The Green Bay Packers selected cornerback Eric Stokes at the end of the first round and, though he’s not been perfect, he’s showing how good he can be.
Picking at the end of the first round in the 2021 NFL Draft following another fruitless appearance in the NFC Championship Game, many Green Bay Packers fans hoped the team would finally take a wide receiver in the first round. After all, it was right before the start of the draft that the Aaron Rodgers saga came to light, so appeasing the quarterback made sense.
Instead, the team elected to address a thinning secondary, picking Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes at No. 29 overall. Stokes was a top-50 prospect by most accounts but a need for better discipline, more consistency, and improved play strength held him back. But when the 6-foot-1, 194-pound corner blazed a sub-4.3-second 40-yard dash, he vaulted into that first round conversation.
Early in the preseason, it’s clear that the Packers have hopes that he can be a big part of their cornerback rotation in his rookie season. He’s played only 25 snaps through two games which, with how Green Bay has rested most of their starters, lines up with him playing a sizeable role.
The bigger takeaway, however, has been the impressive growth of Stokes to this point of his first NFL preseason.
Eric Stokes hasn’t been perfect but the Green Bay Packers have to be pleased with what he’s showing.
In OTAs and early in training camp, the reports weren’t all that positive around Stokes. As things have progressed, however, he’s starting to show more with each outing and is impressing with the flashes of potential he’s showing.
The second preseason outing against the New York Jets was a perfect microcosm of that for Stokes. Early in the game, the rookie was burned by veteran wide receiver Corey Davis and allowed a pretty wide-open catch. Just after that, though, Stokes locked in and forced an incompletion on another throw to Davis, this one on third down to ultimately get the Jets offense off the field.
Moreover, Stokes’ performance in practice has drawn praise from a pretty convincing party, star Packers wide receiver Davante Adams. When asked about the rookie, Adams had this to say, per Packers Wire:
"“He’s the closest thing to Jaire (Alexander) as far as mentality and ability, from what I’ve seen so far. The kid is fast as hell. He can get beat and recover kind of like how Sam Shields would do.”"
Comparisons to Alexander shouldn’t be taken lightly as the other first-round pick at corner in Green Bay has developed into one of the best at his position in the league. And it goes to show the respect that Stokes is earning already in his career.
Stokes didn’t come out of Georgia as a perfect, wholly polished prospect. There was always going to be a learning curve, hence why the Packers brought back Kevin King and have the veteran ahead on the depth chart. But it’s clear that the rookie is learning with each rep and that his ability is already showing through. And that should give fans in Green Bay confidence that their most recent first-round pick is on the early path to being the right choice.