While many have chosen to praise the Green Bay Packers for their prudent moves to keep both Bryan Bulaga and Randall Cobb this offseason, their defensive situation has become more precarious with the departures of two cornerbacks. Tramon Williams signed with the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars picked up Davon House.
Williams is getting past his prime and despite his very respectable career with the Packers, he was not worth the money he was looking for. Davon House was no All-Pro by any means but he contributed on special teams and played well as a nickel or dime corner. At just 25 (26 at the start of the 2015 season) House was a potential starter who could have contributed in the upcoming years. In terms of free agents, even if they wanted to sign someone, there are no reasonable options left. Before anyone says anything, Jarrett Bush, currently a free agent, is not a starting option but could be a bargain special teamer.
What To Do About the Green Bay Packers Cornerback Situation?
Looking to others on the roster, Casey Hayward is a talented 25 year old who performed well in his rookie season back in 2012, but missed most of 2013 with a hamstring injury, and played in a backup role throughout 2014. 2015 could well be his year, but the Packers may still be short on corner backs. Demetri Goodson, the Packers’ sixth rounder from 2014, played a few snaps in his rookie year but the jury is still out on his potential to start.
Micah Hyde’s name must be brought up at this point too, as he shifted to safety after spending 2013 as a nickel corner. Hyde is a coach favorite in Green Bay, seeing the field with mature eyes and showing the speed and hitting skills to deliver from deep in the backfield. In 2014, the Packers were fortunate to have three safeties from whom to choose, with Morgan Burnett, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Hyde all sharing duties. It could be the case that Hyde will re-assume some cornerback duties in 2015, if Hayward doesn’t rise to be a consistent starting option. However, that would cause a strain to Clinton-Dix and Burnett who would share in picking up what had been Hyde’s snaps.
No matter what, it seems the Packers will need to use an early draft pick on a cornerback. This is a convenient year to be in such a position, as the 2015 draft looks like it has plenty of available talent at corner. Unfortunately, the necessity of a corner pickup early will place some restriction on creativity when it comes to Ted Thompson and company drafting other important positions such as inside linebacker and defensive line spots. The losses of House and Williams are small issues overall, but the Green Bay Packers cornerback situation has matched inside linebacker shortage at the top of their list for most important issue for the 2015 offseason.
Stay tuned for a rundown of the Packers’ most important positions in the 2015 draft.
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