Remember when we all, or at least a good chunk of us, thought cornerback Keisean Nixon was fighting for his job and perhaps his spot on the Green Bay Packers' roster?
Through five games, he hasn't just been the least of the team's many problems; most of the time, he's been pretty dang solid. We won't talk about his dubious Week 2 outing against the New York Jets.
Other than that, Nixon has shown up in every game. In Week 5, the Chicago Bears picked on talented rookie Brandon Cisse instead.
That's not so surprising. Cisse is a rookie at a position that takes time to learn. It's natural that Bears head coach and offensive mastermind Ben Johnson would want to test him.
What is surprising, pleasantly, is that Nixon has reversed course after a nightmare start to training camp and settled into his role as a starting corner in the Packers' defense. He's been capable, and that's all we were asking for.
Keisean Nixon has been surprisingly solid for the Packers so far
No, Nixon is still not a real CB1, and won't be. Cisse clearly has a higher ceiling, just not the veteran savvy or physical strength.
And speaking of experience, despite his seven-plus NFL seasons, Nixon still makes bad mistakes. He commits some really dumb penalties. Turn around! Play the ball! Make it a little less obvious!
It's just something Packers fans live with. But aside from the Jets game, those blown coverages and penalty problems haven't bitten him like they did last season. Knock on wood.
Nixon's coverage numbers have improved notably. After allowing six touchdowns and a 105.1 passer rating a year ago, those figures are 0 and 67.5 this season, according to Pro Football Reference. Receivers are averaging 9.2 yards per catch instead of 11.6.
The caveat, of course, is that the Packers have yet to face a consensus top-25 quarterback in the league. Missing Caleb Williams with a hamstring injury, the Bears started Tyson Bagent and brought in Case Keenum in relief. So take Nixon's 'improvement' with a heaping tablespoon of salt.
Still, Nixon has been productive. Through five games, he has an interception, three tackles for loss - as many as he had all last year - and four passes defensed. The Packers have deployed him effectively as a blitzer and as help against the run. Nixon's 31 tackles put him on pace for a career-high.
He's also missed a couple, but never mind that.
Pro Football Focus grades Nixon 24th out of 104 qualified corners with an overall mark of 68.1. Again, though, take that with a grain of salt. PFF thought Nixon was substantially above average last season, nearly top-third. Packers fans' eyes said otherwise.
The thing with Nixon is to be glad for the good, because the bad is always lurking. Maybe he'll fall apart once the quarterbacks get better, like this week against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
We'll see. So far, it's been remarkably unremarkable. And for Nixon, that's a good thing.
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