The Green Bay Packers' offense is still nowhere near where it needs to be for them to become a Super Bowl favorite, but the defense continues to carry them. Green Bay's Week 12 win against the Vikings was its best defensive performance of the season, holding Minnesota to 145 total yards and six points. For the season, the Packers are now the fourth-best defense in the NFL.
They owe a ton of that success to their passing defense. The Packers have allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards and third-fewest net yards per passing attempt through the first 12 weeks of the season. Pro Football Focus grades them with the second-highest coverage grade in the NFL.
For a team that has seen a lot of turnover in its defensive backfield and whose main offseason addition, Nate Hobbs, hasn't worked out, that is a great place to be. One of the big reasons for their success has been the emergence of Carrington Valentine.
Carrington Valentine's Emergence Will Save the Packers
The third-year defender had shown flashes of his ability during his first two seasons in the NFL, but hadn't properly earned the trust of Matt LaFleur and Jeff Hafley. Despite constant calls from the fan base early in the season about the need to give Valentine more of a chance, the Packers were inconsistent with Valentine's usage. His snap share completely tanked by Week 7 despite his solid performances, raising questions about the rotation decisions by the coaching staff.
Since then, however, Valentine has been on a roll. As Hobbs missed the last three weeks, Valentine has cemented his role as the starting cornerback and will not give it up even after Hobbs' return.
In the last three games, Valentine has allowed two catches for 15 yards in ten targets in coverage. He is the third-highest graded Packers defender this season on PFF, only behind Micah Parsons and Xavier McKinney. This development is significant for the Packers, not only for this season, but also moving forward.
Valentine is only 24 years old, and looks like he will be a building block for years to come. This eases any CB concerns the Packers may have in the future, as Valentine has flashed elite CB1 upside. He is under contract for another season, which means that the Packers can keep their powder dry in the offseason and not spend big in the position.
Keisean Nixon has been inconsistent, raising questions about his long-term place with the Packers. Whether or not he can be a CB1 remains to be seen, but now, the Packers have other options and don't need to rely on Nixon to reach his potential.
It also makes Hobbs expendable. Instead of continuing to play the failed acquisition, Green Bay can now keep him as a depth piece and move on from him in the offseason. This could save the Packers money while also allowing them to spend their resources elsewhere.
Green Bay's defense is not only in a good spot this season, but also moving forward, in part thanks to Valentine, proving Packers fans right.