‘Premier Corner’ King Pitches Shutout

After intercepting five passes in 2018, Kevin King is off to a strong start in 2019. The timing is right, with King in his final season of his four-year rookie contract.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – How good is Green Bay Packers cornerback Kevin King?

While Jaire Alexander is considered one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, it was King who was not targeted by Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford last week. In 37 total dropbacks, one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks never threw the ball in the direction of the Packers’ underrated fourth-year corner.

King has been a revelation to coach Matt LaFleur. When LaFleur arrived on the scene last year, King had played in only 15 of a possible 32 regular-season games. Because of shoulder, hamstring and groin injuries, King had played in less than one-third of the defensive snaps in two seasons.

“I knew he was a really long corner that, when he got his hands on you, he’s tough to deal with,” LaFleur said on Monday. “His ability to play press-man, I think, is as good as anybody. He can shut down opponents when given those opportunities. I really think that he’s matured over these 20 games that we’ve been together in terms of his ability to fight through a lot of whatever it is that’s nagging him. He’s been a really productive player for us. Has made a lot of plays.”

Indeed. Last year, King played in 15 games. He dwarfed his career contribution in terms of snaps (805 vs. 684), interceptions (five vs. one) and passes defensed (18 vs. eight). Consistency was his big issue for most of last season, and a target for improvement this season.

In an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio just before the season, quarterback Aaron Rodgers called King a “premier corner in this league.” In separate interview, receiver Davante Adams said King, not Alexander, had been the bigger challenge in training camp.

“Kevin King has made a huge jump just mentally and physically,” Adams said. “His thing in the past, obviously, is he’s been dinged up a few times but, based off the extra steps he’s been adding into his post-practice rituals and just the way he takes care of his body, he’s starting to really realize what it means to be a pro and understanding all the small little nuances that can make you ready for Sunday. He’s been competing his butt off and he’s shown a lot of improvement in his man coverage. We’ve had some good battles.”

The timing is right, with King in his final season of his four-year rookie contract. While Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari are obvious targets for contract extensions, King has worked his way into the conversation, as well. He said the contract uncertainty has not been a distraction.

“The time is going to go by regardless. I’ve got to stay focused,” he said on Monday. “I have people on my team – talking about my personal team, my agents and my financial adviser – who I pay to worry about those types of things. I worry about what’s going on out on the field. When I take care of that, then the contract will take care of itself. Really just got to trust that the time is coming regardless. You’ve just got to go out there and play your technique and go out there and do what I know I’m capable of doing.”

Starting with Stafford, the Packers are in the middle of a stretch of games against excellent quarterbacks that will test the quality of the secondary. Up next is a Sunday night game at Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Then, it’s a Monday night home game against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. After the bye, it’s road games against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to contribute to the team, you know what I’m saying?” King said. “We’re 2-0 right now, best record in football, so we just continue to take it one week at a time, 1-0. I’m trying to go out there and be the best that I can be, which I think is the best, period. So I’m going out there, feeding off my teammates, trusting in my technique and really just going out there play after play. We talked about it earlier, just being a corner, going out there and trying to stay focused for 60 plays and just those little challenges throughout the game. Go out there and do it play after play after play and just repeat itself. So, I feel good about how things are going, but definitely a lot of room for improvement and I’m excited for these games coming up.”