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Green Bay Packers: Can roster support six cornerbacks?

By Keegan Matheson

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When the Green Bay Packers entered the 2015 NFL Draft following the loss of Tramon Williams and Davon House in free agency, their roster had worn thin at cornerback. Now, looking ahead to training camp and the architecture of this 53-man roster, the Green Bay Packers may be tempted to keep six at the position.

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Sam Shields and Casey Hayward are firmly entrenched, likely as the starting duo on the outside, while rookie draft picks Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins enter the fold as high draft picks with tantalizing potential.

Green Bay’s temptation to keep a group of six corners, however, boils down to the raw duo of Demetri Goodson, a 2014 sixth rounder, and 2015 undrafted free agent Ladarius Gunter.

Goodson, the athletically talented ex-basketball player, took some serious lumps in his first professional season but has taken strides into year two. Gunter, the 6’1″, 202 pound Miami product that was projected by NFL.com as a fourth or fifth round selection, is earning rave reviews out of the early offseason activities and seems to hide his lack of straight-line speed well. To keep both players, Ted Thompson and the Packers will need to look at which other positions could be limited.

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First off, carrying six corners would surely limit the potential safeties on the roster to four. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Morgan Burnett and Sean Richardson are all locked in, while Micah Hyde will be listed as one of the four “safeties” despite Dom Capers’ penchant for moving him around the defense. This would leave Chris Banjo as the odd man out.

Green Bay opened the 2014 season with just five defensive linemen, a number that will likely grow to six or seven in 2015, and four running backs, which could grow to five this season should the team keep both John Kuhn and Aaron Ripkowski. Thompson could even be tempted by six wide receivers, as well, so there is no relief in sight there.

One position that could shift this roster to allow for more cornerbacks is the linebacking corps, which opened last season with eleven players on the 53-man roster. Mike McCarthy has reiterated that he will not be afraid to use more starters on special teams, so a handful of depth linebackers may now feel the squeeze.

Sep 13, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Jehu Chesson (86) is tackled by Miami (Oh) Redhawks defensive back Quinten Rollins (2) at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

If two of Randall, Rollins, Goodson and Gunter were veteran players, I feel that we wouldn’t be having this conversation. In that situation, perhaps an open competition between Goodson and Gunter would decide the fifth spot and see Micah Hyde make guest appearances as the “sixth” corner when necessary. This high level of inexperience, however, makes the cornerback position somewhat volatile despite the talent level.

Until injury or circumstance forces the issue, Gunter and Goodson will debut primarily as special teams competition. Goodson saw time in this role last season, recording six tackles, and I see gunner potential in Gunter that could make him a regular on the kick units.

The rise of the “passing league” has slowly expanded depth charts at both wide receiver and cornerback, and to assume that Green Bay’s starting four will all appear in 16 games may be overly optimistic. This creativity along the bottom of the roster is quietly one of the more interesting stories to follow through August, but look for the Packers, if at all possible, to find an equation that allows for cornerback number six.

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