Packers 2022 offseason position review: Cornerbacks
Cornerback was one of the Green Bay Packers‘ positions of need last offseason, which is why they selected Eric Stokes in the first round of the draft.
The Packers would go almost the entire season without All-Pro Jaire Alexander, but the in-season addition of Rasul Douglas helped the secondary remain strong.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty for the Packers this offseason, they have talent to build around in the secondary. Let’s take a closer look at the cornerback position.
2021 season review
If you had said in August that Jaire Alexander would miss most of the season due to injury, I think we’d all have agreed the Packers were in trouble.
Rasul Douglas had other ideas.
Signed off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad in October, Douglas made an instant impact and was a game-changing addition. Douglas played in 12 games for the Packers with nine starts in the regular season. In that time, he made 13 pass defenses and five interceptions, including two pick-sixes.
According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 44.5 in his coverage. He was on the Cardinals’ practice squad. Unbelievable.
Stokes, too, impressed in his rookie season. Sure, he had his moments to learn from. Name a rookie cornerback who didn’t make mistakes — Jaire Alexander sure did. But Stokes also showed the potential of a future Pro Bowler.
According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks completed fewer than half of their passes in Stokes’ coverage with a passer rating of 71.3. That’ll do.
Stokes missed out on a pick-six in the divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but don’t worry, Micah Hyde similarly missed a potential game-winning interception in a home playoff loss to the 49ers in his rookie season. Two All-Pro selections later, things turned out just fine for Hyde.
In Alexander and Stokes, the Packers have two young cornerbacks to build around. They just now need to re-sign Douglas.
What’s next in 2022?
Douglas’ contract is up in March. There’s no doubt his impressive season will draw interest elsewhere. Hopefully the Packers, despite all of their salary cap concerns, can find a way to re-sign him.
A trio of Alexander, Douglas, and Stokes would be a lot of fun in 2022.
Working on a long-term deal with Alexander should also be on the to-do list. The Packers exercised his fifth-year option a year ago so he remains under contract in 2022, but will be a free agent after that. A contract extension will come at some point, but doing it this summer could help the Packers lower his cap hit for 2022, should they wish.
If Douglas signs elsewhere, the Packers will need to add some cornerback depth. But with Alexander and Stokes, the future is bright in Green Bay’s secondary.