Buyer's Market: Who the Packers could target as trade deadline approaches

With the trade deadline approaching and the Packers off to a 6-1 start, the famously conservative team might break character and consummate a deal.

As the Green Bay Packers continue preparations for their biggest game of the season so far -- a contest that might not include any of their top three wide receivers -- their front office must simultaneously look toward the quickly approaching Nov. 2 trade deadline and determine what moves, if any, make sense for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

The deadline has rarely resulted in much action for the Packers over the past two decades. Their most notable trade during that stretch came in 2018 when general manager Brian Gutekunst sent safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington for a fourth-round pick, hardly a win-now move. However, Green Bay's newfound proactiveness suggests that the team might take a more-active role in the trade market this year.

If the Packers do make a move before the deadline, the secondary and the receiving corps seem the most likely beneficiaries given the short- and long-term issues facing both position groups. That doesn't mean the front office won't consider other parts of the roster, however.

Desmond King, cornerback

Even before Jaire Alexander landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, the Packers looked dangerously undermanned at cornerback. Fellow starter Kevin King has already missed four games to shoulder and back problems as well as a concussion. First-round pick Eric Stokes has shown promise while serving as the No. 1 corner the past few weeks, but he remains susceptible to rookie mistakes. And though the recently signed Rasul Douglas has played well since arriving in Green Bay two weeks ago, he too has battled a shoulder injury.

The Packers could address both their depth at the position and improve the top of the group with a player like the Houston Texans' Desmond King. Once exclusively a slot corner, King now plays primarily on the boundary (193 snaps as a wide corner through seven weeks against 100 snaps inside). The Packers could toggle him between both spots in the short run and allow him to settle into a more-defined role when Alexander returns.