Getty Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after throwing a second quarter touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 23, 2018 in Landover, Maryland.
The top cornerback in the 2020 NFL draft is headed to the NFC North next season, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is already drawing up his battle plans.
After the Detroit Lions selected Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday night, Rodgers was asked during his guest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show what he thought about a rookie cornerback joining a division rival for the 2020 season.
“It means you go at him until they figure it out, that’s for sure,” Rodgers said, later expanding a little more on how his expectations when the rookie is a top-end pick like Okudah.
The Lions are getting a good one at No. 3 in @jeffokudah 🙏
“To be the third pick in the draft, you have to be a stud player,” Rodgers added. “When Minnesota picked Xavier Rhodes early about six, seven years ago (at No. 25 overall in 2013), you knew this kid was going to be unbelievable, like once he figured it out. And you knew you might have one year, maybe two years where you could take some shots at him, but at some point he was going to be locking guys down.
And sure enough, the first time we played him, we had some matchups with Jordy (Nelson) we threw on him. Threw some back shoulders on him, took some shots, but that didn’t last for very long because he figured it out pretty quick.”
Okudah seemed to be a natural choice — as Rodgers agreed — for the Lions after they traded three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles back in March for a pair of draft picks. He offers them an instant starter and ball-hawk talent that could keep their defense from losing a step without their former starter.
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Rodgers Also Talks Tells of Rookie Cornerbacks
While commenting on Okudah, Rodgers also explained some of the signs young cornerbacks begin to show when they start to really understand how the play at the NFL-level.
“Jumping routes for sure,” Rodgers said, via The Pat McAfee Show. “When (cornerbacks) start jumping routes, you’ve got to be a little aware. Because that comes directly from the film study and a feel, kind of an instinct and intuition that comes from a football sense. And some of the guys’ve got it where they can just step on the field and they have a feeling based on the split of the linemen and the game situation that a slant’s coming, or a fade’s coming … and they can just sit on it and jump it.
The best corners, the guys who have been around for the long time, they’ll do it and then I think they’ll get kind of bored at times and start to bait you. They’ll say, ‘Hey, I’ll give you a shortey and might give you a bit of confidence throwing my way, but that will be the end of that.’ And the guys like Pat Peterson and (Richard Sherman) have been doing it for so long, they’ll do that.”
Rodgers could be one of the first top-level quarterbacks to challenge Okudah next season with two rivalry matchups on the docket. The question now is whether the young cornerback will impress the veteran quarterback or find himself at the mercy of his elite arm.
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