Green Bay Packers: Kevin King Listed as CB2 vs. New Orleans

It’s game week, and with that, the Green Bay Packers have put out their unofficial depth chart for their Week 1 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

When it comes to surprises, there really weren’t any—just confirmation of what we expected.

While Eric Stokes took plenty of important reps as CB2 during training camp while Kevin King got healthy after beginning on the NFI list, it is King who has been named as Jaire Alexander’s running mate—which, again, shouldn’t come as a surprise.

When defensive backs coach Jerry Gray met with reporters early on in camp, he said that he did not think that King — or anyone — should lose their job because of an injury.

If we look back at Alexander’s rookie season in 2018, although we now see the player that he has become, he wasn’t CB2 right away either. It wasn’t until Week 3 that he was listed as a starting corner, and in part, that was due to King being injured. Had King remained healthy, we may not have seen Alexander assume that role until later in the season.

The Green Bay Packers are likely taking a similar approach with Stokes — who received some extremely high praise as he was compared to Alexander and Sam Shields by teammate Davante Adams — and leaning on King’s experience early on this season as the rookie still gets acclimated to his role at the NFL level.

With that said, you should still expect to see plenty of Stokes on the field, even though he is technically the third cornerback. For example, and worth noting, Alexander played 70 and 77 percent of the defensive snaps those first two weeks in 2018, primarily from the slot.

It feels like it’s only a matter of time before Stokes officially takes over as CB2, but for King, it’s up to him to play well if he wants to maintain his starting job—and if he doesn’t, then Stokes deserves it.

"“But I know what type of player I am,” said King via Sports Illustrated. “I know what type of player I can be. Just try to get better every day and try to help him get better. Look, if he can beat me out on that field, then they drafted the right guy.”"

Step 1 for King is staying healthy. Over his four NFL seasons, he’s appeared in 41 out of a possible 60 regular-season games. It’s not a coincidence that his best season in Green Bay came in 2019 when he was healthy and played in 15 games.

That season, King came away with five interceptions — the second-highest total in football that season — 15 pass breakups and a forced fumble—showcasing what he’s capable of.

And while many will remember King’s blunder in the NFC Championship Game, it’s not as if his time here has been all bad. There have been more ups than downs, and if that wasn’t the case, the Packers wouldn’t have brought him back.

However, now more than ever, the pressure is on King to perform. And if he doesn’t, then Stokes is waiting in the wings to take over that Green Bay Packers CB2 role for good.

"“He’s a guy I have a lot of faith, a lot of confidence in,” Matt LaFleur said via the Wisconsin State Journal. “I think when he’s healthy, he’s really tough to deal with. He was a guy I was super-excited to get back. He’s a resilient guy. He’s a smart guy. I think our value (of him) within our building is much higher maybe than public perception is out there.“"