Throughout most of his career since he was selected in the third round of the 2017 draft out of West Virginia by the Eagles, Rasul Douglas has been a good-to-great cornerback. His best season to date came in 2021 with the Packers in his first year there, when he allowed 34 catches on 66 targets for 360 yards, 114 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, five interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 46.3.
Things started to go south with the addition of defensive coordinator Joe Barry, and that was true for most of Green Bay’s defense. So, when the Bills acquired Douglas in a Halloween trade, they must have known that Douglas had a lot left in the tank despite a brutal start to the 2023 season, and that certainly bore out on the field and in the metrics.
Rasul Douglas in Green Bay last season: 23 catches on 34 targets for 274 yards, 102 YAC, 3TD, 1INT, opponent rating of 109.2.
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 23, 2024
Rasul Douglas in Buffalo last season: 23 catches on 41 targets for 264 yards, 77 YAC, 1TD, 4INT, opponent rating of 44.2.
(This is a Joe Barry tweet) pic.twitter.com/VfLPb2Rs7v
2024 is the final year of Douglas’ three-year, $21 million contract with the Packers that he signed in 2022, and if he plays for the Bills in 2024 as he did in 2023, that’ll be a big bargain. As is so often the case, all it takes for a player to show his best work is the ideal home.