Green Bay Packers: 3 Free Agent Targets at Positions of Need
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Free Agent Target: Desmond King – CB
I’ll be the first to admit that ideally, I would rather have the Green Bay Packers address the boundary corner position before the slot. But while Kevin King’s performance in the NFC Championship Game is what most will remember, Chandon Sullivan was picked on by Tom Brady fairly often as well–especially on third downs.
In today’s NFL, the nickel cornerback is essentially a starter, and as defensive coordinator Joe Barry pointed out in his press conference, that “star” corner is going to be on the field for about 80 percent of the team’s defensive plays. So if the Green Bay Packers have the opportunity to upgrade the position with an addition like Desmond King, then they should do it.
Admittedly, King had a rough go of it over the second half of the season with Tennessee, allowing a catch rate of 78 percent on 37 targets and a passer rating of 119.8. But since entering the NFL in 2017, he is still the league’s highest-graded slot corner over that span, according to Pro Football Focus–although his overall performance is boosted by two very good years in 2017 and 2018.
While overall, King hasn’t been produced the same eye-popping stats that he did earlier in his career, he still ranked ninth among all slot corners in snaps per reception in 2020, and his yards allowed per snap ranked as the 11th best. On top of that, he is still only 26 years old.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN made some free agency predictions about a month ago, and he had the Green Bay Packers as the best fit for Desmond King. Here is what Fowler had to say:
"“The Bucs targeted Packers slot corner Chandon Sullivan in the NFC title game, and Green Bay’s struggles on the back end have forced elite cover man Jaire Alexander into zone coverage too often. King is one of the game’s best slots and would instantly improve this unit, though Green Bay’s pesky $28.1 million cap deficit is a hurdle. Wouldn’t surprise to see Tennessee, which traded for King midseason, attempt to lock King up before free agency.”"
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As far as what type of contract King might command on the open market, PFF predicts that he lands a deal with an average annual value of $5.8 million, while Spotrac has him in the $6.8 million range. However, as I said initially, we don’t exactly know how the shrunken salary cap is going to affect free agency–perhaps King can be signed for less.