The Green Bay Packers open training camp in less than two weeks to prepare for the 2024 NFL season. As always, there will be battles for starting jobs and roster spots. One of the biggest competitions for a starting position will be at cornerback where Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine will fight for the starting job opposite Jaire Alexander.

The Packers would love to see Stokes win the job. The former first-round pick out of Georgia has excellent speed and athleticism. GM Brian Gutekunst selected Stokes with the 29^th overall pick in 2021 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Stokes was thrust into the starting lineup after Kevin King and Jaire Alexander both suffered injuries. While most rookies struggle, Stokes played well. Opposing quarterbacks completed only 49.5 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Stokes and had a quarterback rating of 71.3 according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Stokes also made his first and only career interception that season off Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also broke up 14 passes. His future looked very bright.

Since then, Stokes has struggled. His play fell off dramatically in 2022 and he looked tentative as a result. Opposing quarterbacks completed 80 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Stokes and he was often burned for big gains.

In Week 9, he suffered season ending foot and knee injuries. He started last season on the PUP list. He returned for one game but suffered another injury and then came back to play in two more games. Clearly, he wasn’t ready physically or mentally and again, he was beaten early and often by opposing receivers.

Part of the problem was the style of defense played by former defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Barry often had his corners give a cushion to opposing receivers while Stokes prefers to play more in press coverage.

During the offseason, the Packers sent Stokes to a specialist to look at his hamstrings. During OTAs, the coaches were pleased with what they saw from him.

“I think he's as good as I've ever seen him both mentally and, on the field,” said head coach Matt LaFleur. “I want to temper the expectations with that, but I do really mean that. He's out there competing each and every day. He looks fully healthy. He's doing a great job of challenging our wide receivers, he's always in great phase, and I think you see that personality is back.”

His main competition for the starting corner job will come from Valentine, the second-year man from Kentucky. The Packers selected Valentine in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

He made an immediate impression during training camp and in the preseason and even intercepted a pass against the Bengals in the first preseason game.

With both Alexander and Stokes injured, Valentine stepped into the lineup and started 12 games as a rookie. Valentine showed flashes of ability and played well. He broke up nine passes while allowing quarterbacks to compete just 57.6 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by him. Their quarterback rating was 84.8.

Valentine also likes to be physical at the line of scrimmage in coverage. At times, he got too physical and was flagged for it as a result. He needs to know how much he can get away with to take his game to the next level.

Over the offseason, Valentine also put on weight as the suggestion of the coaching staff.

During OTAs, LaFleur was also impressed with Valentine’s performance. He called his offseason “outstanding.” He added, “That’s a guy that stands out, quite frankly in my mind. We challenged him to put on weight after the regular season. He came back and definitely looks bigger and is bigger. He’s stronger. I’m excited for him, he has a bright future.”

One of these players will likely win the battle to start opposite Alexander. This will be one of the more interesting battles in Packers training camp. The winner of the battle will see his career take a big step forward. The other player may see his outlook more in a very different direction.