The Green Bay Packers roll into this week’s NFL draft with just a few roster holes. Chief among those might be the cornerback position. Nate Hobbs was just released, Carrington Valentine still can’t tackle, Bo Melton is a WR again, Kamal Hadden is rehabbing a broken leg, and Keisean Nixon is your CB1 at the moment. There’s just not that much to be excited about, insert sad face emoji. And without money to spend or a first round pick, Gutey and the staff have their hands tied. Thus we arrive at my question, is it even possible to find a starting CB with the draft picks the Green Bay Packers have this year? 

Let’s start by analyzing the corners who were drafted after round 1 in last year’s draft. Most of all, I am interested to see if any of them were able to contribute in year 1, as that is what the Packers may be relying on from any corner they draft. 

Will Johnson – Arizona Cardinals (47) 

If you remember, Johnson was the big faller of the NFL draft. Many had him projected top 10-15 in the first round, but he fell drastically due to injury concerns that popped up late in the process. In the moment I was devastated the Packers weren’t able to pull off a trade up in the second round, and instead ended up picking Anthony Belton. 

Johnson played 12 games and over 700 snaps for the Cardinals. He allowed a 111 passer rating in coverage, did not record an interception, and graded out as the 63rd best CB in the NFL out of 114 qualifying corners according to PFF. 

Benjamin Morrison – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (53) 

I was heartbroken when Morrison got picked right before Green Bay last year. I absolutely fell in love with his tape last draft season, and would have been comfortable even taking him in the first round. Good thing I am not the one doing the talent evaluation for the Packers! 

Morrison played 10 games for the Buccaneers last season and was the most often targeted corner on the team. Opposing offenses picked on him to the tune of a 110 passer rating, and 15 yards/reception against him. Morrison also missed almost 18% of his tackle attempts, which was worst amongst the corners in Tampa Bay. He was the 110th ranked corner last season.

Trey Amos – Washington Commanders (59) 

Amos was another guy I fell in love with, and he was the name I was most hoping to hear when the Packers instead picked Anthony Belton. I thought he could have been the long and physical corner that could have finally allowed Jeff Hafley to play more press man coverage. 

Amos played 10 games for Washington and was the highest graded corner on the Commanders team. In reality, that doesn’t amount to much as the Washington defense was awful in 2025. Amos allowed a rating of 108, didn’t record an interception and also missed nearly 18% of his tackle attempts. Amos was the 82nd ranked CB out of 114 qualifying corners. 

Darien Porter – Las Vegas Raiders (68)

Porter was a long and fast corner that ended up being the first CB picked in the 3rd round. Being a player who transitioned to the position later in his career, it was always expected he would take some time to develop. 

Porter was good early on in run defense. He was targeted often, and specifically thrown at in the deep areas of the field. Porter surrendered an 88 passer rating against, did not record an interception, and was the 96th ranked corner out of those same 114 qualifying corners on PFF. 

Azareye’h Thomas – New York Jets (73) 

Thomas was a sticky corner at Florida State. He was a little on the smaller side, but had the mechanics and foot speed to mirror even the slickest of receivers. He was another guy I would have been elated to see in green and gold. 

Thomas played only 7 games, and barely over 300 snaps last season for the Jets. He allowed only a 48% completion percentage and a passer rating of 85 when targeted, but these numbers were part of a very small sample size. As a member of the Jets turnover allergic defense, he famously did not record an interception either. Thomas was the 87th ranked qualifying corner. 

Shavon Revel – Dallas Cowboys (76) 

Revel was another guy who was highly rated by many smart people in last year’s draft class. For somewhat unknown reasons, he fell all the way to the Cowboys here in round 3. Many thought it was a steal for Dallas at the time, but it appears he fell for a reason. Shavon played some of the grossest football I’ve ever seen from a corner in the game or two that I watched. If you remember the Lions vs. Cowboys game from last year, Jared Goff threw at him damn near every play. It was honestly tough to watch. 

Revel played 7 games for Dallas. He had just over 200 coverage snaps for them. On those snaps, Revel allowed a passer rating of nearly 120, and earned a 34.2 PFF grade. He was the lowest ranked qualifying corner out of all 114 corners in the NFL last year. 

This is where I am going to stop the exercise. After this, the 2025 draft turned into dart throws, and lots of guys I don’t know much about. 

But I think this exercise is instructive, even if it is left unfinished. It paints a clear picture as to the difficult nature of finding immediate starters in the draft. Even in a highly esteemed draft class like the one we saw in 2025, most of these guys didn’t turn out. Not a single one of these corners ranked in the top half of the league as rookies, and most weren’t able to play more than 10-12 games for their teams. 

I think it’s fair to say that the Green Bay Packers may spend another season relying heavily on the contributions of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. I hate to write it just as much as you hate to read it, but it’s likely going to be the truth. 

That being said, trends can always change. If there’s one team that’s due for an instant contributor with their first pick, it’s the Packers. And as the hopeless optimist that I perpetually am, I fully expect to be writing next week about all the future hall of famers the Packers just drafted. So, be sure to tune in next week too for more totally unbiased coverage of the Green Bay Packers!