Green Bay Packers: 3 X-Factors on Defense in 2020

Kevin King

During Kevin King’s first two NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers, we saw those flashes of the player that he could become. Unfortunately, injuries kept King off the field as he’d appear in only 15 out of his first 32 games and many started throwing around the term “injury prone” when discussing him.

But the 2019 season was different. King was able to stay healthy as he appeared in 15 games and played 77.4 percent of the defense’s total snaps. The second most on the team among cornerbacks. And along with that came the production.

King allowed a catch rate of only 60.2 percent, he came away with five interceptions, the second-most in the NFL, and 11 pass breakups as well. On top of that, opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 86.6 when targeting him.

Coming off a healthy 2019 and now entering his fourth NFL season, there’s no reason to think that King won’t take another step forward in 2020 as he and Jaire Alexander potentially become one of the better cornerback duos in the league.

However, the injury bug has to stay away again. And that is why King is one of my X-Factors.

If King’s on the field, the combination of him, Alexander, Darnell Savage, and Adrian Amos make up a very good secondary for this Green Bay Packers team. But given the lack of experienced depth at the cornerback position, if he’s injured, there is certainly some cause for concern.

While Chandon Sullivan had a nice second half to the 2019 season, it’s fair to wonder if he can duplicate that performance over the course of an entire season and in a larger role. Not to mention that he may be the primary slot corner. After Sullivan is several unknowns, headlined by Josh Jackson and followed by Ka’dar Hollman and a few undrafted rookies.

For this defense to truly be at their best, it’s going to be key that King is able to stay healthy once again.