Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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GREEN BAY – If Jaire Alexander gets the label of the Packers' No. 1 cornerback, with Kevin King the No. 2, that's fine with King.
It doesn't mean the fourth-year pro looks at it that way, though.
"When you're out there on that field, it's two No. 1's," King said in a media session Friday, the day before the Packers hold their first practice of training camp. "It's going to be hard to go to the left side, it's going to be hard to go to the right side. The film is going to speak for itself, for sure.
"Ja has established himself as one of the elite corners in this league and I'm right there, too. One more healthy season and I'm going to establish myself as well."
Health was King's biggest asset in 2019 after two injury-filled years to begin his career. He played just 15 of a possible 32 games in the 2017-18 seasons, but he played 17 of 18 last season, including playoffs.
Weekly availability allowed King to showcase why the Packers spent a high second-round draft pick on him coming out of Washington three years ago.
He more than doubled his career total of passes defensed coming into 2019 with 18, second on the team to Alexander's 23, plus three more in the postseason. He also led the defense with five interceptions – two of them important fourth-quarter picks in the end zone to preserve home wins vs. Minnesota and Oakland – and he had opportunities for more that he couldn't quite haul in.
King isn't lamenting any of his missed chances, saying "that was God's plan for me to have five," but he is intently focused on staying healthy again as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.