It came in Benjamin St-Juste‘s fifth year, his first with a new team, but he had his most consistent season with the Los Angeles Chargers to date in 2025. Yes, it was in a reserve role, but the sample size is large enough to conclude it was easily his best year as a pro.
A lot of that can be credited to the scheme fit. Now, with St-Juste heading to Green Bay, the fit could be very similar.
In his first four seasons, Benjamin St-Juste played more man coverage on average with the Washington Commanders than he did in his one year in Los Angeles. In 2022 and 2023, St-Juste even racked up 500 snaps in the slot. While it wasn’t a disaster, it wasn’t his natural position playing on the boundary.
St-Juste had a pretty rocky four-year stint in Washington before going to the Chargers. However, Jesse Minter’s defense in LA fit St-Juste like a glove.
Minter’s defensive philosophy relies heavily on zone defense. That’s where St-Juste has excelled. No Chargers cornerback played man coverage more than 21% of the time in 2025. Meanwhile, no cornerback played man more than 22% of the time for Jonathan Gannon in Arizona.
Now, Gannon is in Green Bay as the defensive coordinator, and it’s widely expected that Gannon will run something like Minter’s quarters scheme with the Chargers.
Benjamin St-Juste still will have to adjust to new surroundings and a new team, and Gannon’s defense won’t necessarily be a carbon copy of what St-Juste saw with Minter. However, the role could be strikingly similar.
Don’t take Pro Football Focus as gospel, but St-Juste had a 77.1 coverage grade a year ago, ranking ninth among 114 cornerbacks. The year prior in Washington, St-Juste ranked 113th out of 117. What about 2023 in coverage grade, you ask? St-Juste was 96th out of 128 qualified cornerbacks.
If you don’t want to take PFF’s word for it, fine. However, it highlights that St-Juste isn’t some horrendous cornerback. He just wasn’t a fit for Washington’s scheme. Still, he was in Los Angeles, and that scheme will be similar to what he sees this year.
Benjamin St-Juste spoke confidently last May after signing with the Chargers about Minter and how he puts players in the right position.
Very smart man, smart coach and from the small amount of meetings that we had, it looks like he’s able to cater defenses and plays to the strengths of the players that he has. From Derwin (James, Jr.) to Elijah (Molden), to Cam (Hart) and Tarheeb (Still), he puts players in the right position for them to just go excel instead of just plugging them and leaving them there.
That last part sounds pretty damning and like a slight jab at Washington. St-Juste gave Minter a nod for putting players in the right spots to succeed, instead of just throwing them out there to figure it out themselves.
Gannon will try to rebuild his coaching career after the Cardinals fired him. Before taking over the Cardinals, Gannon was the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles for two years. The overall results were often volatile, but quite a few players had career years with Gannon at the controls. There was an overarching theme of tons of zone coverage, and that carried over to his time in Arizona. Even though he wasn’t calling the plays on defense, he undoubtedly has had plenty of input as the head coach.
The Packers took down the Cardinals on the road last year, and they also beat Gannon’s in Green Bay the season before that. In that 2024 matchup, Gannon’s defense played a ton of off coverage, trying to limit deep shots and force Jordan Love and Co. to earn it. Matt LaFleur gave kudos to Gannon after that matchup.
They were playing pretty soft and took a lot of things that we wanted to do, or we saw on tape, away. (They) just tried to make us play perfect, which we were far from perfect. So, give credit to them. I have a lot of respect for those guys. Gannon, I think, does a hell of a job.
Bringing in St-Juste to help on the back end, knowing this defense plays to his strengths, was a savvy move by the Packers. It’s also a smart move for St-Juste, who will be trying to prove last year wasn’t a flash in the pan. What his role will be in terms of snaps played will be fascinating to watch take shape. St-Juste didn’t have a prominent role with the Chargers, playing the fourth-most snaps at cornerback. However, he packed a punch in those snaps.
At 6’3″, Benjamin St-Juste brings size to the cornerback position that the Packers don’t have on the roster. From that perspective, he provides a nice change of pace. More importantly, given what was on display last year, he’s a great fit for Gannon’s defense.