This will be a very important season for Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes. The fourth-year man out of Georgia is in the final year of his rookie contract and the Packers have already declined to pick up his fifth-year option. That means Stokes will be a free agent next offseason unless the Packers decide to sign him to an extension before the 2024 campaign ends. That will only happen if Stokes stays healthy and plays well this year. But Stokes faces a big test in Week 1 of the season against the Eagles. For his sake, he will need to get off to a fast start this year.
Packers CB Eric Stokes Faces a Big Test in Week 1: The Background
The Packers selected Stokes in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft using the 29th overall pick. The rookie was pressed into starting duty when both Kevin King and Jaire Alexander went down with injuries. By the end of the season, Stokes started 14 games while playing in 16.
Stokes had a strong rookie campaign. He led the Packers defensive backs with 14 passes defended. He also held opposing quarterbacks to a completion percentage of just 49.5 and a quarterback rating of 71.3 when throwing to receivers covered by Stokes according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Unfortunately, Stokes wasn’t able to build on his strong rookie campaign. He struggled mightily in 2022, allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 80 percent of their passes in the first half of the season. In Week 9, Stokes suffered season-ending injuries to his knee and foot.
In 2023, the same injuries limited him to just three games. The first game he played just a handful of plays on special teams before he suffered another injury. In the other two games, Stokes was clearly not ready.
Training Camp
Over the offseason, the Packers sent Stokes and wide receiver Christian Watson to a hamstring specialist in Madison in an attempt to prevent future injuries. Stokes was able to get through training camp without any injuries.
The coaching staff remarked how strong Stokes looked and how he seemed to be playing his best since his rookie campaign.
Head coach Matt LaFleur was impressed by Stokes’ performance. “Stokes has looked like the guy we thought he could be. I think he’s done an outstanding job out there,” LaFleur said during training camp.
Stokes battled Carrington Valentine for the starting boundary corner job opposite Alexander. Early in training camp, Stokes established himself as the starter and he never looked back.
“Yeah, it was good. Been a good camp…been a great camp, good OTAs, everything, so I really can’t complain,” Stokes said. “Been out there, that’s the main focus, just making sure I ain’t missing nothing, pretty much no days.”
Packers CB Eric Stokes Faces a Big Test in Week 1: The Early Season Test
The Packers Week 1 opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles, a team with a talented group of pass catchers. Stokes and the rest of the Packers secondary will have to cover players like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Last season, Brown caught 106 passes for 1,456 yards while Smith added 81 grabs for 1,066 yards. Both receivers caught seven touchdown passes in 2023.
Stokes will need to utilize his speed to keep up with this talented duo. If the Packers are more aggressive and blitz more often in their new defense, he will also be in single coverage more often. Stokes prefers to press receivers at the line and be more aggressive, but now he has to back that preference up with a strong performance.
The other area Stokes needs to improve upon is tracking the ball in the air. He has only one career interception and that is due in part to his struggles tracking the football. If he can improve in this area, he will not only reduce the number of passes completed against him but increase his interceptions and passes defended.
Just because Stokes will be the starter in Week 1 doesn’t mean his job is secure. If he stumbles, Valentine is talented and ready to step in. That makes it important for Stokes to get off to a good start this season starting with the challenge of slowing down a dangerous Eagles passing attack.
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