Green Bay Packers Position Analysis, Volume VII: Defensive Backs

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Now for the seventh and final positional analysis of the Green Bay Packers: Defensive Backs. I began this series on player personnel grades for 2008 and outlook for 2009 before the draft and free agency, so here I will examine only those players on the roster in 2008.

CB Charles Woodson, 6’1”, 202 lbs., 11 years experience

2008 stats: seven interceptions (169 return yards, two touchdowns), 20 passes defensed, one fumble forced, one fumble recovered, three sacks (14 yards), 79 tackles (66 solo)

If you are a wide receiver, you do not want to see this man crouching in front of you. Woodson is one of the five elite cornerbacks in the NFL, and if he is on your side of the field, there is a good chance the ball will not get to you.

All of the above Pro Bowl statistics were accomplished playing through a broken toe, an injury that severely limits the necessary changes of direction required of a man-to-man cover cornerback. Woodson is not only deserving of an A in 2008, but at only 32 years old, has enough left in the tank to play at a high level into the next decade (B+).

CB Al Harris, 6’1”, 190 lbs., 11 years experience

2008 stats: 12 passes defensed, 21 tackles (all solo)

Harris missed four-plus games due to injury and was limited in further games due to a spleen injury. It was his first season not playing every game, so while he is 34, there is no reason to think he cannot still play well: Harris made a trip to the Pro Bowl as an alternate and has been reliable and productive. Players rarely disappear that quickly.

However, he may have earned that trip to Hawaii partially on reputation: I can only give him a B- for 2008 because of missed games and slipping production.

With the development of a young Tramon Williams, who filled in during Harris' injury, I see Al's role diminishing. He will probably be only a nickelback—albeit likely the best in the league—by the end of the season (B- again, given he should play a full season).

CB Tramon Williams, 5’11”, 191 lbs., two years

2008: five interceptions (78 return yards), 14 passes defensed, one fumble recovery, two fumbles forced, 52 tackles (45 solo)

When Williams filled in for Harris, he struggled mightily in that first game against Dallas, but two weeks later against Atlanta came up with a touchdown-saving interception. Two weeks after that, he helped shut down one of the league's top passing games (229 yards, only 35 to the top two receivers), with the Packers defense scoring as much as the Colts offense (14 points).

Williams did a fantastic job playing a role he was not projected to play in 2008—only five players had more interceptions than a player who did not even start half the season. That is why Williams earned a B+ for 2008 and seems poised to take over the starting position in what promises to be one of the better position battles in training camp...his future rates an A-.

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