Otherwise, Let's throw to the guys who who are downfield a little more.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 11:49 am
With Watson out for a significant chunk of next season and Reed, Doubs and Wicks returning from a case of the dropsies last year, are you sure about that strategy? I'm not. And Tucker Kraft could be the next great TE in the league. And Jacobs had good hands when he was with Oakland. Maybe try something different until our receivers prove they can catch the damn ball and we get Watson back.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 06:20 pm
It has been our strategy to this point, and it has worked pretty well overall.
Reed, Doubs, and Wicks are all returning this year. They all got over 70 targets last year. Watson, far fewer, and yet he was 4th on the team in yards/scrimmage behind Jacobs, Reed, and Wilson.
We clearly need to replace Watson, and his 33 touches and 555 snaps. Wicks and Reed need to do a better job of catching catchable balls. We're also going to need to get some insurance on Doubs, who might have concussion problems and who is in the last year of his contract. This is where you'd look for some Day 3 guy (Doubs was a Day 3 guy).
We don't throw very much, usually less than 30 times a game, so we might as well push the ball downfield in those attempts. We can use the TE a little more often; last year the TE only got 88 targets, which is less than the Packers TE usually get. Kraft got 80 of them.
We're going to try to run over people, when they start moving guys up we're going to run a play action fake and try to punish them. We're just not a dink-and-dunk offense. That's not how we're built.
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 07:55 am
".....so we might as well push the ball downfield in these attempts." Why? The Packer receivers had some of the highest drop rates in the league last year and killed many drives. Why not try more dink and dunk to RBs and TEs and move the chains more reliably? Given the receiver drop rates as well as the RB and TE rooms, I think the Packers are better suited to dink and dunk.
dobber
February 25, 2025 at 08:39 am
I'd argue that it's a chunk play league. You've got to have the ability to threaten defenses down the field. When the Packers lost that ability, they struggled to put up points.
I think Jordan Love isn't a "dink/dunk" QB, but the offense is conditioning him to look downfield. It might be that a realignment of the offense shifts that, but successful offenses that dink/dunk still go downfield: as a generalization, they just tend to exchange run plays for short passes.
Here's another note: for those teams that run the ball a lot (2024 run pct) the Packers--who were 3rd at about 50.7%--were the only team in the top 7 or so that don't feature a "running QB" as their primary signal caller. I'd argue that limits the diversity your offense somewhat.
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 09:44 am
I'd agree that it was a chunk play league, but I think Philly, Detroit, Baltimore and Green Bay rewrote some of that script this year. As defenses adjusted to downfield offenses with lighter boxes and five/six DBs, some teams went back to ground and pound with considerable success.
I would also argue that some of Green Bay's offensive struggles were directly tied to having three receivers dropping the ball at league leading levels. The Pack had three guys in the top eleven in the league in drops (no other team had more than one). That is not a prescription for success no matter what offense you run.
Insanity is repeating the same thing and hoping for a different result. So migrate the offense toward the strong RB and TE rooms the Packers already have. Until the WRs prove they are better at catching the ball, refocus the offense.
As for Love, I think he can handle the change. I don't think he is so set in his ways (a la Rodgers) that he can't learn some new wrinkles.
LLCHESTY
February 24, 2025 at 07:38 pm
Kraft should have had a much larger target share last year and hopefully he does in '25. He was 5th among TEs in YAC last while finishing 19th in catches. His underuse was almost criminal.
LLCHESTY
February 24, 2025 at 07:48 pm
I guess you didn't notice Kraft averaged 14.1 yards a catch last year, a higher average than Doubs and Wicks. They have a top TE threat and drastically underused him last year. I hope that end in '25.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 07:52 am
I will be very surprised if the Packers don't keep Alexander for at least one more year. Stokes, Ballantine and Rochelle are free agents which leaves the Packers with Nixon, Valentine, Alexander and King (practice squad) as CBs on the roster. They are going to need to draft reinforcements even if they keep Alexander. The only scenario in which I see Alexander leaving is if the Packers sign a high profile FA CB and draft a CB early.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 07:59 am
I think it's a "wait and see" thing. I think it was your comment a little bit ago about the structure of JAs remaining contract that really doesn't force the Packers to make a hasty decision. Bullard's ability to walk down and cover the slot (actually as the preferred slot DB after JA went down) takes a little pressure off CB in the draft, but they really do need an influx of fresh blood. I think your idea of at least one FA and one CB in the draft seems likely.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 09:54 am
Correct Dobber, the Packers have no "drop dead" date on Alexander as there is nothing in his contract to force an early decision. The Packers can see what develops in free agency and the draft before making any decision on Alexander. That also gives them some leverage on Alexander in contract renegotiations. He does not want to be a free agent after every team has spent their cap surplus in March, April and May.
Because there is very little cap savings in letting Alexander go this year and the Packers may be able to renegotiate his contract I think that might have the Packers leaning toward keeping him for one more year. Time will tell.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 09:34 am
I think that's the scenario we're looking at Guam. I fully expect the Packers to make their big FA acquisition at CB, and I expect we'll draft one in the middle rounds.
Keeping Alexander costs us $17M in salary and bonuses and he's a $25M cap hit. That's a lot of money for an old CB with a substantial injury history who can't stay on the field.
stockholder
February 24, 2025 at 09:44 am
Damarious Randall remember him.
Top 50 reach, turned into a CB .
Gute was in on King and Randall..
He dumped Randall.
He'll dump Alexander.
I just have No faith in
his rookie Cb selections.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 10:51 am
No, but I have good faith in the DBs he gets in FA:: Douglas, Nixon, McKinney. All of those guys were able to stay on the field, and they had proven that before we acquired them.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 11:10 am
"He dumped Randall."
You'll remember that Randall had burned bridges in the locker room. He paved his own way out of town.
jannesbjornson
February 24, 2025 at 01:07 pm
#26 Nic Scourton DE T A&M
#54 Xavier Restrepo WR Miami
#66 Danny Stutsman LB Okies
#90 Cobee Bryant CB Kansas
#123 Ferguson TE Oregon
#160 Seth McLaughlin C OSU
#188 Ja'Corey Brooks WR Louisville
#239 Karene Reid LB Utah
Try to outbid the Queens for Byron Murphy and add some brains to the secondary. Trade Nixon,...move forward ,get better. Veach will tag Trey Smith.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 09:59 am
There isn't much cap savings in cutting Alexander this year and the Packers may be able to renegotiate his contract (see my response to Dobber above). There are a couple of reasons to consider keeping him for one more year.
I think his willingness or unwillingness to renegotiate coupled with whether or not the Packers get their preferred CB in free agency will go a long way toward determining Alexander's future in Green Bay. I don't think that decision is a done deal yet.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 10:55 am
We will save $17M in salary and bonuses. We''ll still owe him $20M, but if we spread that over two years it would open up about $7M in available capspace.
Here's my question, Guam: He played 4 games, a full season, then 7 games, then 7 games. He's playing in less than half the games. Do you believe that he'll be better in that regard? Why?
I don't. I like guys who are actually on the field helping. It's not about the money, although we would create some cap space. It's not about his willingness to renegotiate. It's about the fact that you just can't depend n this guy to stay on the field.
Guam
February 24, 2025 at 12:00 pm
I agree the availability problem is significant. My question is who do the Packers have to replace him? Right now, nobody.
They are going to take a significant cap hit for Alexander either way, so let's wait and see what replacements they can line up and whether Alexander is willing to renegotiate his contract. If he is willing to convert a significant chunk of his base to a per game availability basis so he only gets paid if he plays, he may well be worth keeping.
I'm not saying keep him, but I am saying this decision shouldn't be made yet. Other dominos need to fall before this decision gets made.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 06:28 pm
Replace him? We don't NEED to replace him. He hasn't been here. That's what I'm saying. He played 14 out of 34 games. In terms of tackles and snaps, he wasn't our #1 or #2 CB...that would be Valentine and Nixon, who were our starting CBs last season.
We were the #6 scoring defense. Without him.
Right now, on the 60 man roster, we have Nixon and Valentine, last year's starters. There are also 4 others, including Kaelen King, on the roster. We just need to add a decent starter and we'll be ahead of where we were last year.
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 07:49 am
There aren't four others. Ballantine and Rochelle are free agents. The Packers have Nixon, Valentine and Alexander from the 53 and King on the PS. There are no contractual reasons to let Alexander go until there are replacements in place. And free agency and the draft can be a crap shoot.
Again, I am not saying the Packers have to keep Alexander. But why would you cut a guy under contract before you have replacements lined up? Let's see what happens with free agency and the draft before the Alexander decision gets made.
Leatherhead
February 25, 2025 at 09:04 am
Generally, I'm with you that it makes little sense to cut a guy who's under contract if you don't have a better alternative ready.
He just isnt available. If I thought he'd play 10-12 games even, I might have a different attitude, but I don't think that will happen.
Priority FA, Nixon, Valentine, King, draft pick. I think that'll be the 5 CBs we have on the 53 this year.
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 09:53 am
As long as free agency and the draft cooperate and provide the Packers with some talent at CB, I am just fine seeing Alexander head out the door. I have said before that I hope the Packers sign a high profile CB free agent and then draft more help. But don't kick Alexander to the curb until you have the needed reinforcements.
Alexander's availability is a serious concern, but a vacancy is a guaranteed concern.
dobber
February 25, 2025 at 10:00 am
I find myself thinking that they really don't need to go high profile at CB in FA. As LH says, they played mostly with Nixon and Valentine for 2/3 of the season and fielded a pretty good defensive unit. I think the defense gets better if they shore up the 3rd and 4th CB positions with capable guys, but that doesn't mean they need to break the bank. Better than Rochell and Ballentine means the talent floor goes up before they get to the draft or consider JA. I'd say things could go sideways fast if Bullard takes a lengthy injury pushing one of the CBs (Nixon?) into the slot and creating a clear hole on the perimeter.
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 10:56 am
Most of the high profile free agent CBs are older except Adebo and Murphy. Gute doesn't sign older free agents so I think his only high profile options are those two. There is a significant risk he doesn't get either one. I just don't know enough about the lower level free agent CBs to know if they could be CB3 and CB4.
That leaves the draft. I would love to see at least one high draft pick because (like Leatherhead) I don't trust Alexander's availability and you need a third starting level CB besides Nixon and Valentine.
dobber
February 25, 2025 at 11:08 am
There are a few younger guys who have had injury issues or didn't play well early in their careers--Jeff Okudah is an example. Maybe you don't want him for your #1, but how about at #3? Maybe he blossoms under Hafley...and stays on the field. Kristian Fulton is another example. Maybe you step up to Asante Samuel.
The question with these younger guys is: 1. will they actually make it to market? And 2. why are they on the market at all?
BG will really need to do his homework..
Guam
February 25, 2025 at 11:45 am
The next month will be interesting.........
TKWorldWide
February 24, 2025 at 07:20 am
I would be highly amused if GB drafts Alexander to replace…Alexander.
Arm length doesn’t matter if the coverage is tight enough. Stay within one inch of the receiver and those 30+ inch arms are unnecessary.
I am trying to get past “I hope GB picks so and so” in favor of “just haul in some good players.” That’s my Jordy Nelson Rule: when they picked him, my instant reaction was “a receiver?” Took me awhile, but I changed my tune.
My other rule is GPG!
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 07:49 am
I just don't follow enough college football, and with the transfer portal too many of these guys are 24-year-old migrant players with up and down tape.
With NIL, too many of these guys are more interested in getting paid at the college level and assessing their desire to really be great will be an increasing challenge.
TKWorldWide
February 24, 2025 at 09:01 am
I think the whole transfer portal thing means college players have gone from too little freedom to too much. Most discussions I hear indicate a desire for some middle ground.
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 09:07 am
An NIL cap? I think the transfer portal needs to be moved to after the playoffs/championship too.
TKWorldWide
February 24, 2025 at 11:02 am
I hear that too.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 07:46 am
Azareye'h Thomas is Al Harris 2.0.
There'll be fierce competition for the few FA CBs that have much upside. I suspect they'll be terribly overpriced for what they are, especially with the increase in the cap. Second and third-week value FAs in general seem to be the order of the day for the Packers, and they'll have to hit in the draft and get 2024 and 2023 draftees to step up to raise the level of play across the board.
Leatherhead
February 24, 2025 at 09:28 am
dobber, I can see that you've given this matter a lot of thought.
Here's how I see the CB situation . Nixon and Valentine are our two starters, just like the last two years. In terms of snaps and tackles, they're 1-2.
Alexander will be traded or released, because hes not helping us. Once Upon A Time, he was a young CB with a great upside. Now, he's an aging CB with a lengthy injury history.
King was on our practice squad last year, so you have to hope he'll be able to win a spot on the 53. That leaves us with room for two more CBs.
I suspect that Gutekunst is tired of spending high picks on CBs that are always injured, and I don't think we'll see a CB in the first or second rounds, but we will get one in this draft. That leaves room for one more.
We could get a FA CB who could start for us for about $15M. That's one corner, Nixon/Valentine at the other corner. I think instead of playing a 3rd CB as the nickel we'll be playing 3 Safeties instead, so we really only need two CBs who can stay on the field for us.
A guy like DJ Reed, who has shown he can stay healthy, has a market value of about $15M. Kristian Fulton played quite a bit for the Chargers and has a market value of around $5M. KEVIN KING is still in the league!!!! Darnay Holmes would be a cheap fix. There are dozens of veteran FA CBs who could be had for less than $15M
My thinking is that since Alexander only plays 7 games a year, anybody who is on the field twice as much as that improves us.
dobber
February 25, 2025 at 09:11 am
My thinking is this...there are plenty of ways to filet a cat. Where do you put your resources on defense to get an effective result? I think you want every position group to be as cheap, deep, and talented as possible...I'd add that young is preferable, too. Right now, the CB room is thin, expensive, and shallow...they're rostering mostly 4 guys, two of which are on second contracts and they likely need up to 6 who can play. You can't pay everyone, and you can't buy to fix every hole.
The Packers have already invested in the DB position on the S side and have hit on good players in Williams and Bullard--and Bullard's the preferred slot guy (at least with JA on the bench and Nixon playing on the perimeter), which actually decreases the need at CB somewhat. You point this out with the "playing 3 S" comment. You need to lean into the guys you have who can play, but their 4th safety is Zayne Anderson, and Oladapo is more of a SS/hybrid at this stage.
I think they need to hang onto JA until they know they've got some playable depth in the CB room. Maybe that means they sign a younger CB on the open market (Adebo, Samuel, Fulton, Okudah) hoping to make a meaningful dent in the top of the depth chart for 3-4 years, and use later picks to try to develop depth behind Nixon/Valentine/King/signee. Maybe they sign 2 aging CBs (Douglas, White, Hughes) for short term depth and playability and nurse their CB draft picks by a year or two. I think if they go solely through the draft and the CB room is added to with inexpensive depth, they keep JA and ask him to take a pay cut.
Overall, I think the way forward at CB is not in day 1-2 draft picks in this upcoming draft--they need those picks elsewhere. Maybe they'll hit the motherlode in later picks and younger FAs, but at some point down the road they're going to have to use premium picks to reload and cheapen the room.
In the long run, JA knows his value on the open market is limited until teams know he can stay healthy. He's making more with the Packers in cash in 2025 than he'll ever get in a new deal...the Packers might be able to push that number down some without having to add years or guarantees to his deal.
Cheezehead72
February 24, 2025 at 07:50 am
I agree that player characteristics that cannot be coached or changed such as height and somewhat weight but to only consider those traits is risky. A tall corner has a higher center of gravity and has issues with changing direction. Yes they have a larger area they can defend. Gute needs to look at the athletic ability, The ability to do everything a corner needs to do and that mean tackling in the open field. And his desire and attitude towards playing.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 07:52 am
If the Packers really do want to crowd the LOS and play more press, then they need the lengthy guys with a little more mass. If they're going to play more zone, and they seemed to play more zone in 2024 than I expected, it opens things up and some of those physical traits become less important (and others more important).
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 08:01 am
Don't they have to be good at both? Otherwise, the teams they play will dictate to them. Some QBs play against zone better and some play better against man, but if you're playing against a running QB or a great running back isn't zone the best? Seems like they can all run now. Seemed like Love's game flipflopped this season or the receivers and having Josh created it.
dobber
February 24, 2025 at 08:10 am
"Don't they have to be good at both"
I think you need to lean into what your people are best at, but I agree in that most Ds are going to be shifting back and forth in-game. There is a difference between very physical, jamming CBs (think Richard Sherman and Carlton Davis) and ones who do less to disrupt the release but run with WRs better (I think of this as JA).
"Seemed like Love's game flipflopped this season or the receivers and having Josh created it.
This season looked an awful lot like the one season in which LaF was calling plays in TEN--started out with a more balanced attack with Mariota, but the offense simplified and he leaned more and more into Henry as the season progressed--only he has more talent on the OL now to go with his bruising RB.
IN EDIT:
I have gone back and edited this post twice because whatever AI/autocorrect is working keeps putting apostrophes in where they do not belong. It is maddening for those of us who are picky about stuff like that (note that I killed the apostrophes in this add-on).
GregC
February 24, 2025 at 08:59 am
I agree that no particular height or weight should be a priority. Larger size is often cited as a factor in durability, but I'm not even sure of that. Some of our bigger corners, like Kevin King and Eric Stokes, have had durability issues.
T7Steve
February 24, 2025 at 09:08 am
Someone fast and can jump over the goal post would work.
TOMMY'63
February 24, 2025 at 04:53 pm
Again with tt? In 5 straight drafts he used his 1st round pick un dbs,remember mate? He did fuck all!! All of his selections were complete bust! Please , that gm ruined arods prime by neglecting fa and never ever giving him a competent defence. The defenders tt gave to fat Mike and arod couldn't stop parked cars in a car park! Fuck tt!!
gsd3
February 25, 2025 at 05:42 am
My personal favorites are Williams and Strong. Day 2 or 3.
Don't think Thomas, Morrison, or Amos will make it to 55 / 87.