The Packers’ Secondary Solution: Key Additions Brings Hope, But One Looming Question Threatens to Disrupt
A depleted secondary was one of the reasons why it was hard for the Green Bay Packers to stop the Detroit Lions offense on Thursday Night Football. Jaire Alexander, Evan Williams, and Corey Ballentine did not play, and Javon Bullard got injured during the game.
At that point, the Packers had to use backups Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes as boundary corners, Keisean Nixon (who’s played mostly outside) in the slot, with Xavier McKinney and special teamer Zayne Anderson deep.
This week, things are starting to get back to normal. Outside of Bullard, whose ankle injury makes him be considered week-to-week, the rest of the secondary has a real shot at playing. Jaire Alexander (knee), Corey Ballentine (knee), and Evan Williams (concussion) practiced on Wednesday and Thursday, increasing the likelihood of their availability for the Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday night.
But without Bullard, who had been playing as a slot defender in ideal circumstances, the defense will have to adapt.
If Nixon was almost exclusively a slot cornerback in the past, this year he has played 456 defensive snaps as a boundary corner, and 229 in the slot. He is not exactly a star defender, but his performance has been important to mitigate Jaire Alexander’s frequent injury absences.
The ideal formation for the secondary has had Alexander and Nixon as boundary corners, Bullard in the slot, with McKinney and Williams as deep safeties. But keeping Nixon as a boundary corner is more challenging if Bullard is not available, because the Packers don’t have many other options at the position.
Slot snaps for the Packers this season:
- Javon Bullard 283
- Keisean Nixon 229
- Eric Wilson 75
- Isaiah McDuffie 68
- Xavier McKinney 63
- Quay Walker 56
- Evan Williams 53
- Edgerrin Cooper 36
- Jaire Alexander 14
- Eric Stokes 9
- Zayne Anderson 8
- Corey Ballentine 6
- Carrington Valentine 6
McKinney and Williams, who are the primary deep safeties, are the ones with the most snaps in the slot as well. The other cornerbacks, Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Corey Ballentine, and Carrington Valentine, have had just a few snaps inside. Alexander has a track record of playing at a high level in the slot, but the Packers prefer to use him outside to machup him up against elite wide receivers.
