Green Bay Packers: 2017 midseason rookie report card
Kevin King
Grade: B-
The highly-touted defensive back chosen with the first pick of the second round last April got off to a brilliant start by flashing his coverage skills against Julio Jones in Week 2.
Although the Packers’ defense took one on the chin in allowing the Falcons to put up 34 points on them that evening, King showed the ability to be the team’s No. 1 lockdown corner as he held Jones catchless on four pass attempts he was targeted on.
The long-limbed cover man went on to produce another solid showing against A.J. Green, who despite catching 10 passes, only averaged 11.1 yards on those completions.
The thing that pops when you first lay eyes on King is his aggressiveness. He relishes attacking opponents in both the passing and running game at full speed and without a hint of hesitancy.
In recent weeks, however, King has also demonstrated coverage flaws that have occasionally led to him getting caught out of position.
The 22-yard touchdown he surrendered to Brandon Coleman was a primary example of No. 20’s vulnerability in defending double moves.
During the play, the Saints’ wideout left the rookie corner standing in place on a slant-and-go pattern and found himself alone in the corner of the end zone.
The young man’s PFF grades are indicative of his struggles in pass coverage with King currently ranking 107th among NFL corners in that area. His run support and pass rush grades, conversely, are a more robust 75.6 and 60.0 respectively.