While the Green Bay Packers’ defense did well on Sunday — if you can believe it — as the unit ranks among the NFL’s highest in fewest yards per play allowed through Week 1’s action, one glaring issue on the defense did pop up at the end of the Packers’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings: cornerback Carrington Valentine’s play when the Vikings were on the warning stripe of scoring a touchdown.
Valentine played for just 13 snaps as Brandon Cisse’s replacement at left cornerback, as the second-round rookie
dropped out of the game due to a cramp. You’ll see it out there that Benjamin St-Juste played one snap of defense on Sunday, but he was only on the field for a kneel-down, not a real play against a live offense. It was Keisean Nixon and Cisse at outside cornerback, and when Cisse left, it was Valentine who subbed in for him.
Unfortunately, Valentine had five pretty bad plays in those 13 reps, and they all came when Minnesota was over the 50-yard line.
The first play was an explosive run; Valentine did little at the point of attack. This has been an issue for Valentine since he came into the NFL, and it was why the Packers actually rotated in Kamal Hadden and Nate Hobbs for Valentine on run looks before those two players were ultimately injured last season.
If you need a reminder of Valentine’s ability to play strong on the perimeter, here’s another example: a screen-turned-touchdown from the Philadelphia Eagles’ Dallas Goedert in the Packers’ playoff loss from the 2024 season.
The second play was a bootleg where Valentine had to follow Justin Jefferson across the field, and Jefferson was able to cut the distance to the goal in half without Valentine ever being a factor on the play.
The third play is a pin-and-pull play where Valentine doesn’t set a hard edge until he’s basically out of bounds, making it more difficult for his teammates to be involved. Valentine doesn’t initiate contact with the running back until they hit the goal line, at which point it doesn’t even matter.
The fourth play? Another run directly at Valentine. This one starts on the right hash, and Valentine doesn’t set an edge until he’s outside of the numbers, letting the Vikings cut the distance to the sticks in half.
And the final play is that same boot action look again, as Minnesota found a call they liked, but this time Jefferson scores a touchdown because Valentine missed a tackle around the seven-yard line.
All in all, it was a pretty poor showing for Valentine on Sunday. The worst place to play him is in the red zone, as the Vikings showed, but it’s where the defense spent a lot of time because of the failures of the offensive line.
Personally, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start spelling Valentine with St-Juste, if Valentine does get playing time, in obvious run looks or the red zone. St-Juste was clearly brought in as a CB4 and a special teams contributor, but with a 6’3”, 200-pound frame, I feel like he gives you a better chance on the perimeter than the 5’11”-and-change, 189-pound Valentine in those situations.
Valentine is fine as a middle-of-the-field coverage player, but a goal-line threat he is not.
