As the Green Bay Packers prepare for the 2023 season, there are a number of players that will be under the microscope throughout the season. Most of that attention will be on quarterback Jordan Love, who will be replacing Aaron Rodgers as the team’s starter.
Picking Love as the team’s X-Factor for the season would have been a logical choice. Not only is quarterback arguably the most important position in sports, his performance will likely determine how well the Packers do in 2023.
There is a ton of pressure on him, and no one would argue against him being picked as the biggest X-Factor. But, Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated opted to go in a different direction.
In their opinion, the biggest X-Factor is the quarterback of the Packers’ defense, cornerback Jaire Alexander. Coming off of his second Pro Bowl and All-Pro Second-Team nomination of his career, there is some pressure on Alexander to have a repeat performance to help take the team’s defense to the next level.
“The Packers need their talented defensive players to gel as a productive group, but that won’t work without Alexander continuing to produce on an individual level as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Alexander’s ability to take away one side of the field allows the defensive front to play freely and removes pressure from the rest of the secondary. Alexander recorded 14 passes defended, five interceptions and was named a second-team All-Pro in 2022.”
The Packers’ secondary is arguably their strongest unit on the team. Behind Alexander is Rasul Douglas, who has thrived the last two seasons when not in the slot, and Eric Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick out of Georgia who has also shown flashes of brilliance.
Having two productive players behind Alexander, and good depth, enables defensive coordinator Joe Barry to get creative with his coverages. Knowing he has other players capable of getting the job done, Alexander is free to shadow the No. 1 wide receiver on the other team wherever he lines up on the field.
Knowing one section of the field is locked down by Alexander makes everyone’s life easier on the defense. It also enables the Packers to bring some help in the run game, where they struggled in 2022 as one of the worst run defense teams in the NFL.