The latest message from the Green Bay Packers front office suggests that cornerback Jaire Alexander will remain with the team through the draft, shutting down the notion that they would use him as a pawn to gain an earlier or additional pick. By the same token, general manager Brian Gutekunst did not make it seem any more likely that Green Bay will hold onto him. If he isn’t traded post-draft, he may simply be released for salary cap reasons. Alexander’s murky future–and probable departure–means that the Packers should target a replacement CB at some point in the draft. One Packers writer has a trend-breaking projection for who that pick will be.
Green Bay Packers To Secure a Longterm CB This Draft?
Last year, Mark Oldacres of The Packers Wire and Cheesehead TV correctly predicted Green Bay’s first three selections–tackle Jordan Morgan, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and safety Javon Bullard. Oldacres is back at it this year with a slate of projections for the newest batch of Packers.
Noting that the team has chosen only two CBs, both 7th rounders, in the last three years, he has Gutekunst bucking that trend in 2025 given the Alexander situation and the lack of young talent at the position. Acquiring ex-Raider Nate Hobbs in free agency (4 years, $48 million) fortifies the DB corps for now, but behind him and Keisean Nixon, there is little depth and no apparent heir for years ahead. Hobbs is injury-prone but solid; Nixon is a viable veteran. Neither is a stud.
To address the void and provide insurance if/when Alexander leaves, Oldacres predicts that the Packers will use a first round pick on a CB this draft.
Sitting no. 23 on the draft clock, they have been linked to Michigan’s Will Johnson, an exciting and explosive option, but he is unlikely to fall that far. If they don’t plan on trading up, they might as well forget about him. A more realistic choice is Kentucky junior Maxwell Hairston, who picked off five passes in 2023 before playing just five games last season due to a shoulder injury. What makes him worth a first round cast?
Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston a Perfect Fit
Says Oldacres:
Hairston is the only corner who makes sense for the Packers in the first three rounds who hits their key draft principles of being a truly elite athlete who is young, and importantly at cornerback, has ball production on his resume.
He should fit perfectly in Jeff Hafley’s scheme and gives effort in the run game, despite mixed results. Hairston is lighter than the Packers usually draft at corner at 183 lbs, but he has indicated he now weighs in the 190s, which would remove that issue.
Hairston has a robust case as a potential Green Bay draftee, but it would remiss to omit a considerable drawback on his resume: the allegation, from 2022, that he sexually assaulted a fellow Kentucky student in his redshirt freshman year as a 17-year-old. Now 21, he has not been charged, but some teams may view the incident as a red flag.
As far as his skillset, Hairston boasts a promising profile. Notching an impressive 4.28 40-yard dash time, he aligns with Green Bay’s penchant for drafting “elite speed” in the first round. NFL.com gives him an overall Next Gen Stats score of 78, good for 7th among CBs at the combine. His prospect grade of 6.37 puts him in the ranking system’s “eventual plus starter” tier.
Reading the quarterback and knowing when to hijack passing lanes are among his strengths, indicating savvy in addition to raw athleticism. While Hairston isn’t a homerun selection, he is a high-floor, strong-ceiling candidate to solidify Green Bay’s future at cornerback.
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