Green Bay Packers: Q and A about Jaire Alexander

Let’s learn more about the Green Bay Packers first 2018 Draft pick, Jaire Alexander, in a Q and A with someone who covered the Louisville Cardinals.

Jaire Alexander will look to play a big role for the Green Bay Packers, as he was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In order to learn more about him, I chatted with Jacob Lane, the site expert for FanSided’s the Big Red Louie. The Big Red Loui covers all things Louisville Cardinals so he can help us better understand what Alexander brings to the table.

1. What can Packer fans expect from Jaire Alexander?

With Jaire Alexander, you can expect a ball-hawking corner who has the potential to lock down an entire side of the field for your defense. He’s also going to bring an unrivaled competitive spirit and toughness to the defense with great leadership and even more swag.

Even though he’s just 5-foot-11, Alexander has shown the ability to cover the elite, bigger receivers. He’s an extremely quick and athletic corner who knows how to use his speed to make plays.

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Over the course of three seasons, Alexander finished with seven interceptions, which is a testament to his playmaking ability. Not only can he cover well, but he also has the ability to return punts and kickoffs. Also, the dude talks MAD trash!

2. What’s the most electric part of his game? We’ve heard a lot about his ball skills- are they truly that good?

Simple answer – yes. If you go back and watch the film from the 2016 Clemson game, you’ll see just how special of a player he can be at the next level. Alexander has elite speed (ran at 4.48 at the NFL combine) and he uses that to make plays over and over again. He is the type of player that gives quarterbacks nightmares. They think they have open windows to throw balls in, but at the last second Alexander is able to jump routes and deflect passes, or pick them off. He’s also a threat to take INT’s back to the house at any given time.

3. What’s his biggest weakness as a corner?

I mentioned it earlier, it’s his size. At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds – Alexander has a tendency to struggle with bigger, more powerful receivers. You look at guys who have hurt him in the past, and the majority of them are over 6’1, 6’2 and have been able to push him around. He has a slight build, with plenty of room to improve, but in his rookie season, he may struggle with guys who fit the mold of someone like Allen Robinson. In order to develop into an all-around NFL corner, Alexander will also need to improve his ability to help out in run defense

4. The Packers already have a cornerback on their roster who struggles with injuries, should we be worried about Alexander’s injury history?

Personally, I think his injury history is a tad bit overblown. In 2017 Alexander was injured on a freak play, one he ultimately shouldn’t have even been in on, when he dove for a loose ball on a punt-return that another teammate had already called for, and a lot of games he ended up missing came as a precautionary measure by the coaching staff. Alexander did only play in six games his junior season due to that knee injury while missing three games his freshman season, but let’s not forget that Alexander played in all 13 games during his sophomore season.

Next: Packers: Top 10 players in the 2019 NFL Draft

Well, there we have it, folks. It’s time to get really excited about the spitfire that is Jaire Alexander. It appears the Packers got a competitive player with great ball-hawking ability.

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