Florida State cornerback Renardo Green checks several boxes when it comes to what the Packers may be looking for at the cornerback position, especially under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Green is just under 6-0 tall and weighs 188 pounds. He posted a Relative Athletic Score of 8.19 and meets all the typical thresholds that the Packers desire at the cornerback position.
Green played 1,848 defensive snaps during his five-year career at Florida State. The majority of those snaps came on the boundary, but he does have experience and the ability to play inside as well.
Over the last two seasons, when the bulk of Green’s snaps have come, he’s been a sound tackler, making 100 of his 110 attempts. In coverage, he allowed a completion rate of only 53.5 percent and 11 yards per catch on 96 targets. Green has one interception and 17 pass breakups during that span, 13 of which came in 2023.
For what it’s worth, he finished 13th in PFF’s coverage grade in 2023, and fourth in run defense grade among cornerbacks in 2022. Green has also played 298 career special teams snaps.
For more on Green’s game, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft report. Of note, he mentions Green’s ability in press coverage, which Hafley has said that he loves playing, and Zierlein also notes that Green can play both inside and out at the NFL level.
Pure press-man cornerback whose inspired coverage against LSU’s talented receiving corps should carry weight in his evaluation. Green is patient to match the release and possesses good agility to recover quickly when beaten. Elite body control allows him to phase double moves and route breaks. He’s quick to close and tackle when beaten. Physical play gets him flagged inside the route and he doesn’t find the football often enough when routes travel downfield. He can improve in run support, but he’s more than willing. Green might need safety help over the top, but his route tracing and catch restriction over the first two levels give him a good chance of becoming an above-average starter outside or from the slot.
The Packers find themselves in a somewhat interesting spot at the cornerback position.
On paper, with Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, and Carrington Valentine as boundary options, Keisean Nixon in the slot, and Corey Ballentine as depth, they should be in good shape–and that very well could be how things work out.
However, you also don’t have to squint too hard to see some question marks at this position group either. Valentine still needs to show he can make that Year 2 jump, which is never a given, while I’m not sure anyone knows what to expect from Stokes. Even with Nixon returning, that nickel position remains upgradeable, and depth is needed there as well.
Green is a good schematic fit for what the Packers will want to do under Hafley. He raises the floor of this position group by bolstering the depth both on the boundary and from the slot and can grow into a larger role.
Green is the 13th-ranked cornerback on PFF’s big board in what is a loaded class and the 91st-ranked prospect overall.
