Packers 2024 Report Card: Grading Jaire Alexander and Cornerbacks

Even though the cornerback with the highest salary-cap charge in the NFL barely played, the Green Bay Packers received enough quality cornerback to play to reach the playoffs.

This season was one to celebrate for Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – No cornerback had a higher salary-cap charge in the NFL this season than Jaire Alexander.

Also, no cornerback delivered less bang for the buck than Alexander.

With that reality as a backdrop, here is Part 9 of our annual series of player report cards. As we’ve done for about 15 seasons, the grades are viewed through the lens of the salary cap. Why? Because the financial component is so critical to building a team. A championship team needs its most-expensive players to be among its best players, and it needs young, inexpensive players to rise to prominent roles.

All cap figures are from OverTheCap.com. Analytical stats are from Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.

Jaire Alexander

2024 salary cap: $23,494,589. Position rank: 1st.

In May 2022, Jaire Alexander received a four-year, $84 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. That season, Alexander rewarded the Packers with a career-high five interceptions and second-team All-Pro honors for the second time in his career.

It’s all gone downhill. Alexander played in seven games in 2023, a season lowlighted by his one-game suspension for appointing himself a captain. He played in seven games again in 2024, with a torn PCL sustained at Jacksonville ultimately ending his season. He wound up playing less than one-third of the snaps.

Could Alexander have played through the injury before opting for surgery? Did the Packers unnecessarily rush an injured player back into the lineup at Chicago two weeks later?

Neither side has blamed the other, but the relationship has soured. While GM Brian Gutekunst said he’d love to retain Josh Myers and Brandon McManus, he said, “We’ll work through that” when asked about Alexander’s future.

When he played, he was typically good. In six-plus games, he intercepted one pass – a pick-six at Tennessee – and had seven passes defensed. He allowed a catch rate of 47.6 percent – the fourth time in his career that he was at less than 50.0 percent – with two touchdowns and 8.4 yards per target.

The team’s best cornerback missed the last three games against Justin Jefferson and the Vikings and hasn’t faced Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Lions since 2022.

It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but Alexander missed 10 tackles. His 38.5 percent missed-tackle rate was the worst for any cornerback in the NFL.

Alexander is due a base salary of $16.15 million 2025, when his cap charge is set to increase to almost $25 million – second-highest at the position. There is money to be saved.

Grade: F

Keisean Nixon

2024 salary cap: $3,991,666. Position rank: 36th.

Jaire Alexander’s injury changed Keisean Nixon’s career. With Alexander’s prolonged absence, the Packers moved Nixon out of the slot and to the perimeter. Really, as he’s done at every step of his career, his play defied expectations.

Nixon played in all 17 games for a third consecutive season and started a career-high 15 times. He had one interception, seven passes defensed and three forced fumbles. His three sacks were as many as Lukas Van Ness and his eight tackles for losses were more than Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare.

Nixon gave up a 60.9 percent catch rate and 5.9 yards per target, and allowed less than 10 receiving yards in eight games and never more than 55. He did give up five touchdowns, tied with linebacker Isaiah McDuffie for worst on the team. He ranked 17th at the position with eight penalties, which is more than the rest of Green Bay’s corners combined. He missed 10 tackles – down from 20 last year – with a missed-tackle rate of 10.2 percent.  

Grade: B-minus.

Eric Stokes

2024 salary cap: $3,794,482. Position rank: 39th.

A first-round pick in 2021, Stokes might have been All-Rookie had he not dropped four interceptions or lost his matchup against Justin Jefferson in a late-season game at Minnesota.

And then came the injuries. Stokes played in nine games in 2022, a season that went from bad to worse following a season-ending foot injury that required surgery, and then played defense in only two games in 2023 due to injuries.

Finally, Stokes stayed healthy in 2024. In 17 games with seven starts, he allowed a 53.3 percent catch rate and 6.2 yards per target. He allowed 25-plus receiving yards in only two games. Those are really good. His three touchdowns allowed isn’t too bad, either.

However, he didn’t break up a single pass, meaning three consecutive seasons without a PBU. By the end of the season, he played five defensive snaps in Week 18 against Chicago and one in the playoff loss to Philadelphia.

Stokes, who missed nine tackles (18.0 percent), will be a free agent this offseason. No doubt he’ll land somewhere but will he ever get another chance to be a starter?

Grade: C-minus.

Corey Ballentine

2024 salary cap: $2,061,175. Position rank: 64th.

Corey Ballentine, who went from not playing any snaps on defense for a couple years to starting six games in 2023, returned to Green Bay on a one-year deal and played in 15 games with one start.

He gave up 2-of-6 passing for 38 yards in 59 coverage snaps. Most of his contributions were on special teams, where he had four tackles and a forced fumble while ranking sixth with 195 snaps.

Ballentine’s cap charge isn’t very much; that it’s the equivalent of a low-level starter is surprising.

Grade: C-minus.

Carrington Valentine

2024 salary cap: $940,165. Position rank: 144th.

Carrington Valentine barely played to start the season. In the first six games, he had games of zero, zero, nine and 12 defensive snaps. However, he became an every-down player down the stretch once the coaches finally decided that Valentine was the better option than Eric Stokes.

Valentine had two interceptions, five passes defensed and two forced fumbles. He had an interception or forced fumble in each of the final four games of the regular season. Turnovers win games, and the coaches love his confident, feisty play.

According to PFF, 110 corners played at least 225 coverage snaps. He was one of eight to not give up a touchdown. During the final five regular-season games against Detroit, Seattle, New Orleans, Minnesota and Chicago, SIS charged him with a grand total of 55 receiving yards allowed. PFF, which is a little less gracious in its cornerback grading, charged Valentine with 131 yards in those five games and 4-of-4 for 38 yards with a long reception of just 10 yards in the playoff game.

His catch rate went from 51.1 percent as a rookie to 63.2 percent in 2024. He allowed 8.1 yards per target. He missed 10 tackles (25.0 percent) and was penalized twice.

No matter what happens this offseason, Valentine should be in the mix to start.

Grade: B.

Robert Rochell

2024 salary cap: $468,889. Position rank: 199th.

Rochell started the season on the practice squad but wound up playing in 11 games. He played one snap on defense and 121 on special teams and contributed two tackles and a fumble recovery.

Grade: C.

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