When will the Green Bay Packers see what everyone else has been watching all season?
Their overconfidence in the cornerback room dates back to the offseason, only for general manager Brian Gutekunst to double down with his comments after the trade deadline. They believed they didn’t need help at cornerback, putting their trust in Jaire Alexander to stay healthy and for Eric Stokes to produce performances we haven’t seen since his rookie season.
Guess what? Alexander has missed the best part of seven games while Stokes continues to struggle. Yet the Packers still haven’t learned.
Help isn’t on the way in terms of personnel. The trade deadline has long passed and there are no All-Pro cornerbacks magically sitting in free agency. There’s nothing they can do about Alexander’s injury but give him time to fully recover and hope he stays healthy during a playoff run.
However, the Packers can make a change regarding Stokes’ performances, but their stubbornness hurt them on Thursday Night Football against the Detroit Lions.
Jeff Hafley runs the defense, but it’s ultimately Matt LaFleur’s fault for not making a change.
The Packers are fully committed to playing Keisean Nixon as a starter, and the snap counts reflect that. They haven’t made the same decision on Carrington Valentine despite the second-year pro consistently outplaying Stokes.
Nixon played 75 snaps, again solidifying his full-time role, but Stokes and Valentine had an equal split of 42 each.
But why?
Lions receiver Tim Patrick beat Stokes for a touchdown in the red zone, and it wasn’t even close. He made it look easy. Meanwhile, Valentine gave up only two receptions for 19 yards with one pass breakup (per PFF).
If we zoom out and look at the bigger picture, it becomes even worse for Stokes. According to PFF, he has allowed 28 completions for 301 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions or pass breakups this season. At what point do the Packers decide to give Valentine all of the snaps while Alexander is out?
Valentine is in his second NFL season and has allowed just one touchdown with seven pass breakups. Quarterbacks are completing just 58.4 percent of passes against him. That’s in 28 games.
If we compare that to Stokes’ past 28 games, he has allowed a completion percentage of 69.2, with seven touchdowns and no pass breakups.
It has to change. Alexander and Nixon are the Packers’ preferred starters on the outside when healthy, but when one of them can’t go, it needs to be Valentine over Stokes. Javon Bullard’s injury could force Nixon to move back into the slot, opening a starting job on the outside.
The Packers must turn to Valentine or even give Corey Ballentine an opportunity. Stokes’ struggles in coverage continue to hurt the defense, and Green Bay can’t keep giving him significant snaps.
