There has been much discourse on the Green Bay Packers corner of the internet as to whether the franchise needs an upgrade at nickelback, given how important the position has become across the entire NFL. Keisean Nixon played 809 defensive snaps a season ago as the team’s nickel cornerback, and it is all but guaranteed he will continue to be relied upon in that spot in 2024 based on comments at the NFL Owners Meeting last week. 

“I certainly feel really good about Keisean and what he did as a first-year (starter) with that many snaps in the nickel and where he's headed," general manager Brian Gutekunst said, according to Packers.com writer Wes Hodkiewicz. “Having some stability there is something that gives me some peace.”

Gutekunst also pointed out that the new defensive staff, led by Jeff Hafley, are high on Nixon’s ability to man the nickel position (h/t Ryan Wood). Hafley, in particular, is “very excited to have [Nixon] back” in the fold, as mentioned by Hodkiewicz. 

Green Bay inked Nixon to a three-year, $18-million earlier this offseason, which includes $6.5 million in guaranteed money. The University of South Carolina product is coming off a season in which he registered 80 tackles, three tackles for loss, and six pass deflections. His three tackles for loss were the most among the secondary. 

While Nixon’s $6 million average annual salary takes into account his All-Pro return ability, that figure still ranks in the upper echelon of defenders who were primarily nickel cornerbacks last year, according to Acme Packing Company’s Justis Mosqueda. 

Out of the 32 most-played slot defenders last season, here are their contract rankings (APY, non-rookie deals only):

$12 million Jalen Thompson (starts at safety)
$10.3M Taron Johnson
$10M Kenny Moore II
$6 Keisean Nixon, Mike Hilton
$4 Josh Metellus

Everyone else is under $3M.

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) March 21, 2024

Even with Nixon all but penciled in as the team’s nickel for the 2024 season, given the high price tag, I still think it behooves Gutekunst to spend at least one of the team’s 11 draft picks on a cornerback. As you may recall, Jaire Alexander was sidelined for 10 games last year, Rasul Douglas was traded to the Buffalo Bills at the trade deadline, and Eric Stokes only appeared in three games, leaving Carrington Valentine, a 2023 seventh-round rookie, and Corey Ballentine, who was signed to the practice squad in late September, as the two starters on the outside at various points throughout the season. Plus, Alexander has played only 27 out of a possible 51 games over the last three seasons, and Stokes has been snake-bitten by injuries over the last two seasons, having played in only 12 games. Not to mention, Stokes is entering his fourth season; it is highly unlikely – if not guaranteed – that the Packers will not pick up his fifth-year option in May. 

If the Packers do draft a cornerback, do you believe they will use a premium pick to do so? Don’t bet on it, from my vantage point, especially if you take Gutekunst’s recent comments on the matter at face value. But the right value might be hard to ignore because you can never have enough quality cornerbacks in a pass-heavy league.