The Green Bay Packers need for a corner kick coming into this offseason is not for lack of attempts.
Over a four-year stretch between 2015 and 2018, the Packers used five first- or second-round picks in the corner position, including four picks in the top 50. Of the five, only one – All-Pro Jaire Alexander – is a hit. The others? Well, they represent the reason why the corner is still a perpetual necessity in Green Bay.
It would come as no surprise that general manager Brian Gutekunst used another selection among the top 50 in a corner in April.
Four big faults have a position that looks terribly going into low season.
Kevin King, the team’s top scorer in 2017, heads to free agency after a disappointing fourth season that ended in disastrous performance in the NFC title. He’s probably gone. Josh Jackson, the 45th general team of 2018, has not played a significant role since his debut season and is on his way to achieving his status, where he would join the 2015 first round selection Damarious Randall and the second round 2015 Quentin Rollins.
Randall picked up 10 passes with the Packers, but was eventually replaced by a quarterback. He’s been on three different teams the last three years. Rollins showed early promise in Green Bay, but abruptly returned and has been out of football for more than a year.
King was highly productive in 2019, intercepting five passes, but battled injuries all his time at Green Bay and has never surpassed the substitution level as a starter.
The Packers are likely to not only need to find a new starter to play on the perimeter opposite Alexander in 2021, but the start of the slot also seems uncertain. Chandon Sullivan looked fantastic as the No. 4 cornerback in 2019, but overall he was inconsistent as he was the top corner defender in 2020. The position is too important for the Packers not to add any competition, especially considering that Sullivan is a restricted free agent.
The Packers tried to use Jackson in the slot. He had opportunities to play on the perimeter. Time and time again, the team has shown its unwillingness to play it. He has been on the field for just over 400 defensive photographs in the last two seasons, with seven healthy streaks and no significant contributions.
Cornerback is a premium position and the Packers have treated him like that during the draft for a long time. The problem is not the volume of swings. It is the volume of faults. This team must improve the identification of corner talent through the draft process or develop talent once in Green Bay. Somewhere, there is a breakdown in the process.
Randall was the 30th pick in 2015. Rollins was 62nd in 2015. King was 33rd in 2017. Jackson was 45th in 2018. That means a lot of capital to exhaust, especially in one position. The Packers really should have one of the deepest corner groups in football. Instead, they will have to use more draft capital (or precious dollars from the wage cap) in another attempt to fix the position in the coming months.