It's a problem Green Bay Packers fans saw coming a million miles away.
Everyone could see it. Rewind all the way to the 2024 NFL Draft, and the world thought the Packers would draft Cooper DeJean. Even the Philadelphia Eagles presumably did, as they traded ahead of Green Bay to select him. General manager Brian Gutekunst bizarrely opted against making big moves at cornerback, both last year and this offseason, and the Packers are paying the price.
Promoting Keisean Nixon to the CB1 role to replace Jaire Alexander? Moving Bo Melton from wide receiver to cornerback? It was never enough. The only notable move they made was to sign Nate Hobbs in free agency, but the Packers needed so much more.
Nixon has become a problem for Jeff Hafley's defense. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed a perfect passer rating over the past two weeks, with Bo Nix and Caleb Williams completing 77.8 percent of their passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns against him.
Chicago scored two touchdowns on Saturday night, both in Nixon's direction.
Facing 4th-and-4 with the game on the line, Hafley beautifully schemed up a free rusher, who put Caleb Williams under immediate pressure. Williams fired a ball into the back corner of the end zone, where Jahdae Walker awaited all alone because of a miscommunication between Nixon and Hobbs. It looks painfully clear that Nixon lost his receiver.
Game tied. To overtime we go, where Williams took a deep shot to DJ Moore for 46 yards and the game-winning touchdown, again with Nixon in coverage. Ballgame. A beautiful throw and catch, no doubt, but Nixon couldn't make the play.
Keisean Nixon is becoming unplayable in Packers' secondary
The veteran has enjoyed some excellent moments this season. He sealed a win over the Bears only two weeks ago with a smart play to abandon his assignment and cover for Evan Williams, who had blown a coverage on Cole Kmet. Nixon undercut the route and picked it off to seal the win. But these moments are becoming rarer, with a handful of disastrous plays in between.
Here's the problem: Green Bay lacks options. Even if Hafley wants to make a change, Hobbs is the only realistic replacement, and he has already struggled on the boundary this season.
READ MORE: Tom Brady says what Packers fans already knew about Malik Willis
To Hobb's credit, he is coming off easily his best game with the Packers, but it's also the only time he has seen extensive work in the slot. With Evan Williams out, the Packers had Javon Bullard spend more time at safety, allowing Hobbs to play in his more natural position.
Green Bay's $48 million signing made a rough start to the season, missing time to injury before being benched in favor of Carrington Valentine. However, Hobbs has turned a corner in recent weeks, it seems.
Run defense has always been one of his strong suits, and that was on full display against the Bears. PFF credited him with two stops.
Once Williams is healthy and Bullard returns to his slot corner role, where he has thrived this season, the Packers could try Hobbs on the boundary again. Green Bay signed him to play inside and outside, and the veteran sure looked like a home-run signing during training camp. Perhaps the injuries limited him earlier in the season.
The harsh reality is that Nixon is becoming unplayable. Quarterbacks are going after him, and he no longer has a Micah Parsons-led pass rush masking the deficiencies in the secondary.
Hafley has no choice but to scheme up more pressure, which means sending more rushers. That exposes the secondary, and it crushed the Packers in the biggest moments on Saturday night.
Packers fans saw it coming. Gutekunst didn't. Unfortunately, it's a problem they can't truly solve until the offseason, as help isn't on the way. But with Nixon allowing a perfect passer rating over the past two games, Green Bay has to try something different.