Green Bay Packers: Keep Your Eyes on Ka’dar Hollman in 2020

Be on the lookout for Ka’dar Hollman to take a big step in Year 2 and play more meaningful snaps for the Green Bay Packers in 2020.

As is the case for any NFL team, the development of their young players from year to year is vital to their success. And as we look ahead to the 2020 season, that seems to be especially true for the Green Bay Packers.

After an offseason where they wouldn’t make any major additions via free agency due to limited cap space and in the draft they didn’t address any of their perceived major needs early on, if the Green Bay Packers are going to make another Super Bowl push this season, it is dependent upon the development of several young players.

One of these players, in particular, is 2019 sixth-round selection Ka’dar Hollman from Toledo. Despite spending plenty of draft capital on the cornerback position in recent seasons, there once again is some uncertainty surrounding it. That means players like Hollman, Chandon Sullivan, and Josh Jackson are going to have to step up and play larger roles this season.

While Sullivan seems destined to take over the slot duties in 2020, Hollman can provide some much-needed depth and a boost on the outside.

The 2019 season for Hollman was essentially a redshirt year for him as he was inactive for 14 games and saw just four total defensive snaps when he was available. However, during training camp and the preseason, he was able to make some noise.

As an experienced player coming out of Toledo, Hollman has had plenty of reps in press-man coverage which is a staple of Mike Pettine’s defense and he is an excellent athlete as well. Hollman posted a 4.38 – 40 yard dash at his Pro Day and an overall Relative Athletic Score of 9.23.

It was that ability in press-man coupled with the way that he challenges receivers at the line of scrimmage that put him on not only Pettine’s radar last summer, but also Matt LaFleur’s.

Here is what Pettine had to say about the young corner after a practice last year:

"“I like Ka’dar. He’s intense, you can tell he loves football. He’s a guy that’s been real good at the press man aspect of it,” Pettine said. “He’s had practices where you really have to go back and look to see if a ball got caught on him. He’s done a good job.”"

LaFleur would also add:

"“Ka’dar’s done a nice job,” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice Wednesday. “He challenges our receivers each and every day. He’s not afraid to get up there and bump ’em. So he’s made some nice plays. Again, a young player. It’ll be interesting to once we get to real, live game situations and see how he responds, but I’m excited about him.”"

Once Hollman experienced those live game situations in the preseason that LaFleur mentioned, he continued to show those same flashes that we saw in practice. In three games, which included two starts, Hollman posted eight tackles, an interception, along with another pass-breakup.

Now of course the comments from Pettine and LaFleur don’t guarantee Hollman’s success. In fact, last summer Pettine talked very highly about Montravius Adams as well, and we saw how that turned out.

But with that said, one player’s success or failure has zero impact on what Hollman is going to do. Not to mention that being noticed by your defensive coordinator and head coach for positive reasons is never a bad thing for a young player.

Although Hollman’s redshirt season in 2019 should only help him get a better grasp of the defense and adjust to the play speed of the NFL, ultimately it comes down to how he performs on the field, not what the coaches have to say. And as I’ve pointed out, he also has hardly any meaningful NFL experience.

However, with the question marks surrounding the depth of the cornerback position in Green Bay, along with Hollman’s skill-set and elite athleticism, don’t be surprised when he’s playing a much larger role on this defense in 2020.