Even though Kevin King is back in Green Bay on a one-year deal, the Packers need to address the cornerback position in this year’s draft. Perhaps, with one of their first two picks.

Georgia corner Eric Stokes is a player to watch for when the Green Bay is on the clock with the 29th pick. He has showcased his blazing speed during the pre-draft process, and he is coming off a year in which he brought in four interceptions. Stokes excels as a man-to-man corner. He can run with anyone, and he’s got good size at 6’1, 194 pounds. However, the Packers need a corner that can fit into their new scheme under Joe Barry. Stokes believes his talent transcends across all schemes.

"It doesn't matter what scheme I'll be in. This is only my 4th year playing true DB, so you can throw me into any type of scheme, and I'm going to try to adapt the best way I can,” Stokes said at his pro day.

Under Mike Pettine, Green Bay played an unaggressive zone scheme with the corners giving plenty of cushion, even on short yardage downs. It’s undetermined what the Packers will run under Barry and what type of corner he would want. He is rooted in a Tampa-2 style defense but has worked with multiple coaches whose principles have likely rubbed off on him and will help shape his future defense. 

Last year, the Los Angeles Rams operated out of zone coverage on over 80 percent of their snaps under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Barry served under Staley as the linebackers coach and saw a creative scheme that allowed Jalen Ramsey to occasionally follow the opponent’s best receiver all around the field. Jaire Alexander could be the chess piece for Barry that Ramsey was for Staley. However, someone will have to be paired opposite of King if Alexander is defending a receiver in the slot. Also, someone will have to be ready to step in if King is not back after his one-year deal expires.

Maybe Stokes is the starting corner of the future.

Stokes finished a strong career playing for the Bulldogs with a breakout 2020 season while going up against some of the best receivers in the country. He immediately showcased good ball skills, totaling nine pass defenses in each of his first two seasons but had no interceptions. Stokes showed improvement by turning four of those ball-hawking opportunities into picks as a junior.

Stokes was considered one of the top corner prospects at the end of last season, but the buzz surrounding him took off after he ran a 4.22 at the House of Athlete Combine. He continued to show his freakish athleticism when he had a 41.5-inch vertical and a 131” broad jump. His performance substantiated the athleticism he displayed at Georgia.

There’s good reason to believe Stokes would be a solid compliment to Alexander’s style. Maybe even better than King. King has a couple of inches of height over Stokes, and they have similar builds, but Stokes is noticeably faster. It’s possible that Stokes’ coverage ability and physical traits can help the team transition away King after next season.

Stokes will continue to get a lot of attention leading up to the draft. Some mocks may have him getting selected before Green Bay is on the clock and some will have him still on the board. No one really knows. However, what we do know is that the Packers need to thing about their future corners in this year’s draft. If Stokes and Alexander are the Packers primary corners over the next few years, they would have two great athletes who are true cover corners.