Gifted with natural and organic confidence, Alexander didn't just accept the expectations that came with being the 18th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft – he embraced them.

"It was fun," Alexander said. "I learned a lot of different things as far as being able to stay in there when I'm in press instead of running out – things like that. It was pretty exciting. It got to a point where I'd come in for the installs and I had already figured I'd be on the best guy. That's how competitive it got."

The only thing that caught Alexander by surprise was the speed of the game. Unlike most rookies, however, Alexander actually thought it would be faster than it was from his perspective.

Yes, squaring off with the likes of Julio Jones and Adam Thielen, and covering Adams in practice, are no easy task, but Alexander felt neither overwhelmed nor overmatched in those encounters. Each week, he felt more and more like he belonged.

In starting 11 of 13 games, Alexander finished second on Green Bay's defense with 66 tackles and a team-high 11 passes defensed, including his first official NFL interception against Buffalo in Week 4.

"I thought people would be much faster. I thought the skill level would be like Julio every week," Alexander said. "But there's receivers who aren't like that. There are running backs that aren't like Adrian Peterson. It's a good little mix."

Despite King, Alexander and Breeland missing a combined 19 games due to injury, Green Bay's pass defense held together and still managed to jump from 23rd to 12th under first-year defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and pass-game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.