Many of the concerns with Green Bay Packers defense lie with cornerback Nate Hobbs. One of the summer’s big free agent acquisitions, Hobbs has so far not met expectations within the fanbase. There’s no denying the talent in the player, but it has not been panning out on the field so far. How should the Packers move forward with the underwhelming corner?

Nate Hobbs Has Been Subpar So Far in his Green Bay Packers

When Nate Hobbs joined the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, signing a 4-year, 48-million-dollar deal, fans believed the team was doing a good job addressing a key position of need with an exciting player. As it turns out, paying up in free agency does not guarantee that the issues will be solved.

Safe to say that, so far, fans have been underwhelmed by Hobbs. PFF would assert that Hobbs is an “average” player. He ranks 60th out of 112 qualifying corners, and has just 1 pass breakup on the season (on the bright side, at least he’s an upgrade over Jaire Alexander).

It’s worth noting that Hobbs has been battling injury problems. He has not looked 100% after a lingering knee issue, which is likely contributing to below-average play. Is there something that the coaching staff could do to improve the situation?

Is the Green Bay Packers’ Coaching Staff Using Nate Hobbs Correctly?

A simple breakdown of the most common coverages Green Bay utilizes when Hobbs is on the field reveals a lot (data courtesy of SumerBrain):

Cover 3 Zone: 24.3% (66 plays)
Cover 1 Man: 13.2% (36 plays)
Cover 2 Zone: 9.6% (26 plays)
Cover 6 Zone: 7.0% (19 plays)
Cover 4 Zone: 5.5% (15 plays)
Other/Unspecified: 38.6% (105 plays)

This makes a lot of sense, as Jeff Hafley’s Cover 3-heavy defense means that Hobbs primarily plays in Cover 3 situations. Unfortunately, Cover 3 plays have been one of Hobbs’ biggest struggles. Cover 3 has been the coverage where Hobbs is allowing his highest completion rate of any coverage.

What Hobbs has been much better at is 1) man coverage and 2) playing in the slot. Cover 1 Man has been Hobbs’ most successful coverage style in terms of completion rate allowed. He also grades out a top-10 player at his position in terms of passer rating allowed in man coverage snaps.

Best corners in man coverage this season: pic.twitter.com/aT5I9yRCqS

— Wincy (@WincinnatiPod) October 23, 2025

Hobbs primarily plays man coverage when lined up in the slot as opposed to lining up outside. Here is the data on where Hobbs has been lined up through six games (data courtesy of SumerBrain):

Right Cornerback: 72.2% of snaps
Right Slot: 5.9% of snaps
Left Slot: 5.5% of snaps
Right Linebacker: 7.7% of snaps

So, the oversimplified conclusion is, as an outside corner, Hobbs is not the best match for the role of outside corner in Hafley’s Cover 3 scheme. What he is much more qualified for is more slot corner and man coverage duty. When allowed to play press coverage (which again, primarily happens in the slot), Hobbs has been quite good. Yet, his rate of playing press technique is well below average.

Moving Forward

Of course, it would be nice if the player being $48 million dollars was able to play outside corner, but the reality is that Hobbs has struggled to do it so far. Both analytics and the eye test assert that Hobbs is truly most effective as a man-heavy, slot corner. In the past, such a lucrative contract would not be given out to a player who cannot excel on the outside, but in the modern NFL, slot corners are more valuable than ever.

The unfortunate reality is, if Hobbs moved inside to primarily play slot, the Packers do not have the luxury of other reliable outside corner options. As much flak as Hobbs has taken, Carrington Valentine has struggled just as much. While Keisean Nixon has been a welcome surprise, the spot opposite him remains a weakness of the team.

Currently, the situation is not ideal. These personnel, usage, and playing time decisions are things that Hafley will need to adjust and find the ideal solutions for if Green Bay wants to make it far into the postseason.

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