Green Bay Packers: Top 10 secondary not out of the question

Although it’s banking on potential, the Green Bay Packers could be recognized as one of the best secondaries in the league by season’s end.

For the past few seasons, the Green Bay Packers have had one of the weakest secondaries in the NFL. Thanks to a bevy of botched draft choices and poor management in the past, the defense has relied heavily on its front seven to carry the load. However, more efficient drafting and management, as of recent, has led to promising potential.

At the beginning of the 2017 season, Green Bay’s two starting cornerbacks were Davon House and Damarious Randall, while Kevin King filled in when healthy. Other contributors included Quinten Rollins, Lenzy Pipkins, Josh Hawkins and Donatello Brown.

Randall is now with the Cleveland Browns, while House, Rollins, Hawkins and Brown all remain on the roster bubble. That’s one player for certain, and four others who may not even be on the final 53-man roster. Seemingly, in the span of one offseason, new general manager Brian Gutekunst has flipped the depth chart upside down.

In his first few months as general manager, Gutekunst signed an old friend — Tramon Williams —to help mentor the younger players. It was the beginning of his master plan. The second phase was drafting two promising rookies: Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. Both were highly-touted during the draft process.

And of course, we can’t forget about Green Bay’s second-round pick from last season, Kevin King, who had his moments, albeit in a short-lived rookie season. Coupled with the leadership of Williams, this trio of young cornerbacks suddenly have what it takes to flip the Packers secondary from one of the worst to one of the best.

All reports from training camp indicate a strong showing from the youngsters, so far. Although King is currently dealing with an undisclosed shoulder injury, the rest of the corners have given impressive effort in practices. Alexander picked off Aaron Rodgers on the first play of the first day of camp, while Jackson had an admirable performance in Green Bay’s first preseason game last Thursday. Rodgers has also raved about Williams’ leadership in the locker room.

As for the safeties, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix steps in as one of the resident veterans on defense, while promising youth in Josh Jones and Kentrell Brice make for a nice complement at strong safety.

In total, the Packers boast two first-round picks (Alexander, Clinton-Dix) and four second-round picks (King, Jackson, Jones, Rollins) in the secondary. At this point, it’ll be up to the players to pan out. If they do, it could pay huge dividends.