Green Bay Packers: CB Could Be a Big Need Again Next April

In recent years the Green Bay Packers have spent premium draft capital on the CB position. And depending on how 2020 plays out, they may have to do it again next April.

Over the last handful of drafts, the cornerback position has been an area of emphasis for the Green Bay Packers. And understandably so, as it is a premier position in this league.

Since 2015, the Packers have selected six cornerbacks in the draft, and outside of Ka’dar Hollman in last year’s sixth-round, five of those selections have been with premium draft capital.

Two years back in 2018, we saw Green Bay select Jaire Alexander in Round 1 and Josh Jackson in Round 2. In 2017 it was Kevin King early on in Round 2. Then in 2015, the Packers selected Damarious Randall in the first and Quinten Rollins in the second.

In taking a peek ahead to the 2021 offseason, there is once again the very real possibility that the Green Bay Packers will be spending more top draft capital on the cornerback position. It all depends on how the 2020 season goes, but as of now, I’d guess it’s more likely than not.

The only certainty at the cornerback position moving forward is Alexander, and after him, we just don’t know.

In 2019, Kevin King was able to stay healthy, and he, along with Alexander were able to form a formidable one-two punch at cornerback for Green Bay. Over 15 games, King came away with five interceptions, which was tied for the second-most in football, while also totaling 11 pass breakups, and he held opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 86.6 when targeted.

While King still needs to be more consistent, looking ahead to the 2020 season, there’s no reason not to think that he won’t improve or, at the very least, put together a similar showing. However, that’s where it gets tricky for the Packers.

This is the final year of King’s rookie deal, and next offseason, he becomes a free agent along with Kenny Clark, David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones, and Corey Linsley. Once again, Green Bay is projected to be tight on cap space and realistically may only be able to sign two of these free agents. If King finds success this season, he could very well earn a bigger contract elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Chandon Sullivan appears primed to take over the nickel corner duties on defense this season after putting together some very impressive numbers in 2019, albeit from a small sample size. On 36 targets, Sullivan allowed a completion rate of only 41.7 percent with no touchdowns, one interception and a quarterback rating of 43.1.

To put it simply, he was fantastic. However, it’s still an unknown if he can be successful in a full-time role with opposing teams now having some film on him. I absolutely believe that he can, but we still need to see him do so.

Moving along, we get to Josh Jackson, whose career has not gone as anyone would have hoped. After a rookie season where he took his lumps and led the team in penalties, 2019 managed to be worse. An injury in training camp would derail the start of his season, and he was never able to recover.

Jackson ended up playing less than 10 percent of Green Bay’s total defensive snaps in 2019, and when he was on the field, he was picked on, giving up seven receptions on eight targets with a touchdown.

This summer, Jackson is going to have the opportunity to earn playing time, and hopefully, the hiring of Jerry Gray as defensive backs coach will provide a boost. With that said, it’s now or never for Jackson, and up to this point, he hasn’t exactly instilled much confidence in his coaching staff.

Then we get to Ka’dar Hollman, who, if you read my work, you know that he is someone that I am very high on. Coming out of Toledo, Hollman has plenty of reps in press-man coverage, and he isn’t afraid to get physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage. On top of that, he’s an excellent athlete, and his skill-set fits well with Mike Pettine’s defensive scheme.

Last season was essentially a redshirt year for Hollman, and he is one of my under the radar players to make some noise in 2020. But as a former sixth-round pick with very little NFL experience, that also remains to been seen.

After this handful of players are several young and unproven cornerbacks who will be competing for a roster spot. This group includes DeShaun Amos, Stanford Samuels, Will Sunderland, and Kabion Ento.

Obviously, the hope is that there is a diamond in the rough here, but not that’s not exactly something that the Green Bay Packers should be counting on either.

As I said at the beginning, this season is going to dictate how the Packers approach the cornerback position in 2021. However, there’s a very realistic scenario where King is elsewhere, Hollman didn’t take a step forward, and Jackson still hasn’t put it together.

And if that’s the case, another top-100 pick on a cornerback could very well be in Green Bay’s future.