Kevin King Should Return, Give Packers Great Cornerback Group
The Green Bay Packers cornerback group might finally be back at full force. Oft-injured Kevin King will look to return this week after missing two games with a groin injury.
King was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Barring a setback, that suggests he’ll play against Detroit. If he’s at full strength, the Packers can use him. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has torched the Packers lately.
In his past five meetings with the Packers, Matthew Stafford is averaging 327 passing yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s passed for at least 323 yards in four games in a row against Green Bay.
— Jamey Eisenberg (@JameyEisenberg) October 3, 2018
The question is does King get his job on the outside back? Jaire Alexander has played well in that role in King’s absence.
Some have suggested King is the Packers best cornerback. He isn’t. Alexander is.
We like King just fine, minus the injuries — two shoulder injuries and the groin in a little over one season. Not all people share that opinion, however.
Pro Football Focus has the Packers cornerbacks graded in this order through four weeks.
- Jaire Alexander: 76.5
- Tramon Williams: 67.5
- Tony Brown: 63.2
- Josh Jackson: 59.2
- Kevin King: 56.3
- Davon House: 28.8
We know the Packers are still high on King, so we’re sure he will get his spot on the outside back. That likely puts Alexander in the slot. It also probably means he’ll see a good deal of Golden Tate.
Tate has 28 catches for 389 yards and three touchdowns this season.
In addition to King’s potential return, the Packers might also trot out recent signee Bashaud Breeland for the first time this week. Breeland was signed after the team put Davon House on injured reserve.
So the Packers could have a cornerback lineup that looks something like this.
- Tramon Williams
- Kevin King
- Jaire Alexander
- Josh Jackson
- Bashaud Breeland
- Tony Brown
Brown is a former undrafted free agent that was brought up off the practice squad when Muhammad Wilkerson went to injured reserve. The odd man of the group, for sure.
That’s a pretty strong group, nonetheless. One could argue the best group of cornerbacks in the league.
Hell of a job there, you wily bastard Brian Gutekunst.
What are the odds King lasts until half-time without another injury?
How about moving Jackson to safety, Mathews to line backer and Gilbert to starter. This would really improve defense.
Now we have the best cornerback group in the league?
I love you guys….Never stop.
Once i stopped laughing, i noticed the name Tony Brown. Who T F is Tony Brown, and how did he get a PFF grade? Better yet, why would you include him on this list?
Stop it. The Jaguars have the best DB group in the NFL and it’s not even close.
I mean, it is probably above average. But best? There are two rookies in this group….
I don’t think any sane person could argue that they have the best CB group.
One ancient (by position standards).
One who will play 8 games at most, who’s shown that he’s average, but could develop if he doesn’t break down.
Two rookies playing average to good so far, but so did two other rookie d-backs the Packers had a few years ago…
One guy who failed another teams physical and now accepted a vet minimum deal, has fishy written all over it…
One rookie UDFA.
I don’t know in what universe you came from, but in this one, that can hardly be touted as the best.
Lol, this is definitely a Homer article.
I think this group, more or less, has a lot of potential and could (emphasis: could) become a very strong unit…. but best in the league? Lol, no, not right now.
My over/under before the season for games King played before he got injured was 8. I was way off. He probably will be injured twice before then.
The kid needs to hit the weight room, like a lot of rookies.
The 3 gentleman above, providing us with a voice of reason, especially Moolla.
I haven’t looked, but did they write a similar article about Randall and Rollins in their rookie season at this site? Point being…..we’re 4 weeks into this thing and haven’t reached the meat of our schedule yet.
We love to blow the horn when short term stat’s look good, without the proof of the test of time. Remember when Montgomery was averaging 5.9 ypc? Remember when the queens were 5-0, and some people tripped over their tongues bragging about them, then they went on to lose 5 of their next 8.