The Green Bay Packers didn’t pay Nate Hobbs $48 million in free agency to reduce him to one role in their secondary. However, it’s been astonishing how they’ve used the former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback, considering he spent most of his career in Vegas playing in the slot. Still, he has logged over 200 snaps as a wide cornerback and only 34 in the slot with the Green and Gold.
The results have not been great through two months of the season. Hobbs leads all Green Bay cornerbacks in reception rate, yards per reception, and passer rating allowed. Over the last two weeks, he has rotated with Carrington Valentine on the outside. In Week 7, Hobbs was on the field for all 76 defensive snaps while Valentine played just two. A week later, the roles flipped — Hobbs saw only four snaps, and Valentine took 62.
On Monday, Matt LaFleur said the cornerback position will remain a competition and that the team still has faith in Hobbs despite benching him in favor of Valentine. LaFleur also noted that the competition will include Keisean Nixon, adding that he was pleased with how Valentine played against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“CV got an opportunity,” LaFleur said on Monday, “and he went out there, and I thought he played really competitively the entire game.”
Valentine is more suited to play on the outside and is also a better boundary option than Hobbs. Moreover, through seven weeks, Hobbs played just 25 snaps in the slot, allowing zero catches on one target. Meanwhile, Javon Bullard allowed 5.4 yards per target while covering the slot across 164 snaps, ranking third in yards allowed per snap in that role.
Carrington Valentine with a HUGE pass breakup in the endzone against DK Metcalf#GoPackGo
pic.twitter.com/QrwJAR12Vt
— SleeperPackers (@SleeperPackers) October 27, 2025
The natural move would be to slide Hobbs inside and keep Valentine on the outside, where he’s more effective. However, that wouldn’t be an easy adjustment. Changing their roles would impact the structure of Green Bay’s entire secondary, from coverage responsibilities to safety rotations. Ultimately, moving one piece would require reconfiguring the entire unit.
Take Bullard, for example. He’s logged 273 snaps in the slot and just 24 at safety. If Hobbs moves inside, what happens to Bullard? Does he rotate in the slot or shift to the post alongside Evan Williams? He’s played only five snaps outside all year, so putting him there might not be a realistic option for Green Bay.
Bullard is at his best when he’s near the line of scrimmage, so moving him back to a post role isn’t the most viable solution. Moreover, would Green Bay really want to scale back Evan Williams’ workload when he’s been one of their most productive deep safeties?
According to Pro Football Focus, 94 safeties have played at least 100 snaps this season, and Williams ranks as the 10th-highest graded among them. The Packers run Cover 2 at the second-highest rate of their defensive calls, and Williams and Xavier McKinney form the ideal duo for that personnel.
Team coverage rates through Week 8
Via @FantasyPtsData pic.twitter.com/P5rEDzEwYX
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) October 28, 2025
Another factor to consider is how Green Bay would deploy its secondary in base formations, since it won’t be in nickel and dime personnel all the time. Would Valentine start alongside Nixon, or would he rotate with Hobbs?
If Valentine takes the bulk of the snaps, it would significantly reduce Hobbs’ role, and the Packers didn’t pay him top dollars to sit on the bench.
Don’t get me wrong: Valentine should be starting alongside Nixon. But the idea that simply swapping Hobbs for him will solve everything isn’t realistic. There are too many variables to consider before making that kind of move.