No Rasul Douglas? No problem.
Green Bay Packers rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine impressed in his first game starting in place of Douglas, who was dealt to the Buffalo Bills in a last-minute trade on Oct. 31.
Making only his fourth career start, Valentine was tasked with a difficult matchup against one of the league’s most talented receiving corps in the Los Angeles Rams. Valentine responded emphatically, coming away with a team-high three pass breakups while allowing only one reception on eight targets, according to Pro Football Focus. His passer rating against came to just 39.6, and he also pitched in two tackles.
Thanks in part to Valentine’s strong performance, Green Bay held Los Angeles to three points and snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 3-5. The Rams, of course, were without their Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Matthew Stafford, who was unable to play due to a thumb injury he suffered the previous week.
But even with backup Brett Rypien at the helm, the Packers still had to account for the dynamic receiver duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
Valentine spent most of his day lined up across from Nacua, the Rams’ rookie phenom who leads all first-year receivers in targets, receptions, and receiving yards by a considerable margin. However, against Valentine’s coverage, Nacua did not make a single catch on four targets.
It was pretty apparent during the game that Valentine knew he was in a groove, as every time he forced an incomplete pass, he was letting everyone hear about it. After the game, coach Matt LaFleur said that wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“I think he’s a guy that loves to compete, and that’s what I love about him,” said LaFleur. “He’s not going to shy away from competition. He believes in himself, and I think he went out there and had a pretty good performance.”
Fellow corner Jaire Alexander agreed with that assessment and expects more of the same moving forward.
“Man, 37 played like a top-tier corner in the league, and it’s exciting to see,” said Alexander. “He will continue to do that because that’s his standard now. We’ve seen it in camp — he’s young, he’s hungry, he wants to make plays, he wants to be the best. I can’t be more happy to play alongside somebody like that.”
Valentine made a name for himself this summer by standing out on the practice field. It eventually carried over into the preseason, where he showcased his playmaking ability with multiple pass breakups and an interception.
Unfortunately, Valentine went through some growing pains while adjusting to the level of competition during the regular season. This was evident in the team’s Week 7 meeting with the Denver Broncos when Valentine filled in for an injured Alexander and struggled against Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.
To be a starting NFL corner, you have to have unwavering confidence and a short memory. Both are traits Valentine displayed in his bounce-back outing against Los Angeles.
The Packers will obviously miss Douglas’ ball-hawking and leadership, but the team is well aware of Valentine’s upside. Valentine absorbed as much knowledge as he could in the time the two spent together and told USA Today’s Ryan Wood that he planned on texting Douglas to see what he could improve on.
Carrington Valentine had a lot of praise for Rasul Douglas as a mentor. Learned a lot from Douglas, and even after today’s win, said he was going to text him to find out what Douglas thinks he can improve. pic.twitter.com/dqqIEhKTBC
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) November 5, 2023
The expectation around Valentine will be raised moving forward. Fortunately, he has the right attitude, and his coaching staff and teammates have a ton of confidence in him. As a rookie seventh-round pick, that’s all you can ask for.
