Green Bay Packers rookie cornerback Kevin King missed a little practice time with a shoulder injury. Before he went down, the quarterbacks weren’t really throwing the ball in his direction. That changed late this week when King returned to practice.
The coaches were looking for the quarterbacks — particularly Aaron Rodgers — to test King and test him they did.
Rodgers and Jordy Nelson picked on King during the two-minute drill on Thursday night. Nelson hauled in three passes, including a touchdown on a back-shoulder throw. King had decent coverage on all three plays, but clearly didn’t win the battle.
Still, he was no worse for wear after.
“Of course, you want to be tested,” said King. “You want to know where you’re at, especially against the best quarterback in the world. It was definitely a learning experience. I want to keep learning.”
At this point, it seems unlikely that King won’t be an opening-day starter for the Packers. His athleticism has been noted by everyone who has seen him and, at 6-3, King has rare size for a corner.
It certainly won’t hurt if he’s being pushed by Aaron Rodgers in practice everyday either.
Right now, the cornerback competition is starting to look like a battle for the slot — Damarious Randall vs. Quinten Rollins — and a battle to make the roster — LaDarius Gunter, Josh Hawkins, etc.
Nothing shocking here for a rookie cornerback, but the practice was Thursday night and the reality was that King got toasted, as did Rollins.
This is the NFL, when you don’t even really have an established #1 and #2 corner about 4 weeks from the season opener, where you going?