How the Packers use Jaire Alexander, offensive line changes and more

June 19, 2024

The most puzzling aspect of the Packers’ Week 1 game plan against the Vikings was the decision to not have Jaire Alexander, the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history and one of the best man-to-man cornerbacks in the league, follow wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

It backfired in a 23-7 loss, as Jefferson torched the Packers for nine catches, 184 yards and two touchdowns. In the week preceding the game, Alexander had asked to follow Jefferson, too.

Matchups against the Bears and Giants in Weeks 2 and 5 didn’t call for Alexander to follow a receiver — he missed the majority of Week 3 against the Buccaneers and all of Week 4 against the Patriots with a groin injury — so Week 6’s matchup with the Jets was the first time Alexander followed an opponent’s top wide receiver.

Rookie first-round pick Garrett Wilson, whom the Jets drafted No. 10 in April, drew the unfortunate assignment. Wilson was targeted four times with Alexander on him. No completions. Alexander had three pass breakups on those four targets.

“I didn’t play my best performance,” Alexander said Friday in the Packers locker room. “I should have had three interceptions. I’d rather not talk about that.”

Ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Commanders (2-4), Alexander was asked if he hopes to follow their top wide receiver, Terry McLaurin.

“Yeah,” he said. “That’d be cool to do.”

Last season, quarterback Taylor Heinicke targeted McLaurin on 25.6 percent of his throws, according to TruMedia.

Jaire Alexander hopes to shadow Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, right, on Sunday. (Geoff Burke / USA Today)

“He’s really fast. He’s got good hands and he’s their favorite target,” Alexander said of McLaurin (Curtis Samuel actually leads the Commanders with a 22.1 percent target share, to McLaurin’s 16.4 percent). “Anytime you’ve got a team and their favorite target is the best receiver on the field, that’s always something to raise your antennas.”

Alexander said any receiver he follows at Lambeau Field is in for a long day because he draws energy from the home crowd.

“From the first (past breakup) and then I’m in their face yelling at them,” he said. “That’s when I know. And then Lambeau backs me up with the loudness.”

On the road, where the Packers will be Sunday, is a different story.

Alexander learned the hard way when Amari Cooper, then with the Cowboys, torched him in 2019 to the tune of eight catches on 11 targets for 201 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus.

“You’ve got to conserve a little more energy because the opposing fans’ energy, they can take it away from you,” Alexander said. “You’ve got to be a little more composed. I learned that when we played Dallas in 2019. I was so amped up for that game following Amari Cooper and I almost tired myself out. I learned that the hard way.”

GO DEEPER

Aaron Rodgers thinks Packers should 'simplify' struggling offense. Is he right?

Changes on the line?

Reading between the lines of offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich’s comments Thursday, my best guess is we see a different starting offensive line Sunday.

Elgton Jenkins, a 2020 Pro Bowl starter at left guard, has struggled at right tackle this season after returning from ACL rehab. Yosh Nijman, who impressed at left tackle last season in place of David Bakhtiari and Jenkins, hasn’t yet played right tackle in a game, but that would allow Jenkins to slide back inside.

Stenavich, the former Packers offensive line coach, was asked if it’s on Nijman to show he can handle right tackle duties before playing there in a game and implied that the team has been, at least in part, waiting until Bakhtiari settles back into his left tackle role after his own lengthy knee rehab. The reasoning behind that could be not wanting to start Nijman at right tackle, only to have him flip sides midgame if Bakhtiari needs a break, rather having him focus on one position entering a game.

“Do you feel more comfortable with Dave at left tackle now? … Every week it was kind of like, we’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see,” Stenavich said. “Well now, the last two weeks, it’s been kind of like, all right, he’s back in his groove now, so now we can kind of see what’s going to happen (with Nijman).”

That quote came on the heels of perhaps Jenkins’ worst game at right tackle yet against the Jets, a 27-10 loss in which Jenkins committed three penalties and allowed three quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus. The Packers also benched right guard Royce Newman before halftime, a sign he might start Sunday’s game on the bench, even with backup right guard Jake Hanson sidelined with a biceps injury.

My best guess at the starting five against the Commanders? From left to right, Bakhtiari, Jon Runyan Jr., Josh Myers, Jenkins and Nijman. I don’t think the Packers will want both Nijman and Runyan flipping left to right, even if that leaves a dominant left side with Bakhtiari and Jenkins. I think they give Nijman help with Jenkins next to him as the former starts at a new position, which keeps Runyan at left guard, where he had allowed no pressures through five games until last Sunday’s four-pressure debacle.

Cobb update

Wide receiver Randall Cobb spoke to reporters Friday for the first time since riding off the field in the passenger seat of a cart last Sunday with a white towel draped over his head.

Cobb suffered a left high ankle sprain after being rolled up on, and the actual diagnosis was far better than what he initially feared.

“I felt something pop and I thought, ‘This is the way it ends,'” Cobb said. “It’s nice to have the good news and to know that I’ll be able to come back.”

Cobb said he’ll miss two to six weeks with this injury. The Packers have not yet placed him on injured reserve, which would require him to miss at least four games.

Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb thought his career might have been over last week, but he’s expected back this season. (Dan Powers / Appleton Post-Crescent / USA Today)

Last season, Cobb suffered a core muscle injury on his first-half touchdown catch against the Rams in Week 12. In that first half, he caught four balls for 95 yards and a score but missed the rest of the regular season. His latest ailment came just as he was picking up steam, too, having caught seven passes for 99 yards against the Giants the week prior.

“Yeah, I mean this has been my career, unfortunately,” Cobb said. “Break my leg in 2013. I dislocated a big toe when I was in Houston. I have injuries that you don’t normally see, but at the same time also, obviously a high ankle sprain that happens a lot of time throughout the league, so you just keep playing through. … Just try to continue to push through the injuries and have the same mentality — attack my rehab and get back as fast as I can.”

Cobb reminded two reporters that this high ankle sprain is the same injury he suffered in a Week 14 win against the Seahawks in 2016. He played the following week against the Bears, which he said he shouldn’t have, and returned to catch three touchdowns against the Giants in the wild-card round.

Can Cobb return with a bang again this year, picking up right where he left off?

“That’s the hope,” he said.

GO DEEPER

Packers mailbag: Who's really in charge of the offense, Matt LaFleur or Aaron Rodgers?

Injury report

Wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), Cobb (ankle) and Hanson (biceps) were ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Commanders. No other players were listed on the final injury report of the week.

Jenkins didn’t practice Friday and was listed with a knee injury, but he carried no game status designation and will play. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was downgraded from a full participant to a limited participant, but he’ll also play.

For the Commanders, wide receiver Dyami Brown, cornerback William Jackson III, tight end Logan Thomas, quarterback Carson Wentz and running back Jonathan Williams were ruled out. Wide receiver Jahan Dotson didn’t practice Friday and was listed as questionable, while offensive tackle Sam Cosmi and tight end John Bates were also listed as questionable.

Prediction

This is a must-win game for both teams, but especially for a Packers team with realistic playoff aspirations this season. The Commanders have a stout defensive line, but Rodgers ranks second in the NFL in fastest time to throw (2.5 seconds) and should be able to neutralize that front with a quick passing game, as long as the offensive line doesn’t completely collapse like it did last week. The Commanders feature a handful of dangerous playmakers on offense, namely receivers McLaurin and Samuel and a versatile stable of running backs, but Heinicke is better at running himself than throwing the ball, and that alone shouldn’t be enough to beat a desperate Green Bay team.

Packers 24, Commanders 17

(Top photo of Jaire Alexander: Larry Radloff / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57knBob3BlbnxzfJFrZmpoX2d%2FcLbAoqmeZZGhsrmtzZ2cq2WXp7KmuoybmLJloJawrLHRrGY%3D