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USA Today
19-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Stats show Keisean Nixon's big improvement in 2024 and value he brings to Packers defense
Keisean Nixon has had quite the rise after three years in the wilderness with the Raiders, becoming an All-Pro kick returner for the Packers and eventually a full-time cornerback. He enters 2025 firmly in the starting rotation in Green Bay, and the numbers show just how far Nixon has come in his three years with the Packers. Here is his complete statistical profile: Strengths Given the winding career Nixon has had, and the fact he only has two years of close to full time defensive snaps to analyze, it feels unfair to expect him to have established many consistent strengths, and there are only a couple of statistical areas he has excelled in year on year. Among qualified cornerbacks since 2022, Nixon ranks in the 92nd percentile for stops per game, which are tackles resulting in a failure for the offense. Nixon has been an active and impactful run defender, which is an underrated skill set in a corner. He was unleashed as a blitzer in 2024, and repaid the Packers' faith, grading out as the best in the NFL at his position in terms of hurries and hits per pass rush opportunity, sacks per opportunity and PFFs pass rush productivity (PRP) metric. Nixon was the most dangerous blitzing corner in the league, putting up nine pressures and three sacks. He also had a pair of sacks in 2023. Weaknesses While Nixon has been a playable cornerback, which as a former vet minimum free agent pickup, is a success in itself, he is not a Pro Bowler by any means, and has struggled compared to his peers in various advanced metrics, at least until 2024 (more on that later). Since 2022, he ranks in the 22nd percentile or worse in snaps per reception allowed (S/REC), reception percentage allowed (REC%) and forced incompletion rate (FI%). He has been consistently below average in NFL passer rating allowed (NFLPR) as well. In particular, he has struggled in zone coverage, ranking in the 28th percentile or lower in NFLPR, FI%, S/REC and REC% since 2022. Green Bay kicked Nixon from the slot to the boundary midway through 2024, and the move was justified, as he has not fared too well inside, at least according to the numbers. When manning the slot, Nixon failed to rank higher than the 36th percentile in any of the stats used to build his profile. Trending up The good news is that Nixon has made truly remarkable progress in coverage as he has played more on defense, especially this past season. Year on year, his Y/SNAP improved from the 10th percentile to the 38th and then the 90th in 2024, while his S/REC ranking rose from the 2nd percentile in 2022 to the 13th and then the 51st last season. While he still graded out below average in both REC% and FI% in 2024, his rankings also improved in both metrics from 2022 to 2023 and again from 2023 to 2024. Nixon was a much better corner in man, zone, and in the slot in 2024 than he was in either of the previous two years. On the whole, he was just a tick below an average cover corner last season, and if he plays on the perimeter more consistently in 2025, he could post even better overall numbers. Nixon has also become a better run defender over time and has been one of the better run defending cornerbacks in the league since 2023. In 2024, he had a career year in terms of missed tackle rate. He ranked in the 71st percentile compared to his peers, missing 9.9% of his tackles overall. Trending down There is only one statistical measure in which Nixon has notably declined over time, which is a very positive sign. That statistic is penalties, which is an important one for evaluating cornerbacks, as they are one of the most commonly penalized positions, and it does reflect on their coverage ability. After ranking in the 63rd percentile for penalties per snap in 2022, Nixon dropped slightly to the 59th percentile in 2023, before a steep decline to the 27th percentile last season. He was flagged nine times in 2024, having only drawn six penalties in the previous two years combined. Evaluating Nixon based on where he is right now, he has turned into a slightly below average cover corner, but the added value of his prowess in run defense and as a blitzer make him a just above average cornerback in terms of the whole package he provides. Whether he can find another gear remains to be seen, but for the $6 million per year the Packers are paying Nixon, he has returned immense value. Having just turned 28, there is likely not a super high ceiling to be hit, but the move to the perimeter seemed to suit Nixon and could allow him to play his best football in 2025.
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Carrington Valentine is Packers best cover corner but must improve run defense in 2025
As a former seventh-round pick, Carrington Valentine has already exceeded expectations as a pro, and he may boast the highest upside of any of the Green Bay Packers cornerbacks in 2025. Entering his third season, here is Valentine's statistical profile based on his play in 2023 and 2024: Strengths It is truly impressive how well Valentine has fared in coverage ever since he first set foot on an NFL field, defying his low draft status. He has scored extremely well in various coverage statistics across 2023 and 2024. Among qualified NFL corners, Valentine ranks in the 77th percentile in NFL passer rating allowed (NFLPR), the 74th percentile in snaps per reception allowed (S/REC) and the 73rd percentile in yards allowed per snap (Y/SNAP). Corners are one of the positions most prone to giving up penalties, but Valentine has also performed well in that area, not giving up free yardage regularly. He ranks in the 75th percentile for penalties per snap, committing just three of them in 2023 and two in 2024. Valentine has been best used in zone coverage in his short NFL career so far, grading out in the 90th percentile for S/REC and the 77th for Y/SNAP when in zone. The lowest he ranked in any of the stats used to build his zone profile was the 48th percentile – still right around average – in reception percentage allowed (REC%). He has been one of the better zone corners in the league according to the numbers. He also ranks in the 71st percentile for NFLPR when in man coverage though, showing his bona fides in that scheme. Weaknesses Most of Valentine's deficiencies have come in the run game, where he has frankly been a bit of a liability. He falls in just the 10th percentile for stops per game, which are tackles causing a failure for the offense, and the 14th percentile in solo tackles per snap against the run. His issues in the run game threaten to reduce the amount he sees the field in base defense or when it is not an obvious passing situation, especially as his teammates Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon are much more trustworthy as run defenders. In coverage, Valentine does not prevent receptions all that regularly, ranking in the 31st percentile in forced incompletion rate (FI%). His issue of allowing catches too regularly has mostly shown up in man coverage, where he grades out in the 21st percentile in FI% and the 16th in REC%, compared to the 57th and 48th percentile respectively in zone coverage. It is not an outright problem, more a feature of Valentine's style as a cornerback. He allows a lot of receptions when he is targeted, but as seen from his NFLPR and Y/SNAP numbers, quarterbacks are not exactly picking up big chunks of yardage when they throw at Valentine. Valentine also lacks versatility, as he is strictly an outside corner, having played only 36 snaps in the slot in his NFL career. This is not an issue for the Packers specifically though, as they have plenty of other players capable of manning the slot position. Trending up The most obvious area of growth in Valentine's game in his second NFL season was his performance in man coverage, as he went from a well below average corner in man to an above average one, which is a very significant jump. Valentine's NFLPR ranking improved from the 51st to the 91st percentile, while his Y/SNAP and S/REC both went from the 26th percentile to the 93rd and 99th percentile respectively. While his overall FI% was still under the NFL average in 2024, ranking in the 37th percentile, this was up from the 24th percentile the previous year, indicating some growth in Valentine's ability to contest passes. After grabbing the first two picks of his career in 2024, Valentine's ranking in terms of interceptions per target (INT/TGT) naturally improved significantly, from tied for last in the league in 2023 (due to having zero interceptions) to the 93rd percentile last year. Trending down Valentine was a poor run defender as a rookie, but he actually got even worse in 2024. His stops per game and solo tackles per game rankings both declined, but more importantly, his ranking in terms of missed tackle rate nosediving from the 61st percentile to the 13th between 2023 and 2024. In coverage, Valentine's only notable statistical regression helps to explain the volatile nature of the cornerback position year to year. After ranking in the 82nd percentile in REC% as a rookie, he dropped all the way to the 1st percentile last season, 125th out of 127 qualified corners. He was able to make up for it in other ways, and was slightly better in coverage overall in 2024, but the rate of receptions Valentine is allowing is something he will want to work on. In terms of his overall profile, Valentine is a well above average cover corner who has been consistently very good in zone and in 2024 took a big leap to being a just above average man corner as well. He profiles as Green Bay's best cover corner. He is also by far their worst run defending cornerback though, and this drops his overall value to right at league average, which is fine, but Valentine is doing himself a disservice if he does not work on his run defense, as it could mean his snaps are more limited than he would like. If Valentine stays exactly how he is, he was still a fantastic selection in the seventh round, but entering his age 24 season, the sky could be the limit for him in coverage. If he can keep developing in that aspect while bringing his run defense to an acceptable level, he may become an extremely valuable player for Green Bay.
