BREAKING: JUST IN: Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst Drops an Interesting and Mind Blowing Update on Packers Trade to Land Chargers CB Asante Samuel Jr. In a Stunning Trade Offer

He spent a lot of time in the zone, but he also performed well in man coverage. On this rep against Davante Adams, he sets up tight to the line and maintains great position throughout Adams’ stutter-and-go, leaving the quarterback with nowhere to go with the ball.

As we approach the free agent period, I naturally begin looking across the league to see who might be available to sign, especially those who play positions that the Green Bay Packers require. One of the key positions the Packers must address this season is the cornerback room. Today, we’ll look at Asante Samuel Jr. and see how he might fit in Green Bay.

Let us begin with the high-level stuff.

Name: Asante Samuel, Jr. (Per Pro Football Reference, he does not have a moniker. It feels like a red flag.)
Height: 5’10”; Weight: 180 lbs.
The Los Angeles Chargers drafted him in the second round (47th overall) of the 2021 draft.
Age: 25; PFF: 2024. Grade: 59.3.

That PFF score is poor, and his tackling grade of 29.5 is among the lowest I’ve ever seen. I take PFF evaluations with a grain of salt, although they are generally accurate to what I observe when I watch a player.

Let’s start with the tackling grade because that’s the first thing that seems to come up when I mention Asante Samuel Jr.
Listen. It isn’t pretty. Samuel has a missed tackle rate of 22.2%, which corresponds to his grade.

However, while the numbers and the above plays are awful, they do not tell the whole story about Samuel. The missed tackles we just saw were not due to a lack of effort or hustle; they were caused by bad technique (lowering his head) or taking a less-than-ideal angle. Both of these are fixable to some extent.

In this play, he is on the outside, initially above Davante Adams. When Adams runs a slant, Samuel passes him off and directs his attention to the flat, where he drives and chops down a man.
Or this play, in which he drives and tackles Brock Bowers in bounds late in the game.

Samuel’s intelligence stuck out to me the most when I watched him. He was well-aware of both his own and others’ roles in each production. His film shows him talking with the defence and making some smooth defensive shifts.

One of my favourites is the one versus the Chiefs. He first picks up the outside receiver, but when he moves vertically, he passes him off to the safety and shifts his gaze to the flat, angling himself to keep an eye on the quarterback. As the plot begins to unravel, Samuel notices the shallow crosser charging at him and drives there.
That’s three separate shifts, and he’s in excellent position on each.

I also really enjoy some of the vertical switches. The Chiefs are running a switch vertically to Samuel’s side. Samuel first carries the outside man, but when the route bends inside, he hands the receiver off to the safety inside and fluidly picks up the vertical that went to the boundary.
He also does a good job of driving down a play when necessary. Against the Panthers, you can see him sliding off at first, then quickly driving down on the slant once the ball is released, disrupting the play.

Against George Pickens, he aligns tight, carries the slant to the middle, and makes an excellent play when the ball arrives.

So, what is the judgment on Samuel?

He’s a smart, instinctive player who excels at zone and man coverage. His size (and usage figures) indicate that he is predominantly an outside corner (88.9% of his snaps in 2024 were at outside corner, according to PFF).

I have a few major worries about the Packers. One of them is his recent injury record. He only played four games in 2024 due to “stinger symptoms” in his shoulders (according to Daniel Popper). In Popper’s piece, Samuel claims that it is a condition he was “born with”. Do the Packers want to spend a lot of money on an undersized cornerback who appears to have recurring shoulder issues at the age of 25?

The other huge concern I have is the quantity of off-coverage he does. While Jeff Hafley has demonstrated the ability to efficiently adapt his defence to the players he has, it doesn’t take much listening to him to realize how he wants to play: an aggressive type of defence. Most importantly, he wants his corners to play tight and get their hands on the receivers.

While Samuel does play tight to the line (as seen in the Davante Adams and George Pickens clips above), he seldom gets his hands on a receiver to reroute him. I even looked back at footage from past seasons with the Chargers to see whether he was doing it under the previous administration. While Samuel may be capable of doing so, it appears unlikely. Part of this is due to his size, but also to the manner he plays. He can stick with receivers off the line thanks to his coverage ability, and his quick-trigger downhill allows him to play off while still making plays in front of him.

I didn’t display any footage above (please excuse me), but his lack of size is especially noticeable on run plays due to his size. He’ll fight to get off blocks, but a tight end may easily take him out of the play.

Tackling is a little problem for me. It’s something that will probably come up occasionally, but I’m not as concerned about it as others are. Maybe I should be, but his injury history and inability to play press-man are my main worries in terms of fit with the Packers defence.

Finally, it is determined by the terms of the contract. If Samuel is seeking for a one-year prove-it agreement to boost his value, you could do worse than take a chance on a player like this. But for a long-term, high-paying deal? Because of the two big risks I just discussed, I would encourage the Packers to avoid it.