Green Bay Packers slot cornerback Keisean Nixon is going to face one of the most difficult challenges he will face this season going up against Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Thursday night.
Along with playing from the slot, we will see St. Brown lined up on the boundary as well, but the majority of his snaps have come inside and he is far and away the player that lines up from the slot the most on this Detroit team.
In three games, St. Brown has been very efficient, catching 21 of his 27 targets at 13.1 yards per catch with a touchdown. He currently ranks ninth among all receivers in yards per route run—an efficiency metric from PFF. St. Brown’s average depth of target is just eight yards, with Detroit wanting to get him the ball in space where he can make plays after the catch.
In Green Bay’s first three games, Nixon has already had some challenging matchups going up against Darnell Mooney, Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and some tight ends at times as well. In coverage, he has allowed eight receptions on nine targets but has held pass catchers to just 8.9 yards per catch with one pass breakup.
“Talking about traits and attributes in players,” said Joe Barry about Nixon, “The one thing that you guys know about Keisean is that he’s very confident. He’s confident in his abilities and what he can do. But I definitely think it’s helped that we made the decision early on in the offseason that he was going to be our nickel.”
Playing in the nickel compared to on the boundary comes with different challenges. For one, it’s a more confined space so the action happens a lot faster. Nickel cornerbacks also have to matchup with a variety of different players as already highlighted above in terms of who Nixon has gone up against.
It’s also important that the star cornerback be willing to mix it up in the run game. That is going to have to be a balance that Nixon strikes against the Lions as he will be up against St. Brown, while also having to help in the run game. This is a Detroit offense that wants to run the ball and set up play-action off of it—another element that Nixon will have to account for. They are currently averaging the seventh most rush attempts per game this season.
“Playing the nickel corner position that star position, it’s a different world in there,” added Barry. “Keisean definitely has the right mentality to do it but things happen faster. They obviously put different body types in the slot from an offensive standpoint. I think Keisean, he’s done a really good job and will hopefully continue to get better and better as the season goes on.”
The Green Bay linebackers and safeties clogging up the middle of the field and providing help over the top to limit St. Brown’s catch and YAC opportunities will be important in this game, as will all 11 defenders swarming to him in an effort to try to contain him.
At the cornerback position in general, the Packers have some question marks heading into the Detroit game with Jaire Alexander dealing with a back injury that kept him out of Sunday’s game along with Carrington Valentine working through a biceps injury that now has him on the injury report.
With the 11th most targets among all wide receivers through three games, as expected, St. Brown is a big part of the Lions’ offense. That also means that Nixon is going to have to play a big part in doing a very difficult task, which is limiting St. Brown’s impact on the game.
