Green Bay Packers: Kevin King has Breakout Season the Fans Wanted

After suffering from injuries his first two seasons, Green Bay Packers CB Kevin King has put together the breakout season that fans had been waiting for.

It’s very likely that for the rest of Kevin King’s career with the Green Bay Packers, fans are going to compare him to T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was back in the 2017 draft when Green Bay had the opportunity to select Watt in the first round, but instead traded down and eventually took King out of Washington.

Prior to this season, Watt was a force along the Steeler defensive front and has been this season as well. Meanwhile, King fought the injury bug his first two NFL seasons and had missed more games than he had played in.

During 2017 he would appear in nine games and then just six in 2018. While we did see bits of development from him during those two years, the sample size was too small to know for sure if he was going to turn into the player that Green Bay had hoped he would on draft night.

What King and the Packers needed was for him to stay healthy and whether the two parties will ever admit it, the 2019 season was a critical one for King’s future in Green Bay. However, the tides have turned and King has missed just one game this season while also putting together the breakout year that fans have been clamoring for since he was drafted.

In his 14 games, King is allowing a completion percentage of just 61.5 percent and a quarterback passer rating of 88.0. He’s also totaled 63 tackles, 14 pass-breakups, and five interceptions, which is the second most in the NFL.

And of those five interceptions, most have come at big moments within the game. In week two against Minnesota, King would pick-off Kirk Cousins in the end zone as the Vikings were threatening to score. Then in Dallas, King would record an interception in Cowboy territory late in the game that led to a crucial field goal. A few weeks later he would intercept Derek Carr in the end zone and just this past week, King would come away with another pick against Cousins which played a huge role in shifting the momentum of that game.

When we look back at King’s interceptions this season, one word comes to mind, and that is clutch.

Additionally, King is coming off of his best game of the season against Minnesota. He was targeted just two times and allowed one catch for -1 yard, while making four tackles, and, of course, the aforementioned interception. In fact, he and Jaire Alexander held the dynamic duo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs to just three receptions on nine targets for 57 yards with only one touchdown.

It’s quite clear that the Green Bay Packers have a star in the making with Alexander but what Kevin King has shown us this season is that he can be a very good and reliable second cornerback. Which is something that every good team needs.