Eric Stokes is back practicing with the Green Bay Packers for the first time this season. Stokes has been out since Week 9 of last season and started this season on the PUP list. However, he has been easing his way back into practice, and there are hopes he’ll be able to play again soon.
Stokes showed out as a rookie, stepping up when Jaire Alexander got injured. Stokes solidified himself as Green Bay’s No. 2 boundary corner, and the Packers had one of the most athletic secondaries in the league. A trio of Alexander, Stokes, and Rasul Douglas make up a terrific group of defensive backs. The problem? That trio hasn’t played much together. Douglas, Alexander, or Stokes have been often hurt, so this group has seen very little action together. They have played in just eight games together over the last three seasons. Alexander missed almost all of 2021, and Stokes missed that last half of that season as well as a few games early in 2022. But Stokes’ return is imminent, and he can help Joe Barry and the Packers’ defense improve their coverages, assuming Stokes returns to his rookie form.
Stokes excels at covering receivers in man coverage. While he’s not the biggest corner out there at 6’0”, 194 lbs., Stokes excelled in being a physical corner who engages the receiver at and near the line of scrimmage. When the receiver beats him or is unable to engage physically, Stokes has the speed and agility to catch up and be in a good position to make a play. Stokes uses his physical skills to his advantage, allowing him to be an elite man corner when healthy. Whether the receivers are small and fast or big and tall, Stokes has the versatility to match up against them.
Stokes is similar to Packers cornerback Kevin King. Yes, I know, King is a pariah in Packer Nation. But before King got hurt, he shared a similar skillset with Stokes. Both were very good in press-man coverage and had the speed to recover when wideouts beat them. Stokes played poorly before he got hurt last season. I’m concerned that Stokes’ knee and ankle injuries may not allow him to be as effective as he had been in his rookie year and during his time at Georgia.
His knee and ankle injuries have hampered the 24-year-old’s athleticism. If he’s unable to recover back to his full strength, he could lose a lot of what made him such an effective player. Such as the case with King. Hopefully, that is not the case, and Stokes can return to form.
Even if Stokes returns to form, Joe Barry does not like to run a lot of man coverage or have his corners play press coverage often, things that Stokes excels at. Often, we will see Barry’s corners playing well off the line of scrimmage, allowing opposing teams’ receivers to get free releases.
With Stokes back soon and the Packers already using Douglas and Alexander in boundary roles, there is an opportunity brewing.
The Packers have three corners, two in Douglas and Stokes especially, who can be physically engaging and can play that press coverage style. They should do more of that. Green Bay already blitzes a ton. They are fourth in the league in blitz rate at 36.1%. Trusting your corners to play a more physical brand of football and be in more man coverage allows a team to be more creative in the blitz packages. With Stokes coming back, the Packers can trust their cornerbacks more. Bring more rushers and make the opposing offense uncomfortable.
In theory, if Barry trusts Stokes, Alexander, and Douglas to go one on one with the other teams’ top receivers, he can run a simpler scheme. All it takes is Barry trusting his corners. For some reason, Green Bay’s defense is too complicated to have a cornerback on Davante Adams, and Preston Smith is a better option for that.
Barry has shown that he struggles to adjust on the fly. Stokes allows defenses to simplify the offense even more. Stokes can play press-man on any team’s receiver and showed that he can mostly lock them down. That option also opens up so many more options for all the other players on the defense.
Stokes should play against the Denver Broncos next after being questionable for the Las Vegas Raiders game. Whatever the Packers and Joe Barry decide to do with Stokes upon his return, he gives them options and flexibility in the secondary that can affect the entire defense. Will Barry embrace it for the betterment of the squad?
We will have to wait and see.
