You could easily argue that cornerback was a need for the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 offseason. The team barely addressed it, only adding seventh-round pick Kalen King and signing Kamal Hadden to the practice squad. It was certainly a need this offseason, after the Packers lost Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Robert Rochell, and Corey Ballentine.
There was more investment than a year ago, but not by a lot. The Packers signed Nate Hobbs to a significant four-year, $48 million deal in free agency. Other than that, the only additions were vet minimum signing Gregory Junior and another seventh-round pick, Micah Robinson.
This is another part of our Packers positional breakdown series.
Packers have little margin for error at cornerback
Green Bay possibly adjusted its approach to the cornerback position. After spending first-round picks there with Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, general manager Brian Gutekunst hasn’t taken one before the seventh-round since 2021. The investment in external additions isn’t huge either. Publicly, Gutekunst said it was more circumstantial than planned.
“I don’t really go in there with those kinds of priorities,” the GM said after the draft. “We build our board and we try to stay true to our evaluations of it. And then we let the board come to us. Every draft class is a little bit different. It wasn’t something we were gonna chase. It’s important to us, adding Micah (Robinson) at the end was really, really good. He’s a player we brought in here that we are pretty excited about. The board is what it is and it fell the way it fell. We feel good about our group right now, I feel the guys we have in that room got some pelts on the wall, so to speak, as far as what they’ve been able to do in the National Football League. We’ll kinda see how it goes.”
However, the investment over the past few years speaks for itself.
What the Packers do have
Gutekunst feels comfortable with the Packers’ three projected starters—and that’s the idea of the weak-link system approach. Surprisingly, Carrington Valentine is the one who’s had better results lately, even though the Packers probably treat Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs as the better options.
Passer rating when targeted in 2024:
- Carrington Valentine 79.6
- Gregory Junior 95.4
- Nate Hobbs 96.3
- Keisean Nixon 99.7
Gregory Junior is the only non-starter with significant NFL experience—that’s where things start to get risky. The fourth cornerback on the depth chart would likely be safety Javon Bullard in the slot.
The riskiest part is that Hobbs has also handled several injuries over the past few seasons. Since 2022, he’s missed 16 regular season games.
Backup options
For the immediate backup job at cornerback, outside of Bullard, the Packers have three favorites. Even though there are no experienced options, the Packers will allow young guys to compete throughout training camp.
“I like our depth there. I do think between Kalen King, Kamal Hadden, and Micah Robinson, there’s going to be some really good competition for the back end into that roster,” Gutekunst explained to Cheesehead TV. “I’m excited to give those guys that opportunity to see.”
Beyond them, the roster also has Isaiah Dunn, who’s been in the NFL since 2021 and signed with the Packers back in January, and undrafted rookies Johnathan Baldwin (a strong practice squad candidate due to his contract guarantees) and Tyron Herring.
The new additions to the group are former wide receiver Bo Melton, who was converted on a full-time basis to the defensive side after a promising experience in the rookie minicamp, and recently-signed rookie Garnett Hollis.
