The Packers defense is taking on the No. 1 wide receiver in football in Week 8 in Altanta's Julio Jones, and their best option for coverage on him looks like an undrafted free agent who is third on the depth chart: LaDarius Gunter.

Given that Jones is 830 yards for four touchdowns and is averaging a whopping 20.8 yards per reception, the Packers will want to put their best man on him. The trouble with that is No. 1 corner Damarious Randall is recovering from groin surgery, Quinten Rollins' availability for this week is in question as he also deals with a groin injury, and Demetri Goodson only re-joined the team in Week 6 after serving a four-game suspension.

Gunter may actually be the best the Packers have got versus Jones and Matt Ryan.

What can Gunter bring to the table in this matchup?

The second-year player left very different performances on the field only four days apart beween taking on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7 and the Chicago Bears the following Thursday in Week 8.

In Week 7, Gunter looked lost. In coverage on Terrance Williams toward the end of the second quarter, Gunter gave up a 42-yard reception after slipping. He was lucky that defensive back Micah Hyde was able to bring Williams down before he reached the end zone.

But then, on the very next play, Gunter gave up a 20-yard pass to Brice Butler for the score. The Packers headed into halftime down 17-6, and would never recover.

Gunter didn't have time to wallow in the eventual 30-16 loss he no doubt had a hand in causing. Just four days later, the Packers hosted the Chicago Bears at Lambeau. Once again without Randall and Rollins (and safety Chris Banjo, to boot), Gunter drew the unenviable assignment of covering Alshon Jeffery.

This time, however, it went much better. With Gunter in primary coverage, Jeffery managed only three receptions for 33 yards. Perhaps most telling: he was targeted 11 times. That's a catch rate of just 27 percent.

His performance earned Gunter the third-highest grade by Pro Football Focus among Green Bay's defense in Week 7:

Top-graded @Packers defenders tonight

ILB Blake Martinez 86.3

OLB Clay Matthews 83.7

CB Ladarius Gunter 82.8

OLB Nick Perry 82.5#CHIvsGB — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 21, 2016

So is Gunter prepared to shut down Jones because he blanketed Jeffery? Not quite. Jones is still a caliber above Jeffery. But Gunter is perhaps well-prepared to cover Atlanta's top target, given his length (6'1" and 31½-inch arms). And Jones (6'3", 220 lbs) is smaller than Jeffery (6'4", 230 lbs).

Gunter also excels in press coverage at the line. Combine that with his dogged attitude, which his coaches and teammates all praise, and suddenly he doesn't look like a grave mismatch with Jones.

Now, to be clear: almost any cornerback in the league this season has struggled to cover Jones, and Gunter likely will, too.

But the key to success for Gunter and the Packers' secondary isn't completely shutting down Jones. It's limiting him enough so that the Packers can eke out the win against a tough opponent.