Packers Huddle

go pak go wrote: ↑

29 Apr 2021 23:19

I wanted a guy this year that moved smoothly and looked to be elite and faster than everyone else out there. Alexander is that. Aaron Jones is that.

Watching Eric Stokes, he is most definitely that.

Honestly we should try him at punt returner too.

YoHoChecko wrote: ↑

29 Apr 2021 23:25

This dude talks as fast as he runs. Take a breath, Eric.

go pak go wrote: ↑

29 Apr 2021 23:27

Word is the coaches at Georgie absolutely love his attitude and personality. They talked him up pretty big saying whoever gets him is getting a steal.

Eric Stokes used his speed to get on the college football radar. He was a tall, skinny, unheralded recruit in the spring of 2016 when he zipped through a sprint event so fast that Mel Tucker, a Georgia assistant at the time, texted a staff member: “Who is this kid?”

Then as Tucker and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart began talking to Stokes, it was the kid’s personality that they were attracted to the most. Stokes was so likable that the coaches really wanted to offer him a scholarship but struggled with whether he was worthy. Finally, they saw enough, and Stokes ended up being a starter for two-plus years and one of the better cornerbacks in the SEC.

Now, as Stokes enters the NFL as the 29th overall pick to the Packers, the same questions remain: He has the speed and the character. But does he have everything else?

For those two-plus seasons, Stokes faced some of the best receivers in the SEC. Fast receivers, tall receivers, great route-runners. He went more than a year without giving up a touchdown, and when other teams did have success against Georgia’s pass defense — Alabama and Florida in 2020, LSU in 2019 — it tended to be on the other side of the field. Stokes wasn’t going to out-physical the bigger receivers, but he used his speed, intelligence and technique to be in the right place.

“The kid is going to be where he needs to be every time,” Tucker said about Stokes in 2019. “He’s very intelligent. He’s one of those guys who you only have to tell him one time, and he’s got it. And he doesn’t say anything, he just sits there! He absorbs it.”

Dane Brugler on Eric Stokes (No. 7 CB, No. 51 overall prospect in The Beast)
Stokes has elite NFL play speed and won’t lose many foot races. He uses body control, patience and footwork to stay square and in phase. While his competitiveness downfield is a positive trait, he panics at times and needs to be more subtle with his contact (nine penalties in college). Overall, Stokes must correct his play recognition and transition flaws, but his size, speed and promising ball awareness are undeniable and scheme-versatile traits that will help him compete for starting reps early in his NFL career.

Top college highlight
It was a sack, believe it or not: During the 2019 season, Stokes rushed on a cornerback blitz and blind-sided the Tennessee quarterback, causing a fumble that teammate Tae Crowder returned for a touchdown. Stokes had four career interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and also blocked a punt for a touchdown. But that sack may be the most fan-pleasing moment of his career.



Coachspeak
“Speed, speed and more speed is the first thing he can bring. But he’s a high-character young man who has done so much for our program. People talk about the value he has on the field and the speed and the plays he’s made, but for all those things he’s great at, he’s a lot better person than anything else. He’s a guy who goes and works at the Boys & Girls Club. He reads to young kids across Athens. He’s a big brother to a sister who I know means a lot to him. He’s meant a lot to our organization and he’ll mean a lot to the next organization he goes to, both on and off the field.” — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart

Superlative
When Stokes was a freshman in high school, he lined up at a state championship track meet next to a senior who prepared by leaping with both feet about five feet in the air. That was now-Browns running back Nick Chubb, and the photo became a viral sensation. Only years later did Stokes point out that he was the one standing to Chubb’s left, who won the sprint but only because he nudged Stokes aside at the end, according to Stokes. He would later win state sprint titles, and also clocked a 4.25 in the 40-yard dash in preparation for the 2021 NFL Draft.

YoHoChecko wrote: ↑

29 Apr 2021 23:32

Wait, did I accidentally manifest this pick into existence by sporting my UGA hat tonight?

wallyuwl wrote: ↑

29 Apr 2021 23:39

Saw several of his games last couple years. He jumps off the screen.