Without Jaire Alexander vs. Steelers, It’s Carrington Valentine’s Day

The Packers’ Carrington Valentine is the rare seventh-round starting cornerback. After a strong debut as a full-time starter, he will face a huge challenge vs. the Steelers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For most of the first half of the season, the Green Bay Packers’ cornerback corps was so good and so experienced that there wasn’t a role for rookie Carrington Valentine.

On Sunday at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Valentine will be Green Bay’s No. 1 cornerback.

With Jaire Alexander out with a shoulder injury, Rasul Douglas traded to Buffalo and Eric Stokes back on injured reserve, Valentine could see plenty of Steelers star George Pickens.

Valentine was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft from Kentucky. Pickens was a second-round pick in last year’s draft from Georgia. While both played in the SEC, they have no history against each other, with Pickens injured for both matchups.

“He’s a physical receiver. He’s shifty,” Valentine said. “He has an edge to him, and I respect that about him because that’s similar to how I play. I just feel like it’s going to be a good challenge and good task. I’m ready to see how it goes.”

It couldn’t have gone any better last week. The trade of Douglas elevated Valentine into the starting lineup. He responded with a brilliant game against the Los Angeles Rams. Yes, it was against backup quarterback Brett Rypien, but the identity of the quarterback had nothing to do with the stickiness of his coverage.

According to Pro Football Focus and its projection of coverage responsibilities, Valentine was targeted eight times but allowed just one catch. Of the 46 corners who played more than 30 coverage snaps last week, Carrington’s catch rate allowed of 12.5 percent was the best in the NFL.

“The standard is the standard and 37 played like a top-tier corner today,” Alexander said after the game.

To Alexander, that was the expectation.

“You saw it this preseason,” he said. “The dude, he’s great to play alongside with because he’s hungry and he wants to make plays.”

Packers rookie Carrington Valentine breaks up a pass vs. the Rams :: Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images

Valentine made a lot of plays against the Rams with three pass breakups. That’s 37.5 percent of his targets being swatted away, seventh-best in Week 9.

“It’s addictive, and you want to do it again,” Valentine said. “The feeling feels good, so it’s like you don’t want to lose that feeling.”

Valentine got a few starts earlier in the season when Alexander was out with a back injury. Now, following the trade of Douglas, Valentine is a solidified starter.

Does it help with the preparation knowing that he’s going to be a starter this week and next week and the following week?

“I don’t even know if I’m going to be the guy week to week,” Valentine said. “That’s just the mindset that I take every day because anything can happen. Everybody’s gunning for your spot and that just keeps a competitive edge. That’s how I feel.”

He’ll need that edge on Sunday. While Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has struggled, Pickens and Diontae Johnson form a formidable tandem of receivers.

Meanwhile, the overall physicality of the Steelers will put Valentine to the test. In the passing game, almost 54 percent of the Steelers’ passing yards have come after the catch. That’s the fifth-highest in the league.

“I loved how he went out there and competed, challenged,” coach Matt LaFleur said this week. “You could see it really on the first third-down, he’s getting his hands on guys. I just thought he was playing very competitive football. He was throwing his frame in the fire, so to speak, when he needed to, and was a willing tackler. That’s important at that position, especially with some of these teams that try to get the ball on the perimeter, and you need that corner support.”

Every team makes draft mistakes. That’s the nature of the business. Getting a steal at a premium position can be a lifesaver.

Could that be Valentine? In this year’s draft, 36 cornerbacks were selected. That includes eight in the seventh round. Valentine’s three passes defensed against the Rams are more than the other seven have combined for their entire season.

As the 232nd selection in the draft, the odds of a player being released are stronger than a player emerging as a starter. Indeed, of the 26 picks that followed Valentine this year, exactly half haven’t seen the field this season. Over the last decade, the Packers swung and missed with cornerbacks Demetri Goodson and Ka'dar Hollman in the sixth round, for instance.

Valentine, on the other hand, looks like a legit starter rather than a starter-by-default.

“I don’t feel like anything’s surprised me because I worked hard for this,” he said. “Everyone’s path is different. My path is different from someone else’s path. I feel like the work that I put in and I’m going to continue to put in is a representation of what’s going on now.”

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