The writing seems to be on the wall for Green Bay Packers former 1st round pick Eric Stokes. Last week’s ugly win against Chicago only saw Stokes on the field for four snaps compared to Carrington Valentine’s 64. Perhaps Hafley and company are finally ready to call it.
Where We Started Out
Coming into the 2021 NFL Draft, Eric Stokes was a highly rated corner projected to be picked up in the 2nd round. His combination of speed and quickness gave a high upside of being able to play both inside and out. He also just happened to play for Georgia, which in recent years seems to be a sort of farm development team for the Packers defense.
Green Bay Bound
The Green Bay Packers selected Eric at pick 29 of the first round in 2021. I myself was extremely happy to see the pick after that heartbreaking NFC Championship loss at Lambeau the previous season.
That first training camp was certainly a death by fire hose onboarding process. Stokes was going up agains the likes of Davante Adams, and he seemed primed for greatness. That first year he played 16 games and started in 14 of those contests. He ended the season sporting 55 tackles, 14 passes defended, 1 interception, and was named to the 2021 All-Rookie team. He also held quarterbacks to a 79.1 rating with a completion rate of 46.3%.
Unfortunately that’s where the fireworks seemed to have ended for Eric.
Sophmore Slump
The Packers 2022 defense was not pretty to watch. While Joe Barry’s zone scheme didn’t help anything, Stokes struggled to rekindle that rookie year fire. Quarterbacks completed 21 of the 25 targets that went his way. He ranked last in 2022 for catch rate at 84% as well as last in forced incompletions with only 1 on the stat sheet.
Granted, he only played about half of that second season. In Week 9 he suffered ankle and knee injuries against the Lions. Those injuries ended his season, and he was placed on injured reserve.
Injured and Declining
You hate to see a rookie with so much upside be taken down by injuries and relegated to the bench. However, Eric came into the 2023 campaign on the Physically Unable to Peform ((PUP) list. His ankle and knee injuries plagued him throughout the season. He was activated from the PUP list in week 7 against the Denver Broncos, however, he would only play the first half and leave the game with a hamstring injury.
In the 12 appearances that Eric made in 2023 it’s clear the injuries had taken their toll. He was graded at the bottom of the barrel for corners for the year, and the Packers would go on to decline his 5th year option heading into 2024.
A Hopeful 2024 Rebirth
I myself was very hopeful after the news came out that they felt that had identified the issues with Eric’s health. I was hoping to see a return to form. HC Matt LaFleur certainly sang his praises during training camp. This secondary was seemingly on pace to be lockdown and lights out.
However, that hype has not produced any measurable success from Stokes this season.
Where We Are Now
Here’s how this season has shaken out to date according to Statmuse.com. Note the large number of 0’s in that highlighted Totals column.
Week after week I find myself yelling at the TV as I watch opposing receiving squads pick on Stokes and his counterpart Keisean Nixon. As I mentioned in the intro to this article, it’s becoming more and more clear that Green Bay is ready to admit defeat on that 2021 first round pick. I would be surprised to see Eric Stokes in a Packers uniform in 2025.
Where Green Bay Goes From Here
Take a listen to Aaron Nagler talking about the disappointing secondary performance last week against Chicago.
I couldn’t agree more. The fact as well that Eric was only in on 4 of those snaps even with how poorly Valentine was performing tells a lot about their confidence in his play.
While I have been disappointed in Nixon’s performance at CB, I do feel like he adds value to the team. Nixon is a great Special Teamer, and I feel he could be utilized in blitz packages as he has a great ability to close in and make tackles.
With Stokes on the other hand, I feel like we’ve seen where the road leads. At this point I think it’s safe to say that we know what we have with him, and it’s time to let some other folks take their shot.
I saw this post from my buddy Alex Basara aka Basaraski Productions that I thought was pretty on the nose with where Packers Nation is at.
Hopefully the Packers can shore up this secondary coming up against their Achilles heel in recent years, the San Francisco 49ers. With Jaire Alexander back on the shelf as well, someone is going to need to step up to keep this season afloat.
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