18 Days Until Training Camp: The Pick Parade

The Green Bay Packers tied for sixth in the NFL with 18 interceptions last season. Here are five reasons why they could lead the league in 2022.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 9, 2022 1:56 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers intercepted 18 passes. Rasul Douglas, the team’s surprise star, was the grand marshal of the team’s pick parade with five in just a dozen games.

Here are five reasons why the Packers could lead the NFL and record their first season of 20-plus interceptions since Charles Woodson and Co. picked off a staggering 31 passes in 2011.

1. Healthy Jaire Alexander

Alexander has never been a premier playmaker, though he’s shown some signs. In 2020, when he earned All-Pro honors, Alexander recorded two interceptions of Tom Brady in the NFC Championship Game. In 2021, in the game before he suffered a serious shoulder injury that knocked him out for the rest of the regular season, Alexander left his man to intercept a deep shot to tight end George Kittle. It was an incredible player by an incredible player.

With five interceptions in four seasons, maybe he will never be a big-time interceptor of footballs. But his ability to lock up No. 1 receivers will force quarterbacks to look elsewhere (and to lesser receivers) and set up opportunities for other players.

2. Return of Rasul Douglas

Douglas was a savior last season and played an enormous role in the Packers earning 13 victories. They might have lost games against Arizona and Cleveland without his late interceptions, and who knows how the game against the Rams would have turned out if not for his pick-six. Suddenly, 13 wins becomes 10 and maybe an early playoff exit would have been the expectation.

Playing in only 12 games with nine starts, Douglas tied for fourth in the NFL with five interceptions. Sports Info Solutions charged him with a 45.3 percent completion rate and 5.3 yards per attempt. Pro Football Focus had him ranked third with a 49.6 opponent passer rating. Other than the one at Arizona, his interceptions were due to instincts and skill, so chances are his breakout season wasn’t a fluke.

3. The Ones That Got Away

The Packers tied for sixth with their 18 interceptions last season. That number could have been a lot higher.

Eric Stokes, the team’s first-round pick, dropped four interceptions, according to Sports Info Solutions. That was tied for the most in the league. Safety Darnell Savage dropped three. Along with one apiece by Douglas, Adrian Amos, Kevin King and Henry Black, the Packers dropped 11. Grab four of those, and the Packers would have ranked third with 20.

If the Packers can cash in on a few more of those opportunities, life will become a bit easier for an offense in transition.

4. Powerful Pass Rush

A strong pass rush is a defensive back’s best friend. And the Packers could have a really good pass rush. Rashan Gary had 9.5 sacks and ranked second among NFL edge rushers with 81 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Preston Smith had nine sacks and tied for ninth among edge rushers with 62 pressures. Kenny Clark had four sacks and was fourth among interior defenders with 67 pressures.

The Packers need more than those three, obviously. The hope is first-round pick Devonte Wyatt will add to the interior rush. Regardless, the combination of the rush provided by Gary, Smith and Clark, and the coverage skills of Alexander, Douglas and Stokes, could make life a turnover-laden hell for opposing quarterbacks.

5. Quay Walker

No, Walker’s not going to be grabbing passes left and right. He didn’t have any interceptions at Georgia, after all.

But if Walker moves into the starting lineup alongside De’Vondre Campbell and plays to the Packers’ expectations, he could change the face of the defense.

Last season, Green Bay played with six-plus defensive backs on 24 percent of its defensive snaps. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a defense featuring the inside linebacker tandem of Lavonte David and Devin White, played with six-plus DBs on just 2 percent of their defensive snaps.

Obviously, playing with a second inside linebacker rather than a sixth defensive back should mean better run defense. Better run defense, in turn, should create more third-and-longs. And more predictable passing situations should mean more big-play opportunities.