Green Bay Packers Urged To Pursue Intriguing Veteran Defender

Everyone is seemingly in love with the Green Bay Packers ‘ prospects and potential right now. They have a quarterback in Jordan Love who seems to be in the process of becoming a truly elite player, and they have four young and promising wide receivers in Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs.

Plenty of people have the Packers, who sneaked into the playoffs last season with a 9-8 record and made it to the divisional round, as not only a lock to make the playoffs but a team that will challenge for first place in the NFC North.

But perhaps people should pump the brakes on the Packers a bit. If there is a concern for the team, it’s defense, particularly its run defense. It was just 23rd in yards per carry allowed and 28th in total rushing yards given up last season, and that could be their weak point once again this fall and winter.

After teams were required to finalize their 53-man rosters on Tuesday, a number of potentially viable players were cut prior to the league-mandated deadline. One man, Kwon Alexander, could help Green Bay shore up its run defense, according to Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report.

“Kwon Alexander joined the Steelers in late July last year and ended up appearing in nine games for Pittsburgh,” Knox wrote . “In those contests, he tallied an impressive 41 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. He allowed an opposing passer rating of only 76.3 in coverage.”

“The 30-year-old appeared in all 17 games with 12 starts for the Saints the previous season. Surprisingly, he has been available all offseason.”

“… The Packers could afford to add some linebacker help after ranking just 23rd in yards per carry allowed last season. They used second- and third-round picks on Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper, respectively, to help address the situation.

“However, Green Bay’s playoff window is again open, and it wouldn’t hurt to add experience to one of the NFL’s youngest LB rooms.”

Alexander’s game and ability may be somewhat reduced compared to several years ago. In 2016, he led the NFL with 108 solo tackles while adding 12 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits and seven passes defended. The following year, he was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time even though his numbers went down a bit.

The Packers have three decent pass rushers in Preston Smith, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary. But their inability to stop the run was evident in their loss to their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in last season’s divisional round of the playoffs.

They took a 13-7 lead early in the third quarter and looked to be minutes away from getting to the NFC Championship Game. But Christian McCaffrey bore down, and they couldn’t contain him. He had 98 rushing yards on 17 carries, and he scored both of his touchdowns in the second half, including the game-winner with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.

This time around, the Green Bay Packers will need to limit opponents to three yards and a cloud of dust often enough if they are to return to their accustomed place as one of football’s truly elite teams.

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