GREEN BAY – New Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs may not be sure whether he'll be lining up outside or in the slot on Green Bay's defense.
But he has no doubts he made the right decision for himself in free agency.
"I think Green Bay's a special place," Hobbs said Friday when meeting with the local media for the first time since signing with the Packers as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders. "I think Green Bay is a place that players – a lot of players – have transformed maybe from a good player into a great player …
"Everybody I've spoken to about it (says) it's a special place. I want to be part of a special place."
While money talks more than anything in free agency – and Hobbs joked that's now "making a lot more" than the annual $25,000 income on which his mother raised four kids – he came by his assessment of Green Bay honestly. He learned about the team and its culture from people in his Raiders past he knows and trusts.
The vibe he got from assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs and All-Pro returner/fellow corner Keisean Nixon was that he'd fit in and be happy here.
He also sensed via those conversations and others, along with the lucrative first-day-of-free-agency contract offer, the Packers really wanted him as another versatile piece in their secondary. For a player who's gone from a two-star recruit from Kentucky to a fifth-round draft pick out of Illinois and now to an attractive free agent, the Packers' early and strong pursuit meant something.
"They believed in me and I don't take that lightly at all," Hobbs said. "I don't take people believing in me lightly. I don't want to go into a whole lot but, from where I come from, this don't happen."
Since arriving in Green Bay this week, Hobbs got a chance to walk out onto Lambeau Field, which he said "gave me a different feeling" than other stadiums. He also visited with both Head Coach Matt LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
He emphasized he spoke with Hafley for a couple of hours and they hit it off, learning football connections they share and chatting some Xs and Os. With Jaire Alexander's future iffy in Green Bay, it's possible Hobbs could join Nixon as the starting cornerback tandem, and/or he could be the secondary's primary nickel manning the slot.
In mid-March, he's not worried about those specifics, knowing there's plenty of time to sort it all out.
"I've played inside and outside in the past," Hobbs said. "I'm willing to do whatever the team needs me to do.
"I'm a dawg, 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, I'll play safety."
That shouldn't be necessary, but his experience allows for plenty of options.
Over four seasons with the Raiders, the 6-foot, 195-pound Hobbs started 38 of 51 games played, posting three interceptions and 19 passes defensed. He's missed time each of the last three seasons due to a broken hand (2022) and ankle injuries (2023-24), but he's been willing to play through anything he can.
That mentality is something he expects his new teammates to understand about him soon enough.
"On the football field they're going to learn I'm brining it every day," he said. "I'm bringing it all out there. They're not going to have to worry about me doing my job, and I'm going to bring people with me."
That attitude lies within his humble Louisville roots. He suggested he had no recruiting stars and was given the two just because he committed to a Big Ten school. The way he sees it, he's been scratching and clawing ever since.
"I had no offers my junior year. I didn't play until my junior year," Hobbs said. "I was a nobody in the football world. Same thing coming out for the draft. I was supposed to go undrafted.
"In my heart of hearts, I'm an underdog, and I'm never going to forget that."
