Eric Stokes - The Animal

[call_me_ishmael]

I don't really remember how good Jaire looked as a rookie to compare and contrast, but to me, this Stokes fella is showing signs of being not just a good player but potentially a great player.

It seems like teams are challenging him a lot and he is a total gamer. With his speed, even if he's fooled a little bit he can catch up and recover. I see very bright things from this young lad.

This is looking like a home run of a draft pick at the bottom of R1. We shall see - time will tell, the early signs are very encouraging in my opinion.

[Joemailman]

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/lis...source=twitter

It took a game for rookie Eric Stokes to get on the field, but he’s now a full-time player for the Packers defense, and quarterbacks are targeting him at a high rate. The Packers’ first-round pick has been targeted 25 times, but he’s allowing only 8.4 yards per catch with a team-high six pass breakups (including an interception). Quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 60.3 when targeting Stokes so far in 2021.

He's like a tall version of Sam Shields.

[Fritz]

He does seem to have the mental makeup for this. And the physical traits are obvious.

[King Friday]

He is a very good young player. To me, he should've been starting from week 1. Sure, you will encounter growing pains, but he's at least going to make a few plays. King couldn't make a play if his life depended on it.

[RashanGary]

He is a very good young player. To me, he should've been starting from week 1. Sure, you will encounter growing pains, but he's at least going to make a few plays. King couldn't make a play if his life depended on it.

Yep. At least he makes plays. The consistency will come with time. He looks like a good player.

[CaptainKickass]

Stokes is really good for a rookie and has the potential to be great after some seasoning. The fact that Kevin King looks/is MUCH slower makes Stokes look that much better.

[texaspackerbacker]

I've been thinking positive about Stokes ever since he was drafted. He has gotten beat a few times, but hopefully he's learning every time and gets over that. On the negative side, I see him a just a little bit stiff when it comes to countering quick moves by receivers - unlike Jaire on that.

[run pMc]

Rookie CBs get tested and picked on. Stokes will be no different until he proves he can cover and intercept/break up passes. He gets burned but I like his mental makeup and he has speed. Very raw technique but is improving. Not sure he's Son of Sam Shields but they might have something with him. Seems like a good candidate for that Year 2 leap next season. Ideally he's your dime outside corner until mid-season, but he's been thrown into the fire and played decent. Losing King was good for his development, but losing Alexander will hurt.

I think King has had so many injuries and missed so much time that his athleticism has suffered, and his development is where it is and likely won't improve. Some players test better than they play and King falls into that category. He doesn't run a 4.43 anymore, that's for sure. I suspect he's lost at least a step and plays too cautious as a result.

Curious to see what Rasul Douglas can offer. Big corner, slow, if you believe PFF grades is a slight upgrade over King and is supposedly a better at zone than man.

[Fritz]

I'd be curious if a month on the PS has helped Kabian Ento learn to tackle better and play zone better.

[run pMc]

Doubtful. Seems like he's been around for a LONG time as a pet project by the coaches, a la Njiman. Based on what I saw in preseason, he has a long way to go on the physicality part. If he were ready, they wouldn't have poached Douglas off the ARI PS.

[Joemailman]

Zach Kruse

@PFF

Eric Stokes: 33 targets, 18 catches allowed, 193 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Jalen Ramsey: 33 targets, 21 catches allowed, 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Tre'Davius White: 33 targets, 20 catches allowed, 199 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

Zach Kruse

Packers rookie CB Eric Stokes has been the second-most targeted CB in football through 5 weeks. 33 total targets. He's given up some plays, but...

4 forced incompletions
69.4 passer rating against
5.8 yards/attempt

Jaire Alexander as a rookie allowed 818 yards, 9.0 yards per attempt, 3 TD's and a passer rating of 100.0.

[George Cumby]

Even if he regresses closer to the Mean, he going to be really good.

[run pMc]

I wonder if he'll be targeted less with Alexander on IR. He's done pretty good for a rookie so far. You can't have enough good corners.
King had a nice game vs. the Bengals, but I think Stokes is better than King.

[Joemailman]

I wonder if he'll be targeted less with Alexander on IR. He's done pretty good for a rookie so far. You can't have enough good corners.
King had a nice game vs. the Bengals, but I think Stokes is better than King.

It's natural for teams to target the rookie cornerback. That might start to change though.