Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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It was King’s second pick of camp, and he didn’t go out of his way or try to do too much on either one. Of course he’d like to have more than just the one interception in the 15 games he’s played over the first two seasons of his career – it came late in the fourth quarter of a tie game with San Francisco last October, setting up a game-winning field goal – but he’s confident if he stays focused on the right things, more plays will come his way.
“Just stay the course, keep doing my technique, keep doing what I need to do, and then I’ll look out of the break and the ball will be there,” he said. “I’m going to get it.”
Most important for King is to give himself those chances by being on the field. Shoulder, groin and hamstring injuries have limited his playing time since arriving as a second-round pick in 2017, and he was held out of all full-speed 11-on-11 work this past spring to get his body right.
He said he’s in a much better place physically because of the approach taken in the offseason, and he used Monday’s off day to prep himself for another week. King’s combination of length (he’s all of 6-3) and speed (he ran a 4.43 at the combine two years ago) is a singular element he brings to defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s coverages that is difficult if not impossible to replicate when he’s not out there.
“He’s a real talented player,” LaFleur said. “We’ve just got to keep him healthy and have him progress each day and he’s done a good job of that. I like his approach, he’s a great person, and I think it’s starting to show out there, his talent.”
That talent is best employed in man-to-man coverage, which is why amidst all the talk about takeaways, King still keeps his man as his first priority. Doing his job is Job 1 for Pettine, and he’ll let the rest take care of itself.
“He likes to play aggressive, he likes to have guys able to play man on the outside,” King said. “I think we have the guys in our room to do that, if I’m out there or not. But definitely if I’m out there, we can do that on a more consistent basis.
“I definitely want to take that role 100 percent. Everybody on the whole defense, we’re hungry, so that’s going to make us better, together.”