Grading Packers on Salary Cap Curve: Cornerbacks

In the ninth of a series of season-ending report cards, we look at the Green Bay Packers’ cornerbacks through the lenses of performance and the salary cap.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With the return of Jaire Alexander, the re-signing of Rasul Douglas and the presumptive Year 2 jump from Eric Stokes, the Green Bay Packers had a trio of cornerbacks good enough to create a no-fly zone against any quarterback in the NFL.

That’s how it looked on paper, anyway.

Alexander wasn’t always at his dominant best. Douglas regressed toward his career standard. Stokes took a Year 2 to swan dive. This isn’t a cornerbacks-only stat but the Packers went from fifth in yards allowed per passing attempt in 2021 to 28th in 2022.

Here is Part 9 of our annual series of player grades as viewed through the lens of the salary cap. All cap figures are from OverTheCap.com. Analytical stats are from Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.

Jaire Alexander ($7.08 million; 19th at position)

The Packers made Jaire Alexander the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history in May. A second-team All-Pro in 2020, Alexander rebounded from last year’s shoulder injury to earn second-team accolades again.

After intercepting five passes in 48 games during his first four seasons, Alexander intercepted five passes in 16 games in 2022. He finished one off the NFL lead in interceptions and his 14 passes defensed were one out of the NFL’s top 10.

The big plays were there but he wasn’t his down-to-down, game-to-game superior self. After allowing sub-50 percent completion rates each of the previous three seasons, Alexander yielded a 56.5 mark in 2022, according to SIS. That’s not bad; it’s just not great. Where he was great was Week 17 against Minnesota with a performance that was the dictionary definition of dominant. That has to be the standard going forward – not just for Alexander but for the weekly game plan.

According to PFF, 100 cornerbacks played at least 268 coverage snaps. By its judgment, Alexander ranked 42nd in completion percentage (60.6), sixth in passer rating (66.2) and 44th in snaps per reception (10.8). He dropped three interceptions and allowed three touchdowns.

He’s tougher than you think; he finished 26th in missed-tackle percentage (six misses; 9.5 percent). For those who wondered how he’d play following last year’s shoulder injury, he answered by throwing himself into the fray most of the time on running plays.

Grade: B-plus

Rasul Douglas ($3.47 million; 46th at position)

The Packers traded Davante Adams to free up the cap space and used some of it to re-sign Rasul Douglas. A savior in 2021 after the Packers stole him from Arizona’s practice squad, he was good – four interceptions and 13 passes defensed – but not great in 2022.

Going with SIS’s numbers, Douglas went from 44.6 percent completions, 5.2 yards per target and two touchdowns allowed in 2021 to 60.3 percent, 9.0 yards per target and five touchdowns allowed in 2022. Of the 100 cornerbacks to play at least 268 coverage snaps, PFF had him ranked 60th in completion percentage (67.3), 32nd in passer rating (84.0) and 56th in snaps per reception (10.2).

Douglas has some uncommon instincts. That interception at Miami was a remarkable play. He’s a team player who never grumbled about playing the slot – a position he’d never played – to start the season. He was the only starter who also was a core player on special teams, a phase in which he chipped in nine tackles.

He’s a physical player, too, ranking 30th in missed-tackle percentage (eight misses; 9.9 percent). Sometimes, he’s a bit too physical – he was flagged seven times – and was guilty of one of the stupidest penalties of all-time when he smacked a Lions player in the face to hand the Lions a chip-shot field goal in Week 18.

Grade: C-plus

Eric Stokes ($2.71 million; 55th at position)

The Year 1 to Year 2 jump is the lifeblood of any team. Coaches and evaluators talk about it so much that it’s basically an assumption that a player is going to take those rookie-year learning experiences and turn those weaknesses into strengths.

Then there’s the case of Eric Stokes, the first-round pick in 2021 who was worthy of all-rookie honors. Of 91 corners with 50 percent playing time in 2021, Stokes finished fourth in completion percentage (51.0) and 23rd in passer rating (78.8), according to Pro Football Focus.

In 2022, Stokes allowed 21-of-25 completions (84.0 percent) with a 125.8 passer rating. Of all corners with at least 250 defensive snaps, that catch rate was the worst in the league. After leading the team with 14 passes defensed as a rookie, he didn’t have any in his nine games. Stokes’ yards per target more than doubled from 5.3 to 10.8. His missed-tackle rate nearly doubled, from 9.7 percent to 16.1.

His ever-present smile disappeared. A media favorite, he basically disappeared from the locker room. Then came the injury to insult, a season-ending ankle injury in Week 9 at Detroit.

There are a lot of keys for Green Bay to rebound in 2023. The play of Stokes is one of the big ones. He is too good to give up so many completions.

Grade: F

Keisean Nixon ($965,000; 97th at position)

When the Packers signed Keisean Nixon in free agency on March 25, it seemed like one of those who-cares-about transactions if not for his playing youth football in Snoop Dogg’s league.

Could Nixon help on defense? Well, in three seasons with the Raiders, he allowed 19 completions out of 24 targets with just one pass defensed. How about on special teams? He had 18 tackles in three seasons on Rich Bisaccia’s coverage units; his 14.0-yard average on six career kickoff returns made Amari Rodgers seem like Desmond Howard by comparison.

Nobody could have possibly seen what was coming. At first, Nixon’s impact came on defense. He played a key role in an upset win at Tampa Bay in Week 3 when Jaire Alexander dropped out after the opening series, then started three games later in the season. He posted his first career interception at Chicago. For the season, he allowed a 78.6 percent completion rate, though opponents averaged only 9.7 yards per catch.

Where Nixon changed the season, obviously, was as a returner. En route to earning first-team All-Pro honors, Nixon led the NFL with a 28.8-yard average on kickoff returns. His five returns of 50-plus yards led the NFL, including a 93-yarder vs. Miami in Week 16 and a 105-yard touchdown vs. Minnesota in Week 17. His speed seemed to shock members of the coverage unit, so he either outran their angles or ran through their diving tackle attempts. On punt returns, his unorthodox style of picking up bouncing balls led to him posting a 12.7-yard average.

Not bad a for a minimum-salary player, which is why Nixon received our one and only A grade and will be a focal point of free agency.

Grade: A

Shemar Jean-Charles ($885,038; 124th at position)

A sixth-round pick in 2021, Jean-Charles went from playing 14 games as a rookie to only six in 2022. In fact, he was inactive for every game after Week 7 at Washington. At first, he was inactive due to an ankle injury. Down the stretch, though, he was a healthy scratch. He was in on three tackles while playing 72 snaps on special teams. Coaches love talking about Year 2 jumps. To state the obvious, it’s never a good sign to play fewer snaps during that second season.

Grade: F

Corey Ballentine ($482,500; 177th at position)

Corey Ballentine, a sixth-round pick by the Giants in 2019, was signed to the practice squad in late September and promoted to the active roster when Eric Stokes was placed on injured reserve in November. A proven kickoff returner, he didn’t get an opportunity in that phase – that was Keisean Nixon’s gig – but he did wind up playing about 25 percent of the special-teams snaps (106 in eight games). He was in on four tackles and forced a fumble, and also helped spring Nixon on a couple returns.

Grade: C

Grading the Packers

There were high hopes for the tandem of De'Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker. Maybe they didn't quite reach that level but the long-term outlook is good.https://t.co/wiCcCCt69s

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) January 25, 2023

Aaron Rodgers and the quarterbacks

Aaron Jones and the running backs

Christian Watson and the receivers

Robert Tonyan and the tight ends

David Bakhtiari, Zach Tom and the offensive line

Kenny Clark and the defensive line

Preston Smith and outside linebackers

De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker and inside linebackers

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