Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins: Three things to watch

Ladarius Gunter and Josh Hawkins

On the other side of the ball, there’s an equally intriguing battle at cornerback.

Kevin King, Davon House, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins are all but assured roster spots. After that, it’s a bit of a free-for-all.

Ladarius Gunter was the Green Bay Packers’ best cornerback for most of last season, but that isn’t saying much. He’s been passed over for playing time this offseason by all four of the aforementioned players.

He recently has even been receiving snaps at slot corner, which would seem to be an odd fit for his lack of speed and quick-twitch athleticism.

Gunter has been valuable for the Packers at times. But he’ll need to excel in the remainder of training camp and the preseason to lock up a roster spot and get some significant defensive snaps.

Josh Hawkins is almost an anti-Gunter. He’s extremely fast and athletically gifted, but the second-year undrafted pro is inexperienced and unrefined.

Hawkins probably has more upside on both defense and special teams than Gunter. But he needs to prove to the coaches that he can be trusted. Last year, he got burned against Detroit in limited playing time.

Next: Breaking down the roster: Outside linebackers

The entire cornerbacks group is extremely important to watch. Gunter has the edge for now. But with Randall concussed, we’ll be watching both Hawkins and Gunter carefully to see if either one can move ahead in the defensive rotation.