Emergence of these 3 Packers can take Team to New Level
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers CB Keisean Nixon
As good as the top three cornerbacks on this Green Bay Packers roster may be, the depth behind them is a massive question mark as there is very little experience. And even with how good the trio of Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Eric Stokes can be, we still don’t know who is going to be taking those snaps at the slot cornerback position.
Of course, we will see Alexander lined up there, but he is also going to be spending a majority of his time following around the opponent’s top receiver, which will have him lined up on the boundary. Not that Douglas or Stokes can’t play inside, in fact, Jerry Gray mentioned that each cornerback would be cross-trained to play both inside and outside, but both have very little experience.
Related Story. Group Effort to Cover Slot Snaps on Packers Defense. light
As I wrote recently, when it comes to covering these nickel corner snaps, it’s likely going to be a group effort, and a part of that group effort could be Keisean Nixon. Nixon has about 300 career snaps over three seasons, and most came from the slot last season, where he allowed four completions on five targets but gave up just 5.3 yards per catch, according to PFF ($$). He was also used as a blitzer as well.
If Joe Barry has Nixon to rely on from the slot, the added flexibility that he has with this Green Bay Packers secondary and the different combinations he can utilize from week to week or even play to play will seemingly be unlimited–and that will leave opposing offenses guessing.