Green Bay Packers: Demetri Goodson a sleeper?

The Green Bay Packers bid farewell to half of their top four corners this offseason, losing Tramon Williams to the Cleveland Browns and Davon House to the Jacksonville Jaguars. A draft pick could be added to fill out the cornerback position alongside Sam Shields, Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde, but a dark horse sits in the shadows.

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Demetri Goodson is entering his second professional season after joining the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of last year’s NFL Draft, but he is no average sophomore. Goodson started 35 games at point guard for the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball team before transferring to Baylor to play football, and is the only NCAA athlete to ever start an NCAA Tournament and BCS Bowl game. Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel calls the cornerback Green Bay’s “best kept secret”.

He enters the league with exciting ball skills stemming back to his basketball days, and tested out very well at the 2014 Scouting Combine. Goodson ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash that doesn’t truly represent his speed, while posting an impressive 37-inch vertical jump and a 10’3″ broad jump. Goodson was somewhat injury-prone at Baylor, however, missing the 2011 season with torn ankle ligaments and much of 2012 with two fractures in his right forearm.

The physical skills, when healthy, exist without many gaps. It is Goodson’s football I.Q. and decision-making that will determine whether he impacts in 2015, or remains on the scout team. To his credit, Goodson tells Dunne that the scout team was his playground last year. “Aaron told me he’s never been picked off as much as I’ve picked him off, ever. Ever,” he said. “So that was a huge thing coming from him.”

Mike McCarthy will take quick notice of this if he can translate it onto the competitive field, which he failed to do early in 2014. Goodson was repeatedly exposed in the preseason of his rookie year, but a full offseason learning under cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. should help to refine his game. Going up against Pro Bowl talent in Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb every day won’t hurt him, either.

One thing that won’t be an issue is Goodson’s confidence. While I see his ceiling being that of a dime-back and special teams contributor, perhaps a nickel corner if we’re feeling extremely optimistic, Goodson isn’t buying it. He thinks he can start, and he thinks he can do it now.

Goodson’s style certainly does lend itself to attacking top receivers, as he prefers to play an extremely aggressive press-coverage style. This requires a level of technique that he does not yet possess, however, so the next five months will be absolutely critical to his development.

In the meantime, his meal ticket to a roster spot will continue to be special teams, an area that Green Bay is desperately looking to improve under Ron Zook. Goodson suited up just six times in 2014, but recorded six special teams tackles along the way. There are miles to go before the former point guard sees significant playing time on defense, but do not forget that Shields and Williams, Green Bay’s two starters from last year, both entered the league as undrafted free agents. Goodson may not be a secret for long.

Next: Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prototype: Wide receiver

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