Green Bay Packers Cornerback Depth to be Tested
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers have dealt with numerous injuries all season, and their next big test will come at the cornerback position on Sunday.
Jaire Alexander is currently on IR, and a week after having Kevin King back on the field following missed time with a concussion, he has now officially been ruled out of Sunday’s contest with Chicago.
King sustained a shoulder injury against Cincinnati in what was one of his better performances in some time. According to PFF ($$), he allowed just 17 yards on three receptions and recorded five tackles. As much flack as King has taken, he is going to be missed, especially with Alexander out as well.
This, of course, leaves the Green Bay Packers thin at the cornerback position.
Stokes has impressed this season as a rookie, allowing a completion rate of just 54 percent on 33 targets and only 10.7 yards per catch. He also has four pass breakups, which is the third most this season, along with an interception.
However, after Stokes, we run into some real question marks.
Isaac Yiadom has struggled in coverage throughout his career, allowing 13.7 yards per catch and a 67 percent completion rate. This season he has allowed three receptions on four targets for 49 yards. He very well could be CB2 on Sunday.
Rasul Douglas brings experience — which is valuable — with 2,488 career snaps and 29 starts. However, this is a new defensive system that he’s only been in for a few weeks. Quarterbacks have a combined passer rating of 96.2 when throwing at Douglas over his career.
Chandon Sullivan will stay in the slot and doesn’t provide much help on the boundary. Shemar Jean-Charles is a fifth-round rookie who took his lumps during the preseason, allowing 10 receptions on 12 targets. While long-term, he is likely a slot cornerback, we did see him take some boundary snaps against Pittsburgh.
Kabion Ento is on the practice squad and has no NFL experience. And while the Quinton Dunbar addition is intriguing, we may not see him on Sunday since he was signed just a few days ago.
To help these Green Bay Packers cornerbacks, we may see more cover-2, which would provide safety help over the top for each corner—although that will make them more susceptible to the run.
Not to mention that winning in the trenches by getting consistent pressure on Justin Fields and slowing the run game, making the Chicago offense one-dimensional, will go a long ways in helping these cornerbacks as well.
This is a Bears team that has relied more heavily on the run game this season, averaging just over 126 rushing yards per game, which is the ninth most in football. Meanwhile, the passing game ranks 31st in attempts per game and 32nd in passing yards.
With David Montgomery on IR and Damien Williams on the reserve/COVID list, coupled with the Green Bay Packers being thin at the cornerback position, one of the big questions entering this game is, will we see Chicago try to push the ball through the air more? It’s certainly a possibility, given the circumstances.
Despite the Bears lack of passing attempts and gaudy stats, they do have two receivers in Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney who can cause problems for this Packers secondary. Fields also brings more upside at the quarterback position than we are typically accustomed to seeing in Chicago.
Green Bay is going to need Stokes to continue playing well and someone else, whether that be Yiadom, Jean-Charles, or Douglas, or a combination of the three, to elevate their games in that CB2 boundary role. So who is it going to be?