We should hear from new Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the coming days. While the team has yet to announce his official supporting cast, there have been plenty of updates.<\/p>\n
With former DC Jeff Hafley taking some of his staff<\/a> to South Florida and others seeking opportunities elsewhere, the Packers are reportedly<\/a> bringing in<\/a>, among others, former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich and former San Francisco 49ers safeties coach\u00a0Daniel Bullocks<\/a> as the\u00a0defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, respectively.<\/p>\n LaFleur and Gannon\u2019s defensive staff are highly experienced<\/a>, with multiple former DCs and a deep background of postseason success.<\/p>\n That\u2019s never a bad thing, but it\u2019ll be a boon particularly for Green Bay\u2019s cornerback room. Despite Hafley\u2019s best efforts, the cornerbacks were the weakest link of 2025\u2019s defense, even when Micah Parsons<\/a> was still healthy. With little cap space to work with, no first-round pick, and an uninspiring group of veterans in-house, the new coaches have their work cut out for them.<\/p>\n Entering the 2025 draft, cornerback appeared to be one of the top areas of need, but Brian Gutekunst\u2019s staff didn\u2019t agree<\/a>, only taking Tulane cornerback Micah Robinson<\/a> late on Day 3. The Packers believed their existing group, along with new free agent<\/a> Nate Hobbs<\/a>, was good enough.<\/p>\n The 2024 group wasn\u2019t exactly great, but Hafley did his best to mask some deficiencies. In Hafley\u2019s scheme, cornerback is a weak-link system where solid play from the whole unit can overshadow what an individual can do.<\/p>\n 2025 showed what a weak link looks like, with nary a single strong link in the chain. By season\u2019s end, opposing quarterbacks were picking on Green Bay\u2019s corners, and the corners struggled to play clean games or catch interceptions that teams gifted them.<\/p>\n The Packers didn\u2019t pay homage to the totem of the ballhawk and subsequently had one of the league\u2019s lowest interception rates, bringing in just seven, and they didn\u2019t do much when they did snag a turnover. The Packers tied with the Jets for zero interception yards. Bear in mind, the Jets didn\u2019t record a single interception.<\/p>\n Andy Herman grades every Packers player on every snap, and he had the cornerback group as his lowest-graded group on defense, with a -10.80 grade. (Only the offensive line\u2019s -13.60 was worse.)<\/p>\n Grades by position this year:<\/p>\n QB: +23.20 Edge: +12.50 (Micah +12.85) \u2014 Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) January 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Former All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon<\/a> led the group with 1,014 snaps over every game this season. Nixon had a stretch of impressive passes defensed and caught the game-winning interception in the first matchup against the Chicago Bears, and was even named a Pro Bowl alternative.<\/p>\n But Nixon was also one of the most penalized players in the league, with 11 accepted penalties against him, and a liability in the end zone.<\/p>\n Overall, the Packers have gotten a lot from Nixon, but they can\u2019t reasonably<\/a> have him as the team\u2019s CB1.<\/p>\n Nate Hobbs was the team\u2019s splash acquisition in free agency. However, a combination of injuries<\/a>, being used out of his best spot, the slot, and overall poor play<\/a> made it look like a botched investment.<\/p>\n Because Hobbs is due a hefty roster bonus<\/a> in March, longtime beat reporters Rob Demovsky<\/a> and Bill Huber<\/a> believe<\/a> he could be a candidate for release before the new league year. The new defensive staff may want to give Hobbs another shot. Still, with the Packers currently over<\/a> the projected 2026 cap, they\u2019ll need to make some tough roster decisions, and it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if Green Bay let him go.<\/p>\n Former seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine<\/a> finally<\/a> got playing time as the season went on, but the results weren\u2019t promising. Valentine put on a masterclass at dropping interceptions and was one of the league\u2019s worst tacklers. As a cheap player on a rookie deal, he\u2019ll be in the mix next season. However, if he\u2019s playing a starting role, the secondary has some problems.<\/p>\n Bo Melton<\/a> was the most intriguing player in the cornerback room, switching<\/a> to the same position as his brother in Arizona after spending most of his career as a wide receiver. But while Melton made the switch, even changing his number<\/a>, injuries at wide receiver meant the new cornerback played significant snaps on offense and none on defense. That said, Melton may be the most promising player for the new staff to work with currently on the roster.<\/p>\n Beyond those four, the experience is even more limited, with Kamal Hadden<\/a>, Shemar Bartholomew<\/a>, Jaylin Simpson<\/a>, and a few practice squad guys currently in-house. The new coaching staff doesn\u2019t have much to work with, and there\u2019s a decent chance Hobbs, one of the most experienced players, isn\u2019t on the roster next season.<\/p>\n The Packers will draft at least one CB in this year\u2019s draft, and Gutekunst has a history of doubling or tripling up at positions of need. There won\u2019t be much extra money, but the hope is that Green Bay can find some decent free agents or reclamation projects. But it\u2019s awfully hard to bank on resources you don\u2019t actually have.<\/p>\n If the coaching staff can develop a top-100 rookie or find the next Rasul Douglas<\/a>, all the better. However, right now, this coaching staff has a herculean task ahead of them \u2014 getting more from this current group of cornerbacks.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
WR: +12.85
RB: +9.95
TE: +2.90
OL: -13.60<\/p>\n
Safety: +11.60
LB: +6.50
IDL: -8.00
CB: -10.80<\/p>\n