Carrington Valentine, the seventh-round success story, faces a critical junction with the Green Bay Packers. With high-round talent looming, can this chippy cornerback solidify his spot in the secondary?
We're officially 39 days from the start of the 2026 NFL season for the Green Bay Packers. Whether you're ready or not, football season is here.
The Packers kick off their 2026 season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 13, from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Talk about pressure. The Vikings are certainly in a transitional place as a franchise, but getting going against an NFC North foe ratchets up the intensity of this season from the get-go.
It's a big season for the Packers. There's a belief that they're in a Super Bowl window right now, which means every single game is important. That means the intensity will be there in Week 2 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets and it will certainly be there in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Packers will play at Lambeau Field for the first time in 2026.
There's going to be a lot of proverbial ink spilled on this 2026 season and we here at PackersRoundtable hope that you spend as much time as possible with us talking about the ins and outs and ups and downs of the Packers.
As we prepare for the 2026 season, though, we're going to kick things off with a rankings series looking at the Top 50 Packers heading into the 2025 season.
At No. 39, we have cornerback Carrington Valentine
Ranking the Top 50 Packers Heading Into 2026: No. 39, Carrington Valentine
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.Carrington Valentine starts this season as the CB2 next to Keisean Nixon on the Packers' depth chart. He's a starter, and that says a lot about him. Remember, Green Bay selected Valentine in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
From pick No. 232 to starting NFL cornerback is quite the story.
But therein also lies the problem with Valentine. He's chippy and has shown a tendency to find the football, but an argument can be made that he's been playing well above expectations and well above his true talent level over the past three seasons.
You're happy if he's your CB3 and you're loving life if he's your CB4. That's incredible depth.
Valentine is not a starter on a Super Bowl-winning team, though.
There's a reason the Packers spent pick No. 52 on a cornerback, Brandon Cisse, in this past draft. Valentine may be on borrowed time in the starting lineup.
2025 Synopsis:
In 17 regular season games played, Valentine notched 31 tackles and four passes defended. He allowed a 109.4 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. He also gave up 31 receptions in coverage.
Valentine was ranked 44th of 114 cornerbacks, according to PFF.
Notable Quotables:
"There might be only one or two starting jobs truly up for grabs this summer, but one of them is at cornerback." -Rob Demovsky
Projected Role in 2026:
Valentine will start the season as the starting cornerback across from Nixon, pending health. He's much better suited as a capable backup cornerback, though, and Cisse has shown great athleticism and potential. By the end of 2026, Valentine will be replaced by Cisse in the starting lineup.
Previous Rankings:
