King: If Stokes Beats Me Out, ‘They Drafted Right Guy’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coming off a long-awaited breakout season in 2019, Green Bay Packers cornerback Kevin King has endured a lot of challenges over the past year.
An injured quad sidelined him for five games early last season. His production plunged from five interceptions in 2019 to five passes defensed in 2020. Then, he infamously was torched for two touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game. Finding a tepid market in free agency, King returned to Green Bay on a one-year deal. A month later, the Packers drafted his potential replacement with first-round pick Eric Stokes.
“People ask me that a lot, ‘Oh, did you think they would draft a corner?’ It’s like, honestly, I don’t even think too much into it. The year after I got drafted, they drafted Jaire (Alexander) and Josh (Jackson) back-to-back, you know what I’m saying? But, honestly, that really doesn’t have anything to do with me, so that’s really how I look at it. I don’t think no one can take from me what God has in store for me.”
With that outlook, King has been a willing mentor to the man who is trying to take his job. The two have each taken first-team reps this week.
“I’ve never been one of those type of guys to withhold knowledge from a guy,” King continued. “He’s a great guy who loves listening, has great ability, great talents, and he’ll have a long, prosperous career in this league, no doubt about it. And I want to help with that. But I know what type of player I am. I know what type of player I can be. Just try to get better every day and try to help him get better. Look, if he can beat me out on that field, then they drafted the right guy.”
It’s an interesting outlook on his professional life. Put yourself in his shoes. How would you react if your company hired someone named, say, Eric? While you might not necessarily be rude, would you withhold information and let him figure things out on his own? Isn’t self-preservation just human nature?
“Right,” King said. “Nobody can take what I have coming, so if I just do my part, put the work in, continue to try to get better, and continue to try to make everybody in the room better, because that’s what I’m about. I’m a leader at heart. That’s just who I am. And for me to not do that, that would be me going against who I am naturally, and that would just be me holding something against that. He didn’t ask to come here, you know? He didn’t say, ‘Oh, all right, they need a corner over there, let me come here.’ And even if that was the case, that’s fine. But I have the utmost confidence in what I can do. I’m going to be one of the top players in this league, and nobody can take that from me. You know what I’m saying?”
During a 20-minute interview, King spoke on other topics, including the NFC Championship Game.
King on NFC Championship Game
Will King ever get over the NFC Championship Game? He was burned for two touchdowns in the first half and was flagged for a killer pass-interference penalty in the waning moments.
“Get over it? Things like that, I don’t know if you ever necessarily get over. But it’s a learning experience. I’m trying to have the mind-set of things that are fair, that’s kind of objective. You can use things to get better. You listen to all these guys who have the greatest success stories, they’ve all used those quote-unquote ‘failures’ as turning points. In their minds, as humans, it’s kind of just evolving in that stage of life. So, no, I’ve challenged myself all offseason and continue to challenge myself to come out better from that situation so quote-unquote ‘failure,’ that’s just a word.”
While King wouldn’t blame anyone for the touchdown he allowed to Scotty Miller just before halftime, he hinted that he should have ignored the call and trusted his instincts and film study.
“There was like very little intricate things that happened that I’m not even going to speak about, but it’s kind of like, ‘Ahhh, Kev, you knew it.’ Little things like that. It’s like, regardless of what else is going on, it’s like you put the work in, you put the time in. Certain things as a player out there, you know what’s going to happen, just in terms of knowing football and knowing situations, knowing personnel. We go through all that stuff. It’s little things that I should trust in myself more, so that’s just a life lesson: just being able to trust myself, trust my training, my work, the things that I put in there and go out there and believe.”
King on the NFL preseason
Does King, who missed the first couple weeks of training camp, need to play in the preseason?
“I haven’t played in actually too many preseasons since I’ve been here, to be honest. It’s all football, but it’s just about getting back into football shape. It’s hard to replicate that game-like experience with the lights and the adrenaline and everything. But going into my fifth year now, I’ve kind of been through this a little bit.”
King on staying healthy
Before practice, coach Matt LaFleur talked of the team’s faith and confidence in King. “I think when he’s healthy he’s really tough to deal with, his length when he challenges guys at the line of scrimmage and get his hands on them, that’s a tough matchup for most wide receivers.” The operative words there, of course, are “when he’s healthy.” In four seasons, he’s played in 41 games but missed 23. Does King ever wish he could catch a break health-wise?
“Faith. That word faith is like believing in things you can’t see. When your faith is tested, that’s when you have to really try to practice what you preach. I like to think about how I feel about a certain situation, not just the thoughts that come into your head, but actually how I, as Kevin, feel about certain situations. And if I think I’m a guy that’s big on faith and wants to do things despite the outcome, just trying to be the best version of Kevin that I can be, then it’s not about the outcome. I can get injured tomorrow, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m doing this to just be the best version of Kevin that I can be. You know? Of course you’re going to have your ups and downs, you’re going to have those mental battles, but I try to see that as a positive challenge. You know? Of course, we’re all human, we’re going to go through those ebbs and flows of emotions. But that’s how you know you’re doing something worthwhile, because it’s not going to be easy. It shouldn’t be easy. You know?”
King on re-signing with the Packers
Why did King return to Green Bay instead of getting a fresh start elsewhere?
“I feel like we have the pieces to get over that hump. For a lot of teams, that hump is becoming .500 or becoming a playoff team.” For the Packers, that’s the Super Bowl.
Check out the full answer in this second video.
Was he tempted to get a fresh start in free agency?
"Look, I’m not the type of guy that just tries to sweep (stuff) under the rug, you know? ‘All right, let me get a fresh start somewhere.’ No. No. I want to finish this with my guys, you know what I’m saying? The guys who’ve believed in me and the guys who continue to believe in me. And like I said, I’m going to do my part to uphold my side of the bargain. We’re here to win a Super Bowl. And I just want to do my 1/11th on defense, and that’s what I’m here to do. But sweep it under the rug? Go to a new team? No. Of course, there’s definitely some money that you couldn’t turn down in terms of somebody trying to bring the Brinks truck out. It’s all a business, of course. But if the money was all good, I was going to be a Packer, no doubt about it."
