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It's only June, but it's clear for all to see that the most glaring need on the Packers depth chart right now is at outside cornerback. If you were to ask me here today, what one deficiency is most likely to derail the Packers 2025 season, it has to be a few injuries in the secondary leading to a host of randoms covering some of the best wide receivers the sport has to offer.
(Closely followed by the lack of a true nose tackle, but that's a story for another day).
As it stands right now, I imagine Jeff Hafley and the Packers have 3 guys who they feel could start tomorrow at outside cornerback in an NFL game. To be fair, that's 1 more than you need! But we've seen this movie before. Teams wear thin at cornerback in a hurry, and those teams struggle massively down the stretch.
Thanks to the versatility of sophomore safety Javon Bullard, the nickel-heavy Packers can afford one of Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine or Nate Hobbs to get injured without much of a fuss. Bullard can plug into the slot and leave the 2 healthy CBs to play on the perimeter, where they have each proven they can play to at least a passable degree.
Now if Bullard was to also get hurt, I guess you can take a chance on moving Evan Williams to the slot, and giving someone like Kitan Oladapo more reps next to Xavier McKinney as a high safety. Again, Hafley and the Packers can probably still get away with this.
However the scenario they cannot seem to get away with (for now) is if two of Nixon, Hobbs or Valentine are to get injured, and all of a sudden you're left with only one player with tangible boundary corner experience in the NFL.
Bear in mind the Packers will face off against CeeDee Lamb, Ja'Marr Chase, AJ Brown, Justin Jefferson, Terry McLaurin and Amon-Ra St. Brown before we even get to Thanksgiving! There are no more schedules in this league that avoid star wide receivers. These guys are literally everywhere.
Obviously there is time for the Packers to add defensive backs to this roster, even as late as after 53-man cutdowns. They found Rudy Ford at that point in 2022, he went on to play almost 500 snaps that season. Everyone remembers one year prior when they found Rasul Douglas off a practice squad and got 730 snaps from him in 13 games!
But as for right now, here's the 8 guys the Packers are working with. Can any of these guys play outside cornerback in a pinch?
Micah Robinson
Size: 5-11, 185 lbs
Can he play outside corner? I think he's your best bet
Robinson is a 95th percentile speed guy who plays bigger than he is listed. He's a super linear athlete and while his lateral agility looked problematic on tape, Micah perfectly walks the tightrope of playing with aggressiveness without falling victim to flags (just 1 penalty in final college season).
If the Packers are to start an unknown commodity in this secondary, my guess is we'd see a bit more zone than man coverage to prevent their backup from getting constantly picked on. Robinson was a zone coverage guy everywhere he went in college. Keep his eyes on the quarterback and he can hold up at this level in my opinion.
Kamal Hadden
Size: 6-1, 192 lbs
Can he play outside corner? It's trending that way
The last time Hadden played any kind of sample size of football, he was locking down premiere SEC receivers at Tennessee. He allowed a passer rating of just 7.0 on 184 boundary CB coverage snaps in his last season for the Vols. Eighteen months later, Hadden is turning heads at Packers minicamp. Keisean Nixon singled him out to the media, saying Hadden was "playing outstanding".
While Nate Hobbs was out of practice due to a minor injury, Hadden got some looks with the first team defense, so he might just be in pole position for this job. It's also worth noting he has really desirable length.
Kalen King
Size: 5-11, 190 lbs
Can he play outside corner? I don't think he's fast enough
King is clinging onto the last straw of his 2022 tape at Penn State when he was a press man coverage demon who looked like a future first rounder. Coach Derrick Ansley said the plan this offseason is to give King more looks at outside CB after playing (and practicing) exclusively out of the slot in his rookie year.
I just fear King won't have the long speed to tread water at the most speed-demanding position in the sport. He doesn't exactly have the physicality to compensate for this deficiency either. Look no further than what Marvin Harrison Jr. did to him in 2023 at Ohio State. That's like the 12th best receiver the Packers are up against this year.
Isaiah Dunn
Size: 6-0, 189 lbs
Can he play outside corner? Well he's definitely not a slot
There's no doubt about it, Dunn is an outside corner. He's just probably not a very good one. His 272 career boundary snaps and 0 career slot snaps (preseason included) confirms he prefers the outside. The 26 year old hasn't seen regular season action since 2021, when he was below average per PFF (I must confess I did not watch the film on this occasion, go easy on me).
Jonathan Baldwin
Size: 6-0, 190 lbs
Can he play outside corner? No
Baldwin is listed as a cornerback on the roster but he is absolutely not one. He played safety at college, was evaluated as a safety during the draft process and is now working as a safety at Packers minicamp. I don't know why they have him down as a CB.
Bo Melton, yes Bo Melton
Size: 5'11, 189 lbs
Can he play outside corner? No sorry
I think Melton's transition to corner tells us more about his chances of making the roster at receiver, than the Packers randomly discovering that this speed demon can actually lock people down.
Melton is built just like his younger brother Max, who is a true slot corner. If Bo is to make it on the roster, which would be quite amazing in its own right, he's going to be a core special teamer with emergency slot corner and wide receiver versatility. Not an outside guy by any stretch. I just hope they let him keep #80.
Gregory Junior
Size: 6-0, 203 lbs
Can he play outside corner? Nah
The former Ouachita Baptist DB was rostered for 2 seasons in Jacksonville where they initially experimented with him at outside corner before hastily moving him into the slot. Maybe the Packers give Junior a chance to prove himself on the perimeter again, but if it didn't work in Jacksonville where the starting corners where Montaric Brown and Xavier Crawford, it's not looking great.
Tyron Herring
Size: 6-1, 201 lbs
Can he play outside corner? Maybe actually
Herring is a wildcard. Keep an eye on him. He was a career outside cornerback in lower level colleges (Dartmouth then Delaware) and held up quite well against better competition in the Shrine Bowl. The size jumps off the tape, but he is easily the rawest of these candidates.
The Packers love to keep an undrafted free agent around in late August, so don't be shocked if Herring has that in his favor, but the jury is still out here until we see and hear a little more Packers camp.
Two frontrunners, Two more close behind
For my money, it looks like Hadden and Robinson are your 2 frontrunners. They are the guys who teammates and coaches are exuding the most confidence about when the speak.
Kalen King and Tyron Herring both sit on the verges too, despite their almost polar opposite backstories. Neither can be ruled out.