Green Bay Packers 2019 offseason review: Cornerback

The Green Bay Packers made big improvements at cornerback in 2018.

This time last year, cornerback was the Green Bay Packers‘ biggest offseason need.

Brian Gutekunst, in his first offseason as general manager, used his top two draft picks on the position, selecting Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. The Packers also signed Bashaud Breeland in September.

Here’s our offseason review of the cornerback position:

Re-signing Bashaud Breeland top priority

The secondary took a step in the right direction last season. Jaire Alexander looks like a future star. Kevin King has played well when healthy. But another key part of the secondary in the second half of the season was Bashaud Breeland.

Breeland was one of the top free agent cornerbacks a year ago, but due to injury the Packers were able to sign him in September.

It’s fair to say the Packers are in a mini-rebuild. They made a change at general manager just a year ago, and have since hired a new head coach to replace Mike McCarthy. And as Rob Demovsky of ESPN noted, it’s possible that the Packers could let most of their free agents walk this offseason.

One player they should try to bring back is Breeland. Due to injury he only played in seven games in 2018, but in that time he showed why he was a great addition to the secondary, making two interceptions and returning one for a touchdown.

Still work to be done

There is still work to be done for the Packers secondary.

Alexander put together an excellent rookie season, but the key for him is to keep improving. There’s no reason why Alexander, who was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team this season, can’t become one of the league’s top cornerbacks in the next few years.

For Kevin King, it’s all about staying healthy. King missed seven regular season games as a rookie, and missed another 10 this year, finishing the season on injured reserve.

The Packers will hope to see improvements from Josh Jackson in his second season; Jackson had a difficult rookie year. But it can take time for young cornerbacks in the NFL, and there’s a reason why he was selected in the second round of the draft last spring.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Packers use one of their 10 draft picks on a cornerback, but they don’t need to use an early selection.

The Green Bay Packers improved at cornerback this past season. It’ll be interesting to see if they make any more additions this offseason.