Eric Stokes details how Green Bay Packers’ secondary can become elite
The Green Bay Packers defense was one of the biggest shining points from last year’s squad, a team many believed was poised to make a legitimate run at the Lombardi Trophy.
Former Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes — who the Green Bay Packers selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and received pushback from pundits and members of the fan base — proved to be a massive pickup due to the loss of starter Jaire Alexander.
Stokes was recently asked about how good he believes the Packers’ secondary can be in 2022 and the young defensive back didn’t hide his confidence.
“I feel like we can be a really good secondary,” Stokes said. “I know how all of us work, I know how all of us compete day in and day out and how we want the best for all of us.
The former Georgia Bulldogs star cornerback had an impressive NFL debut during his rookie campaign in 2021, and although he’s heading into just his second professional year, Stokes isn’t afraid to set high expectations for a unit that overachieved under defensive coordinator Joe Barry one season ago.
“We can be one of the best units in this whole entire league,” Stokes added confidently. “We just got to stay on top of everything we want to do day in and day out and yeah.”
Despite an impressive 13-4 record and perfect 8-0 record in games played at home at Lambeau Field, a division title and first-round bye, the Pack suffered a devastating upset loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Still, San Francisco only put up 13 points against the stifling Green Bay defense, anchored by a young, opportunistic secondary that stepped up throughout the season and helped secure many of the wins.
The unit finished 13th int the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
Green Bay Packers’ secondary ascending according to Pro Football Focus
Heading into 2022, the Packers now have Stokes and a healthy Alexander. They also made it a priority to re-sign veteran Rasul Douglas, who cashed in on his monster 2021 campaign and inked a 3-year deal this offseason.
While there were obvious rookie growing pains, Stokes started in 14 of the 16 games he played and literally grew as each week passed. From Week 12 to the end of the regular season, the former Bulldog was one of the top ten highest-graded corners in the entire NFL according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Here’s the write-up from the end of the year piece from PFF breaking down every secondary group in the NFL following the 2021 campaign. Green Bay Packers fans should be thrilled about the unit moving forward, considering Stokes, Alexander and Douglas are all returning.
“No Jaire Alexander? No problem. The Packers still fielded a top-10-graded cornerback room this season despite losing one of the best cover corners in the game for most of the season,” PFF wrote.
“Rookie Eric Stokes stepped up and grew into his role as the season wore on. From Week 12 to the end of the regular season, he was one of the 10 highest-graded cornerbacks in the NFL. He allowed a mere 0.46 yards per coverage snap and 3.1 yards per target in that span, both of which ranked second among cornerbacks. The Packers signed veteran Rasul Douglas midseason, and he far surpassed expectations with a 76.5 coverage grade.”
The Green Bay Packers lost Davante Adams to the Raiders, decided to throw huge money to keep Aaron Rodgers and are crossing their fingers their plan to draft a high-caliber young WR will pan out and the offense will continue to put up big numbers.
With the additions of two more former Georgia stars from last year’s national championship defense and a secondary with seasoned youth and proven veteran experience? For the first time in a long time, it feels like the pressure is on the Packers’ offense, not the defense, heading into 2022.