Green Bay Packers: Chandon Sullivan Shining in ‘Star’ Role

Injuries have really reared their ugly head this season for the Green Bay Packers, but yet, they still sit at 7-1 on the season. As always, there are a number of reasons why, but one of the biggest contributors is that we’ve seen the backups, role players, and non-stars of this team make impact plays week in and week out.

There are quite a few players who fit into the category described above, and one in particular who has been playing well as of late is slot cornerback Chandon Sullivan.

With Jaire Alexander missing extended time and Kevin King in and out of the lineup, Eric Stokes has assumed the CB1 role, Rasul Douglas has been CB2, and Sullivan has played at a high level from the slot.

However, the 2021 season didn’t start out that way. Following a 2020 season that ended with Sullivan being picked on in the playoffs by Jared Goff and Tom Brady, the first three games of this year were rough, to say the least.

Sullivan had allowed 11 completions on 12 targets at 14.3 yards per catch. He also had only one pass breakup, and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating when targeting him of 127.1.

But from Week 4 through the Green Bay Packers’ most recent outing with Arizona, Sullivan flipped a switch and has been limiting opposing receivers.

Although he has given up 12 receptions on 19 targets during that span and he also doesn’t have a pass breakup, Sullivan has allowed just 6.9 yards per catch and a passer rating of only 67.6. He also came away with a beautifully played interception against Washington.

According to Pro Football Focus ($$), among 40 eligible slot cornerbacks from Weeks 4 through 8, Sullivan ranks second in yards per snap, first in snaps per target, and first in snaps per receptions.

It’s also worth mentioning that Sullivan has done this while facing receivers such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyler Boyd, Darnell Mooney, Allen Robinson, Terry McLaurin, and Rondale Moore, to name a few.

This offseason, there was a lot of discussion in regards to who the ‘star’ — or slot — cornerback was going to be in this new Joe Barry defense.

Based on what we had heard from Barry and Jerry Gray, it was a role destined to be split among a few different players–and to some degree, it has been. But don’t be mistaken, the nickel corner position belongs to Sullivan, and he showed why during camp.

"“When you look at Sully, I think that he is doing a tremendous job,” said Gray prior to the season via Packers Wire. “He played a lot of different things when you watched him on film last year. I know in the run game, he was really physical. He looked like a safety playing nickel. A lot of people didn’t try to run his way because he really got up in there in the run game. And now, he is learning a lot about the passing game.”"

With the cornerback position in-flux early on this season, Sullivan’s elevated level of play has provided this Green Bay Packers defense with some much-needed stability from the nickel position.

It’s a demanding position, as well as one that comes with a lot of responsibilities, and it’s a very important role in Barry’s defensive system.

"“It’s a unique position because you’ve got to be able to play man, you’ve got to be able to play zone,” said Joe Barry to reporters. “And when I say zone, you’ve got to be able to play like a linebacker almost. You’ve got to be involved in the run game and the run fits. We’ll ask our nickel to be involved in the pressure package, so it’s a unique position, but we’ve got a bunch of guys that are learning it just like they’re learning every aspect of the back end.”"