Paul Bretl | 3/14/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — As new Green Bay Packers’ cornerback Nate Hobbs said on Friday when speaking with reporters, it’s only mid-March, there is plenty of time to figure out where he’s going to be lining up and what his role in Jeff Hafley’s defense will be.
But with that said, whatever the Packers need from Hobbs, he’s ready to step on the field and handle those responsibilities.
“Obviously, there’s no secret, I’m a versatile player,” Hobbs said on Friday at Lambeau Field. “I play inside, outside. I’ve played inside and outside in the past, but it’s March — I don’t know, what is it, March 14th, 13th? We’ll get to that. I’m willing to do whatever the team needs me to do. I’m a dog, so I’m gonna step wherever I step. If I step at nickel, if I step at corner. If they need me to play safety, god damnit, I’ll play safety.”
Over the last two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, Hobbs has been the team’s primary nickel cornerback. However, he has experience on the boundary as well, playing over 700 career NFL snaps lined up outside, 500 of which came during the 2022 season. Going back to his days at Illinois, Hobbs spent most of his college career on the boundary, playing over 2,100 snaps there over four seasons.
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Although the Raiders tasked Hobbs with playing the nickel, he has the measurables that we often see GM Brian Gutekunst covet at the boundary cornerback position. Hobbs has size and length, listed at 6-1 – 195 pounds and is a good athlete, posting a Relative Athletic Score of 9.61 coming out of Illinois.
“Like I said, March 13th, 14th, whatever it is,” said Hobbs, “we’ll get to that. I’ll do whatever my team needs me to do. If I gotta play corner the whole year, that’s what I do. I’m a corner. If I gotta go inside, that’s what I’m gonna do, but I’m looking forward to whatever I gotta do.”
Hobbs is coming off of his best statistical season in the NFL in 2024. He would rank 10th out of 42 eligible slot cornerbacks in yards per snap allowed. He was also 16th in snaps per reception allowed, and Hobbs had the 11th best coverage EPA (expected points added) among all defensive backs who saw 40 or more targets.
Along with size and length at the cornerback position, Gutekunst would also mention at the NFL combine the importance of vision and awareness when playing cornerback in Jeff Hafley’s system. Those are two elements Hobbs displayed last season, as evidenced by the numbers above and the lack of production from opposing offenses.
However, if you ask Hobbs, while he’s continued to progress throughout his NFL career, there is still a lot more that is out there for him.
“I know by nature, I’m a very competitive person,” Hobbs said. “When I get out there, I’m a super competitor. I think kinda to make it to this level and to be an impact player, you have to be a super competitor, but when you are a super competitor and you’ve been bestowed with opportunity like this that I’ve had, that comes with responsibility.
“I think this is an opportunity for me to grow as a man, a leader, a player, father, a friend, just the man period. So I think I gotta take that next step into my manlihood and it’s being a true leader.”
That competitive nature that Hobbs possesses is something he vows to always hold on to and is rooted in the underdog mentality that he has. Hobbs had a late start to his football career, not playing until his junior year of high school. He was then underrecruited before landing at Illinois, and wasn’t even sure if he was going to get drafted when that time came.
Even with the success Hobbs had on the field last year and the new four-year, $48 million deal he’s signed with the Packers, he’s still an underdog in his mind, because there is still a lot more that’s out there for him to accomplish.
“I’m gonna be an underdog if I was getting paid $100 million because I don’t see any articles or anything out of me being the top corner,” Hobbs said. “In my heart of hearts, I’m an underdog, and I’m never going to forget that. And I could be the top corner, whatever the case is.
“Still an underdog, because I had to scratch and claw and fight to get here, and nothing was given to me, everything was tooken. I say, there’s two ways to get respect. You either earn it or you take it. I like taking it. I’m going to be an underdog till I die. That’s just me.”
In his short time in Green Bay, Hobbs has already met with coach Matt LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafely. Hobbs’ conversation with Hafely, in particular, ended up going into great depth as the two spoke for three hours, with the two connecting and finding that they had a fair amount in common.
“Coach Matt, he’s amazing,” said Hobbs. “I can already tell he’s an amazing man and a motivated and a relentless coach. Players coach. I think both of those guys are players coaches. I think for you to go, in today’s league, for you to go far, I think you have to be a players coach, and that’s what they are.”
For now, during this quiet time during the NFL offseason, Hobbs is going to continue training and connecting with his new position coaches and teammates, along with continuing to build his relationship with LaFleur and Hafley.
One thing that Hobbs’ new teammates will come to learn about him is that both on and off the field, he cares deeply. Hobbs recalled a game last season against the Kansas City Chiefs, where he exited the game with a hand injury and was given the choice to either sit out the remainder of the game or get a cast on. At that exact moment, he heard the Chiefs’ crowd erupt in a roar, and at that point for Hobbs there wasn’t any decision to be made–he was going back out there because his teammates needed him.
“They going to learn once we get acquainted, and I know you and I care about you, I’m willing to do anything for you,” Hobbs said. “I’m willing to take the shirt off my back for you. I’m willing to pick you up when you down. I’m willing to–just outside of the field be a real friend. Be a real brother. I think that’s the most important thing outside of football. But on the football field they going to learn I’m bringing it everyday. I’m bringing it all out there. They not going to have to worry about me doing my job and I’m going to bring people with me.”