Entering the 2021 season, there were many unknowns in the Green Bay Packers secondary outside of Jaire Alexander. They had just spent a first-round pick on Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes and re-signed Kevin King in the offseason, much to many fans’ dismay.
Now Alexander is back on a massive contract extension, Stokes has everything in place to become one of the better young corners in the league, and Rasul Douglas was a gem of a pickup during the season last year. Still, Alexander’s mindset is exactly what Stokes and Douglas need.
Alexander has quickly become one of the premier corners in the NFL. His long absence last season due to injury had many believing the defense was doomed. While his vacant spot was impossible to fill for any corners the Packers had, it allowed Stokes to step into the spotlight.
After Alexander got injured, Green Bay picked Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. But as savvy as it was to get him, the front office could not have expected Douglas to play as well as he did.
Saying that Alexander’s injury turned out to be a good thing for the Packers would be foolish. Still, it allowed Stokes to star and Douglas to shine and earn an extension this offseason.
Even top-tier players at their position could feel threatened or bugged that others are gaining notoriety during their absence. But that’s not the case with Alexander. He’s embracing his fellow Packers cornerbacks and hoping they all turn out to be the best.
“I know I’m the best in the league, but what would I be like telling (Eric Stokes) not to be the best? Or Rasul not to be the best? That would be selfish. I just tell them, ‘Just be the best.’ … The next you know, all three of us are going to be the best.”
That sort of leadership and mindset is exactly what the Packers need, given where Stokes and Douglas are at this point in their careers. Douglas is a bit of a journeyman who’s bounced around on a few teams but never stuck. Green Bay couldn’t have ever imagined he would blossom into a stud corner when they plucked him from Arizona’s practice squad last year.
If we’re calling a spade a spade, signing Douglas was just a depth move at the time and nothing more. With Alexander out and King underperforming, the Packers threw Douglas into the gauntlet soon after signing him. However, he played like he had been with the Packers for years.
The fascinating portion of the Rasul Douglas experience comes this year now that he has expectations.
Green Bay has seen greatness from Douglas and opened up the checkbook earlier this offseason. The bar is now raised because Douglas has set a standard for his play. How he responds is to be determined but Douglas seeing Alexander say that the trio can all become the best is more than reassuring.
For Stokes, he also will be playing with raised expectations this year.
Stokes was phenomenal in his rookie campaign. He was arguably Green Bay’s top cornerback once Alexander went down.
With Alexander back in the mix, Stokes has some wiggle room, knowing that Jaire will match up with the opponents’ top wideouts more often than not. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean things will be easier for Stokes in Year 2.
Unlike Douglas, Stokes is the young, promising prospect who many may view as having the ceiling that Alexander has. Whether that’s fair or not, some people think Stokes is capable of that following his incredible rookie season. Green Bay already appeared to hit the lottery by drafting Stokes late in the first round last year. Now it all depends on what degree they did.
Entering this season, Green Bay may have the best trio at cornerback. However, a lot of that comes from last year’s performances, and now it’s up to Stokes and Douglas to prove that those weren’t outlier years.
Alexander’s reassurance to those two can only benefit the players and the Packers. If Stokes and Douglas didn’t know it before, they now know that the superstar cornerback on the roster is also one of their biggest supporters. That mindset is crucial for growth and chemistry on a defense that should have plenty of it entering this year.
Of all the position groups on the roster, cornerback may be Green Bay’s most loaded, and it starts with Jaire Alexander and his mindset.
