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Carrington Valentine

Packers Plan To Use Nate Hobbs, Other Top CBs Interchangeably

July 6th, 2025 at 11:04am CST by Rory Parks

Over the course of his four seasons in the NFL, new Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs has played more than twice as many snaps in the slot than on the boundaries. So, when the 2021 Raiders draftee left Las Vegas for Green Bay this offseason by way of a four-year, $48MM contract, our Sam Robinson noted that Hobbs had set a new high-water mark for slot defenders if the Packers indeed plan to deploy him in that capacity.

While Hobbs will surely see plenty of action in the slot in Wisconsin, the club has something of a hybrid role in mind for him, as detailed by Jason Wilde of Channel3000.com. Per Wilde, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley wants to compensate for the roster’s lack of a true shutdown corner by using Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine interchangeably. 

During OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Hobbs sometimes lined up across from Nixon on the boundary in base packages. In nickel looks, Valentine came onto the field and played outside the numbers while Nixon and Hobbs shared time in the slot and out wide.

“Nate can play outside and Nate can play inside. So we’re going to have him do both,” Hafley said. “When you’re getting ready for free agency and you’re evaluating tape, it’s one thing that you love about him. He’s had a lot of success inside, and I thought his tape outside was equally as good.”

The Packers had hoped that Jaire Alexander, who landed a then-CB-record four-year deal worth $84MM in May 2022, would serve as their No. 1 corner for the long haul. Unfortunately, Alexander’s injury problems contributed to his release last month, thus increasing the pressure on Green Bay’s current top trio.

Nixon, 28, has played nearly 2,000 defensive snaps over the past two seasons thanks in large part to Alexander’s lack of availability, and he has acquitted himself reasonably well. Last season, one year after spending most of his time in the slot, he led the Packers in snaps as a boundary corner and limited opposing passers to a 57.5% completion percentage and 78.9 QB rating as the nearest defender. He also earned First Team All-Pro acclaim for his work as a kick returner in the 2022-23 seasons.

Valentine, a 2023 seventh-rounder, has been pressed into starting duty in each of his two pro seasons, lining up almost exclusively outside the numbers. It sounds as if the club will give him a greater opportunity to show off his versatility this year, and 2024 second-rounder Javon Bullard remains an option to see extensive work as a nickel CB, just as he did as a rookie (although Bullard is not mentioned in Wilde’s piece).

Despite the impressive AAV on his new contract, Hobbs received only $16MM in guaranteed money. So, while Green Bay would take on a $12MM dead money hit if it were to part ways following the 2025 slate, such a maneuver would not be prohibitive and would actually yield a modicum of cap savings. To preserve his future earning power, then, Hobbs will need to live up to his team’s hopes for his multifaceted skill set.

For right now, that does not appear to be a concern.

“He is competitive, he’s tough, he is physical, he plays the game fast,” Hafley said of Hobbs. “You can tell he loves it. It just jumps off the tape. That versatility, where you can move him around and again, I’m a big fan of that.”

Assessing Packers’ CB Options Absent Jaire Alexander

June 1st, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

As longtime starting cornerback Jaire Alexander‘s future with the team remains in question, the Packers have had to put together a depth chart under the assumption that he won’t be on it. With the team having to determine who starts at the outside spots, the candidates to fill the slot come into question, as well. The clear candidates for that nickel role are second-year safety Javon Bullard and free agent addition Nate Hobbs.

Bullard, a safety drafted in the second round out of Georgia last year, was relegated to a role in the slot after Evan Williams, drafted two rounds after him, was granted the starting safety job next to Xavier McKinney. The second-round rookie led the team in snaps as the nickelback as a result, just barely outpacing veteran Keisean Nixon. Nixon, though, is not a candidate for the inside assignment, after he led the team in snaps on the outside. He is likely expected to man one of the two starting spots on the outside once again in 2025.

Hobbs spent three years of his rookie contract, including the most recent two seasons, as the Raiders primary option in the slot. His sophomore campaign, though, saw him primarily play as an outside corner, starting all 11 games that he played in that year. According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, this experience on the outside could mean that Hobbs will be asked to start across from Nixon, in the presumed absence of Alexander.

Carrington Valentine is another option to start on the outside. He’s opened both of his two seasons in the NFL coming off the bench but has found himself in eventual starting positions in both years, as well, starting 19 games over that span. Schneidman predicts that Valentine will be coming off the bench to start the season for the third time in a row, serving as the third option at outside cornerback behind Nixon and Hobbs.

While the potential absence of Alexander certainly poses a challenge, thinning the depth of the team’s secondary, the Packers certainly have options they can employ. Whether it’s as Schneidman predicts with Nixon and Hobbs manning the outside and Bullard in the slot or Nixon and Valentine starting on the outside with Hobbs continuing his nickel role, Green Bay should have the ability to field a starting unit sans Alexander.

CB Eric Stokes Has Path Back To Packers’ Starting Lineup

June 25th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

An inability to count on Eric Stokes led the Packers to decline the cornerback’s fifth-year option last month. The team has seen injuries sidetrack the 2021 draftee’s career, bringing about a contract year.

Stokes was not viewed as a starter going into training camp last year, despite having worked in that capacity — when healthy — for most of his first two seasons. The Packers had Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon working as their Jaire Alexander sidekicks at that point. Douglas is now in Buffalo, and Green Bay did not make a significant offseason addition to address its other boundary CB spot. This reopens the door for Stokes, provided he can stay healthy.

Injuries have defined Stokes’ NFL career, but he may well be the clubhouse leader to start opposite Alexander in Week 1. Stokes sits as the Packers’ current No. 2 cornerback starter, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, with ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky also noting the fourth-year defender is firmly in the mix to reclaim a starting job.

Stokes stayed healthy throughout the offseason program, Demovsky adds, though his past will undoubtedly make CB insurance important in Green Bay. The Georgia alum suffered a Lisfranc injury and sustained meniscus damage in November 2022, ending his second season and requiring multiple surgeries. Stokes attributed his persistent hamstring trouble — which led to two IR placements last season — to overcompensation following the foot injury.

Certainly eyeing a long-term Stokes run as a first-stringer when they drafted him 29th overall in 2021, the Packers used the 6-foot defender as a 23-game starter from 2021-22. Showcasing elite speed (via a 4.25-second 40-yard dash time) at the Combine, Stokes fared well in Alexander’s place. After Alexander’s season-altering shoulder injury moved Stokes into the lineup on a full-time basis, the younger CB allowed only a 49.5% completion rate and a 71.3 passer rating as the closest defender in 2021. Pro Football Focus slotted Stokes 45th among corners that year. PFF did not see Stokes flash the same form in 2022, ranking him 105th among CB regulars. Stokes’ three-game 2023 season can effectively be written off, but it did lead to relevant reps for the other player vying to land the CB2 role.

A 2023 seventh-round pick, Carrington Valentine started 12 games last season and was in Green Bay’s lineup during both playoff contests. PFF ranked Valentine 90th among cornerback regulars last year, however. Alexander also missed time due to injury last season, opening the door for a Valentine-Corey Ballentine combo. Ballentine, a 2019 Giants UDFA, remains on the Packers’ roster, though Schneidman adds a Stokes-Valentine competition will likely decide the starting job opposite Alexander. The loser will supply depth, with the Pack also using a seventh-round pick in a corner (Penn State’s Kalen King) this year.

The Packers shut down Alexander trade rumors after his inconsistent season, keeping his CB-record contract (four years, $84MM) on the payroll. Stokes looms as a bit of a wild card for the team, which has some long-term questions at the position. But he can enhance his value considerably with a solid 2024 season. The Packers hold exclusive negotiating rights with the now-extension-eligible cover man until March 2025.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/23

May 5th, 2023 at 6:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are a few more mid- to late-round draft picks who signed their four-year rookie contracts today:

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • CB Darius Rush (fifth round, South Carolina)
  • S Daniel Scott (fifth round, California)
  • DE Titus Leo (sixth round, Wagner)
  • CB Jaylon Jones (seventh round, Texas A&M)
  • T Jake Witt (seventh round, Northern Michigan)

New York Giants

New York Jets