No player has been more scrutinized since the start of the Green Bay Packers' season than Nate Hobbs. The expectations were high for the offseason acquisition after signing a four-year, $48 million deal, but he failed to live up to that pay grade during the first seven weeks of the campaign. After loud calls for his benching all season, the Packers came to their senses in Week 8 and finally replaced him with Carrington Valentine in the starting lineup. As many fans thought would be the case, Valentine performed much better than Hobbs in Green Bay's win against the Steelers.
Hobbs ended up playing only four defensive snaps on Sunday, and whether that is a permanent move or Hobbs will continue to have a role in the rotation remains to be seen, but the benching seems to have had a positive impact on the 26-year-old player.
Nate Hobbs Looks Inward to Make Changes After Week 8 Benching
According to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, the fifth-year defender talked at length about getting benched for 10 minutes in the locker room. He apparently discussed what he needs to do better, highlighting the importance of being "wired in and focused" on every single snap rather than doing it for "most of the snaps."
Hobbs sounds aware of what has ailed him since the beginning of the season. On the one hand, his awareness of what he needs to work on is a positive development. On the other hand, admitting that you are not locked in as you should be is not a great look for a starter on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Hobbs is not a rookie or an inexperienced player. He has 57 games under his belt in the NFL, and the fact that he admittedly still needs to work on his concentration is a problem.
The identification of the problem might be accurate. Hobbs has three penalties on the season and only one pass breakup. He's allowed 13/20 of the passes that have come his way to go for completions, and is giving up a 127.1 passer rating in coverage. That doesn't necessarily suggest a player who is fully locked in. In contrast, Hobbs allowed a 96.3 passer rating last season and had zero penalties.
Whether this will be enough to win Hobbs his starting job back is unclear. Where the former Raider is more comfortable is the nickel cornerback spot. However, Javon Bullard has been playing much better there in recent weeks, making it hard for Hobbs to take over those duties. It's also hard to imagine that Valentine would lose his spot on the outside after delivering a strong performance against the Steelers. Hobbs may have to wait on the sideline for his turn to prove that he is back to being locked in for 100% of the snaps.