Last year, Arif Hasan had former Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes ranked 46th on the NFL Consensus Big Board. Therefore, it was a bit of a surprise when the Green Bay Packers drafted him ahead of Asante Samuel Jr. at 29th overall. So far, Stokes has exceeded expectations and been exactly what the Packers hoped for.
Stokes ended up being CB1 for the Packers for most of his first season after Jaire Alexander suffered a serious shoulder injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4. Stokes’ immediate assignment as a top player was a burden, but it paid dividends.
First, he played well as a leader of the unit. He’s more polished now to be a second option behind Alexander and ahead of Rasul Douglas on the depth chart. Most importantly, Stokes is only 23 years old and showed significant potential to be a high-end defensive back in the NFL.
1) Recovery speed
After allowing some separation for the wide receiver, Stokes’ ability to recover is the best attribute of his game. Obviously, the ideal scenario is not letting the receiver get separation in the first place, but that’s not always realistic against NFL talent. Stokes’ speed is so impressive that he can change directions and come back to fight for the ball in a fraction of a second.
Stokes was tops among rookie cornerbacks with most forced incompletions, tied with Patrick Surtain and Greg Newsome. He allowed a 51.7% completion rate on 87 targets.
2) Athletic ability
Stokes’ athletic profile is excellent. With a Relative Athletic Score of 9.38 out of 10, he had a 4.25 40-yard dash and elite vertical and broad jump numbers. The agility numbers counterintuitively lowered his total RAS, but it wasn’t exposed on tape. Analyzing the footage, Stokes was pretty agile, with a great capacity to be around receivers right after cuts.
3) Mirroring skills
It’s incredible how Stokes is always close to the wide receiver. And that’s not just an eye test. According to PFF, he allowed the lowest separation rate of the 2021 season. Stokes’ ability to play press coverage was essential to establish him immediately when Green Bay asked him to be the primary corner.
Among receivers, the ability to create separation is frequently seen as a essential characteristic — possibly the most important one. Well, avoiding separation could only be as important for corners.
4) Capacity to follow top receivers
During last year’s training camp, the Packers’ coaching staff used Davante Adams as a tool to develop Stokes. In practices, the Packers reportedly had Stokes cover Adams, integrating the young corner into the NFL against the best receiver in the league. Green Bay’s strategy paid off when Alexander went down, and Stokes was forced to be the top corner in Joe Barry’s defense. It wasn’t perfect, but Stokes generally showed enough skills to guard opposing top wide receivers.
Where he can get better
Stokes’ ball skills were not great in college. He hadn’t had any interceptions until his senior year at Georgia, when he got four. Last season, he reeled in only one interception — a nice play against Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stokes himself said that his ability to generate turnovers is what’s missing.
“[I’m] just starting to look for the ball more. I’ve got to get comfortable with that. I’m not making excuses or anything, but just growing up all I knew face guard, face guard. Just play [the receiver’s] hands. Like, ‘Hey, bro, throughout everything just play hands.’ So now [I’m] just retraining myself to just look for the ball. I know you’re in position, look for the ball. Do all this little stuff and get out of your head.”
Suppose Stokes keeps his development trajectory and capacity to guard top-end receivers, plus evolves his ball skills. In that case, the young player will have the chance to form one of the best cornerback duos in the entire NFL with Jaire Alexander. At a time in the league where coverage is so vital for team success, the Green Bay Packers are building a bright future.
