After coming up one win short of the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, the Green Bay Packers knew they needed to improve in key areas this offseason.
One huge weakness that got exposed in the NFC Championship Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in late January was cornerback depth.
To improve the depth behind All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander, the Packers drafted Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
To provide a better idea of what to expect from the 29th overall pick, here is a breakdown of his skill set:
What he does well
The appeal of Stokes starts with the tantalizing physical tools he brings to the table. At 6-0 and 194 lbs. with 33″ arms and a 4.25 40-yard dash, he’s a rarity.
When looking for his strengths on film, a few things immediately jump out.
Stokes does some of his best work in the red zone, especially defending fades and slants.
Here is a prime example from the 2020 Alabama game:
On 3rd-and-9, Stokes is isolated in one-on-one coverage with Heisman Trophy-winning receiver DeVonta Smith.
Knowing the down and distance, he can probably assume that a shot to the end zone will be coming.
When the ball is snapped and Smith releases up the field, Stokes stays low and patient in his backpedal. He doesn’t bite on the stutter-step and stays on the inside hip of Smith. When Smith stems outside, Stokes flips his hips and extends his arm to start pushing him toward the sideline.
By the time he crosses the goal line, Smith has no room to extend for the pass or make the catch with his feet in-bounds.
Stokes was technically flagged for pass interference on the above play, but it was a bad call. He played the fade as well as he could have. Both players were fighting for position, the contact wasn’t excessive and he looked back for the ball. That’s textbook coverage right there.
Another example of Stokes’ red-zone prowess comes from the Florida game:
Stokes (top of the screen) is isolated in one-on-one coverage again. The left outside receiver is running a slant with room to work across the middle of the field.
When the receiver pushes upfield and starts to make his break to the inside, Stokes meets him with a two-hand jam and starts to ride the route across the middle of the field. Because of the contact from Stokes, the receiver gets his hands up late, the ball skips through his mitts and the pass falls incomplete.
Whether he was targeted on fades or slants in the red zone, Stokes put himself in position to make plays.
According to Pro Football Focus, the former Bulldog allowed 16 completions on 28 targets along with a meager 145 yards and one touchdown in nine games last year.
The only touchdown he gave up in 2020 was to the Heisman Trophy winner, and it was well covered, as shown below.
Stokes seems to be at his most comfortable using his size and length to disrupt receivers at the line of scrimmage in press coverage.
Under new Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry, he will likely be asked to play a lot more zone coverage than he’s accustomed to.
At Georgia, Stokes primarily played man coverage but he did have some deep-third and shallow-zone responsibilities here and there. With his combination of closing speed and length, he has the potential to be very disruptive from off-coverage alignments.
Against Alabama, he demonstrated this promise with a nice rep in zone coverage against DeVonta Smith.
After watching the tight end vacate his zone, Stokes (bottom of the screen) falls back to help his safety and contest the deep throw intended for Smith.
Here he is closing on a hitch route from six yards off against Florida:
Against Tennessee, Stokes made an impressive play in shallow zone coverage.
Playing the right side hook/curl zone, he does a great job of passing off the receivers and staying over the top of the running back, all while reading the quarterback’s eyes. When the running back slows down to work back to the ball, Stokes jumps the route for a momentum-shifting interception.
Where he can improve
Stokes has the speed to turn and run with just about any receiver, but he doesn’t always trust his technique.
Like a lot of young corners, he will panic and grab when a receiver changes direction on him suddenly rather than trusting his footwork to keep him in a favorable coverage position.
Here are two examples from the Arkansas and Alabama games last year:
It’s important to note that Stokes is a former running back who didn’t start playing cornerback until his senior year of high school. As a relatively new player to the position, he’s still getting some of the fundamentals down.
Right now, he’s good at preventing big plays, making up ground if he’s beaten and closing quickly on underneath throws.
Problems arise when he doesn’t get hands on receivers to feel their route breaks and allows free releases off the line. His footwork also gets him into trouble at times.
Thinking Football did a great breakdown of Stokes on YouTube with All-22 camera angles, some of which I used for this article to provide a better view of what he’s doing in coverage.
The Alabama game, most notably, showed that footwork is his biggest area for improvement. In college, he had way too many clunky transitions and stumbles. That’s not going to cut it against NFL receivers consistently.
As you can see in some of the clips below, Stokes doesn’t always use his hands to feel route breaks. When he doesn’t do that, he can lose track of his man pretty quickly. He also tends to take 3-5 steps to slow his momentum and needs to regather himself at times.
Stokes’ change of direction isn’t top-notch, so he needs to play with better route recognition and footwork to make up for it.
Against runs, screens and fly sweeps, he’s a mixed bag. Although Stokes is a pretty consistent wrap-up tackler, he generally prefers to wait and “catch” ball carriers rather than attack them head-on and strike with force behind his pads. He also doesn’t show much strength or fight to get off blocks.
This is something NFL offensive play-callers could exploit if it doesn’t improve.
Final thoughts
Stokes is an ascending young cornerback who showed steady improvement throughout his three-year career at Georgia. As a relatively new player to his position, he’s still developing in some areas.
Getting stronger, being more aggressive in run support and improving his route recognition and footwork will help him take his game to the next level. He clearly possesses quality-starter physical talent; he just needs to hone his technique a bit to get the most out of it.
Stokes may or may not be a Week 1 starter but expect him to challenge for a starting spot at some point during the 2021 season. If he takes coaching and puts in the work, he could be the CB2 upgrade Green Bay has been desperately searching for.
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