These Packers Have Seen Their Playing Time Reduced In Recent Weeks
By GilMartin
The Green Bay Packers defense remains a work in progress. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley continues to install his system gradually and expand his concepts. Rookie draft picks continue to gain experience and get more playing time. While young players like Evan Williams and Edgerrin Cooper continue to get more playing time, here are some other players who are seeing their roles reduced.
CB Eric Stokes
Eric Stokes started the first five games of the season as a perimeter cornerback, but he saw his playing time reduced, especially over the last two games. After playing 98 percent of the defensive snaps against Titans and 97 percent of snaps against the Vikings, he saw his snap percentage drop to just 28 percent of snaps against the Cardinals.
He also lost his starting job to Keisean Nixon, who moved from the slot corner position to the perimeter last week.
The reason for Stokes losing his job has been his inconsistent play. According to pro-football-reference.com, opposing quarterbacks have completed 67.7 percent of their passes when threw to receivers covered by Stokes and they have a quarterback rating of 114.4.
Pro Football Focus ranks Stokes in the bottom 10 percent of all qualified cornerbacks so far this season and his pass coverage grade is well below average.
Stokes is in the final year of his contract with the Packers who already declined his fifth-year option. The former first-round pick out of Georgia is likely in his final season with the Packers unless he has a very strong finish to the season. Unfortunately, Stokes has never matched the strong play he displayed in his rookie campaign.
CB Carrington Valentine
Injuries slowed Carrington Valentine in the preseason, and he lost the battle for the starting cornerback job opposite Jaire Alexander to Stokes.
Last season, when Stokes and Alexander both missed time due to injuries, Valentine stepped in and started 12 games as a rookie. That was impressive for a seventh-round draft pick who wasn’t even a lock to make the team when training camp started.
The Kentucky alum showed promise. He broke up nine passes and played a physical style that was often effective but sometimes got him flagged for pass interference.
This season, Valentine played in only four of the first six games and has yet to start. His pass coverage grade is higher than Stokes’ thus far this season, but when Stokes lost the starting perimeter cornerback job, Nixon was given the assignment over Valentine.
Valentine did not even take a defensive snap against the Cardinals last week. He’s played only 82 snaps total on defense in the four games he’s been active for.
Valentine may eventually earn more playing time, but right now, he’s struggling to get on the field and find a defined role on defense.
LB Isaiah McDuffie
Isaiah McDuffie has started all six games for the Packers this season. He has made 38 total tackles and recorded half a sack while breaking up two passes.
The former Boston College star has experience playing under Hafley who was his head coach during his final college season.
McDuffie played 97 percent of the Packers defensive snaps in the season opener against the Eagles in Brazil and has seen his play count drop in each game since then. Last week, McDuffie played only 26 defensive snaps, or 45 percent of the Packers defensive plays.
The emergence of Edgerrin Cooper and the ability of Javon Bullard to play close to the line of scrimmage has reduced McDuffie’s role on defense.
McDuffie’s play hasn’t been awful, but he has graded out average or slightly below in every category according to PFF and is in the bottom quarter of qualified linebackers in the league.
McDuffie continues to play a role on special teams. His role on defense could be further reduced if Ty’Ron Hopper starts to earn more playing time.
These three players have seen their roles reduced in recent weeks but that could change at any time due to injury, improved play or the matchups in a particular game. It’s a long season and these players still could play an important role for the Packers before it’s over.
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Comments (16)
dobber
October 19, 2024 at 11:17 am
Valentine and Stokes are losing out to Nixon but mostly because Bullard (slot) is steady and Evan Williams (SS) is a playmaker. Without Bullard's ability to play in the slot, Nixon's still playing there and Williams and Bullard would be fighting for safety snaps with Stokes and Valentine playing opposite Alexander. The Packers' emerging strength on the defensive side is at S, and the coaches are leaning into that.
Wilson and McDuffie have had their moments, but have only been keeping the LB spot warm until Cooper got healthy. The Packers will play a lot of nickel, which means only two true LB.
GregC
October 19, 2024 at 02:26 pm
The coaches always say that with the OL they want to put the best five on the field, and this seems to be the mindset with the DBs as well. It may not be completely true in either case, but it is more than just idle talk. With the DBs, it looks like the emphasis is on overall playmaking ability rather than specialization to fit specific roles. Nixon, Bullard, and Williams make more impact plays than Valentine and Stokes, so they are keeping those three on the field to go along with Alexander and McKinney. It worked well last week. If it continues to work against better teams, they may really be onto something. This is something we heard about the Hafley defense in the off-season--players being interchangeable to a greater extent than in most defenses.
Coldworld
October 19, 2024 at 11:22 am
Some of this may be situational. Valentine is a perimeter corner. Against AZ and the Rams we had Nixon playing outside. However, in both cases a lack of perimeter threat (different reasons) was established before that took place. Nixon is better in run support and in short zone than any other corner, but he’s not going to thrive against traditional perimeter receivers and a QB who is getting time to throw and has the ability to. We may not see the same this week. If we do, we may not after.
It’s also true that Nixon moving maybe Hafley in part trying to accommodate Bullard and Williams as well. That’s fine in those situations, but could become a problem if it’s extended too far. Hafley clearly loves Nixon, but can he temper that and balance it with the needs of the D overall in different situations? We are likely going to find out if it’s acute tailoring of use to talent and opponent, or excess faith in certain individuals beyond their real strengths.
splitpea1
October 19, 2024 at 12:19 pm
One player who hasn't seen a decrease in playing time is Quay--he's been on the field for every single defensive snap despite a regression in performance. His missed tackle rate is nearly double what is was last season...McDuffie is in the last year of his contract; does he get re-signed at a friendly price?
Taking bets on what position we'll be using our first draft pick on: CB, LB, DL (Slaton's contract is also expiring, and an upgrade here would be tempting)? I'm pretty sure we'll be double-dipping at CB. Hopefully we'll be analyzing more technique-related assets instead of concentrating heavily on raw speed this time.
GregC
October 19, 2024 at 01:37 pm
I don't trust some of these stats. If Walker's missed tackle rate is double what it was last year, that could mean he had one missed tackle up to this point last year, and two this year. Or it could mean he had 10 last year and 20 this year, which would be a very different thing. I haven't noticed him missing a lot of tackles. It seems to me like his problem is filling the wrong gap and missing the play completely. Also, his pass coverage doesn't seem to be as good as it was last year, although that could be due to him being put into difficult positions by the defensive scheme (e.g., having to defend crossing routes with no help), which can happen to linebackers. I seem to remember hearing during the off-season that Hafley's scheme puts a lot of pressure on the linebackers in pass coverage, so it may well be that whoever is playing full-time at LB is going to look bad quite often.
Most people here wanted the Packers to draft Junior Colson rather than Edgerrin Cooper because Colson looked more like an MLB. I favored Cooper because Colson looked pretty average to me in his highlight films, while Cooper looked really dynamic. So far Colson has played in three games with the Chargers and has eight tackles. He missed two games with an injury. I don't know if he has started, or if he has just been a rotational player.
At any rate, maybe the Packers just don't have a good MLB option on the roster. I wouldn't mind seeing McDuffie tried there. Ty'Ron Hopper looked like a possible fit for that job in the preseason, but I've heard that he hasn't seen time with the defense because he still needs to learn pass coverage. Considering how much Hafley has rearranged the secondary from one week to the next, I'm expecting him to be open to tweaking the LBs as well, beyond just giving Cooper more playing time, which is already happening in a big way (68% of snaps last week). Maybe Hafley is waiting to do this until after things get more settled down in the secondary.
Bitternotsour
October 20, 2024 at 09:59 am
Tough to replace people when you're drafting at 32
LLCHESTY
October 19, 2024 at 01:04 pm
The guy I feel sorry for is Eric Wilson. He has the 4th highest coverage grade among LBs per PFF and yet is averaging 12 snaps a game. Meanwhile Walker is really struggling in coverage after being decent his 1st two years. Wilson should be given a green dot helmet and replace Walker on passing downs. He is well prepared and could easily call the D plays.
stockholder
October 19, 2024 at 02:59 pm
You do what you have do to get better.
lou
October 19, 2024 at 06:34 pm
Agree with llchesty on Wilson. The one season he started (2020) for the Vikings he was a solid starting LB. I can understand why the team is giving younger LB's more chances but when Wilson has played he has been very effective. Walker's PFF coverage grades are very poor and the announcers continue to point out how he has missed on filling the right lane on running plays, despite high RAS scores he does not seem to have the anticipation against both the run and pass consistently to hold onto his starting job.
Major Snafu
October 19, 2024 at 07:50 pm
I'm liking Hafly better all the time. Obviously he See's what I've seen over the years, Stokes just isn't very good. He was a terrible gutt pick. I think Walker plays being a low one pick by gutt. Too bad to. We all see Walker just isn't working. Oh well
NFLfan
October 20, 2024 at 09:34 am
I think some of Gute's less successful first-round picks remain on the field too long-Walker, D. Savage, LVN, E. Stokes, (Gary might evolve into one)
Major Snafu
October 20, 2024 at 04:05 pm
Throw Alexander in he is just running around like he is accomplishing something.
He was jive assing a receiver for missing the ball but that receiver ran by him in the end zone and almost caught the td which would have been on him.
Ferrari-Driver
October 20, 2024 at 09:41 am
Gil, your comments about three veterans who are losing playing time may very well mean that the Packers are drafting well and these youngsters are at a point where their combined physical ability, football instincts, and knowledge of the defense are equal to or superior to those veterans who are now being bypassed. Is that a bad thing or more likely does it mean that the Packers, as a team, are improving? I'll opt for the latter.
Major Snafu
October 20, 2024 at 04:07 pm
Or not! How about first round picks who shouldnt have been? If your first round no one should be questioning you your play is expected to be top notch. Not happening with Alexander, Gary, Stokes, Walker.
Ferrari-Driver
October 20, 2024 at 11:16 pm
ImaPayne, you make a point that I don't disagree with. If we could change a some of those 1st rounders after the fact, we would likely have a few guys like TJ Watt and Hunphreys wearing Green and Gold and some players like Eric Stokes would never be Packer players ...but if we look at the overall performance of the Packers, they are a franchise that has won more championships than any other team and finishes seasons in the upper echelon much of the time. To me, that indicates that we have a well run franchise with General Managers, Coaches, and Players who have to be considered the best or among the very best in the NFL.
By the way, thanks for your input.
Major Snafu
October 20, 2024 at 04:03 pm
I dont like Stokes he is worthless, just cannot adapt and play NFL caliber football. Alexander is out there jive assing receivers but he wont tackle, and he doesnt cover. He could get hurt and we wouldnt miss his play thats for sure