Consistency Could Make Packers’ Corners ‘Elite’

Jaire Alexander and Kevin King have performed brilliantly at times. Can they do it snap after snap and week after week?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – “Elite.”

That was the word of the week for the Green Bay Packers’ cornerback tandem of Jaire Alexander and Kevin King.

In his mind, Alexander has reached that status.

“What? Yeah,” Alexander, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, replied matter-of-factly when asked Tuesday if he considered himself an elite corner.

To be sure, he played to that level at times last season. Frequently matching up against the opponent’s No. 1 receiver, Alexander tied for fourth in the league with 17 passes defensed. In three matchups against Emmanuel Sanders – one against Denver and two against San Francisco – Alexander scored decisive victories vs. the player who wound up being one of the top two or three receivers in this year’s free-agent class.

King, the team’s first pick in 2017, had his moments, too. Finally staying relatively healthy after missing the bulk of his first two seasons in the league, King finished among the league leaders with five interceptions and 15 passes defensed.

MOST IMPORTANT PACKERS: KEVIN KING

MOST IMPORTANT PACKERS: JAIRE ALEXANDER

“Ja has established himself as one of the elite corners in this league and I’m right there, too,” King said. “A few more healthy seasons – one more healthy season – and I’m going to establish myself, as well.”

If Alexander and King can raise the bar another level, the Packers might have an elite tandem and a chance to field an elite defense. For it to become reality and not just empty words, they’ll have to find a more consistent level.

Alexander, who entered last season with All-Pro aspirations, played to that dominant form to open the season. According to Pro Football Focus and its best estimation of coverage responsibilities, Alexander allowed just 11-of-27 passing for 105 yards in the first four games. In Week 5 against Philadelphia, however, PFF charged him with 8-of-12 for a whopping 201 yards. Then, it was back to Alexander Island – his nickname from his Louisville days – for three weeks before giving up 129 yards against the Chargers.

What stands out about Alexander’s game isn’t simply his nose for the football. It’s his competitiveness. Alexander might miss a few too many tackles but it’s not because he’s shy about throwing himself into the mix. He might be a bit undersized at 5-foot-10 but he’s never backed down from a challenge. In the divisional playoff game against Seattle, conventional wisdom had defensive coordinator Mike Pettine employing the towering King against hulking D.K. Metcalf. Instead, Alexander lined up at left corner and took on whoever lined up across from him – including Metcalf, who had a 5-inch, 33-pound advantage. In their one-on-one matchups, Metcalf caught 2-of-3 passes for 32 yards and Alexander had one deflection.

“I’m a competitor,” Alexander said. “Any competitor likes competition, the best, because that’s going to bring the best out of me. So, I just like competing. I like a challenge. If it’s easy, if it’s too easy, it ain’t worth it, you know?”

According to PFF, of the 81 corners to play 350 coverage snaps, King ranked last with 1.66 yards per coverage snap. Most of that ugly number came from the occasional letdowns. He allowed catches of 30-plus yards in seven games. A dismal start in the Week 6 home game against Detroit almost had the Packers get run out of their own building in the first quarter. However, starting with the game at the Giants in Week 13, King strung together a series of strong performances. According to PFF and its best reckoning of coverage responsibilities, King allowed 11-of-22 passing for 147 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions during the final seven games (including playoffs). That’s just 24.5 yards per game.

“Now we’ve just got to be consistent with it, just hone in on my technique and do that every play down in and down out,” King said. The consistency means “eliminating big plays. That’s the thing. Especially as a corner, you can play good all game, and then kind of just that one play where you maybe weren’t focused or something like that. So, just eliminating those things and just being consistently dominant.”

With Alexander raising his level of play (47.0 percent allowed in 2019 vs. 57.5 in 2018, according to Sports Info Solutions) and King simply able to play (15 passes defensed in 15 games vs. seven passes defensed in 15 games his first two seasons combined), the Packers soared from 28th to fifth in opponent passer rating and the team posted their first top-10 finish in points allowed since the Super Bowl season of 2010.

“When you’re out there on that field, it’s two No. 1s,” King said. “It’s going to be hard to go to the left side. It’s going to be hard to go to the right side.”

Said Alexander, “It’s just going to be like a ‘what side are you going to throw it to’ kind of thing.”