What are reasonable expectations for Eric Stokes in 2024?

The Packers appear set to roll with Eric Stokes as one of their starting corners. However, after back-to-back lost seasons, can he rise to the challenge?

In the not-too-distant future, the discourse surrounding Jordan Love's contract will dissipate. So too will the concerns about whether the soon-to-be generationally wealthy quarterback needs a bona fide No. 1 receiver or if he has a competent group of offensive linemen to protect him. While those matters have seemed omnipresent over the past few weeks, each should have a resolution before too long.

When that time arrives, perhaps the biggest question facing the 2024 Green Bay Packers will center on Eric Stokes.

A former first-round pick, Stokes enters 2024 at a crossroads. After excelling as a rookie and helping the Packers reach the NFC Championship Game, his career hit a series of roadblocks. In 2022, Stokes struggled to conform his innately physical playing style to defensive coordinator Joe Barry's passive system and then saw his season end after nine games due to a Lisfranc foot injury. The following year proved even more difficult as recurring hamstring issues limited Stokes to just three games. With the corner now multiple seasons removed from his last extended stretch of good health and high-level play, Green Bay declined his fifth-year option.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Stokes, the Packers could have made a major investment at the position this offseason. Jaire Alexander has also missed significant time over the past three seasons, and the depth at boundary corner essentially consists of second-year pro Carrington Valentine, journeyman Corey Ballentine, and a platter of untested late-round and undrafted projects. Relying on Stokes to return to full health and peak performance seemed too big an ask, especially for a team harboring legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

And yet, the Packers chose to double down on Stokes. Not only did they pass on adding a notable veteran or investing a premium draft choice at the position, but they made Stokes the clear Plan A to start opposite Alexander this season.

"He's as good as I've ever seen him both mentally and on the field," Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said of Stokes during organized-team activities. "I want to temper the expectations with that, but I do really mean that. He's out there competing each and every day. He looks fully healthy. He's doing a great job of challenging our wide receivers. He's always in great phase. I think you see that personality is back.

"He's had a chance to really develop his body, and he looks in great shape. I think the play says the same."

After three years, the Packers have seen Stokes play at an elevated level, break down physically multiple times, and try to repair his body and resurrect his career. Despite the rough path to this point, they have bet on him again in a major way. All of which raises the question: What are reasonable expectations for Stokes in 2024?