Tight end acquisitions bolster offense

Team’s strategic shift resembles Patriots

GREEN BAY - After the Green Bay Packers’ busiest offseason transaction period in more than a decade, their total remake of the tight end position still stands out as the most significant change.

It was Martellus Bennett’s signing on free agency’s first full day that got the ball rolling. Bennett’s arrival not only was a big surprise after general manager Ted Thompson opened free agency with a predictable decision, signing sacks leader Nick Perry. It signified a complete change in approach for the Packers, whose five free-agent signings were their most in one offseason since 2006.

Bennett, along with tight end Lance Kendricks, removed a major need from the Packers’ off-season to-do list. With the tight end position a strength, the Packers could afford to trade back four spots in the draft, swapping their first-round pick with the Cleveland Browns for the first pick in the both the second and fourth rounds.

With a bare cupboard at the position (assuming the departure of incumbent Jared Cook), the Packers might have been

tempted to take a tight end in the first round. Instead they drafted Kevin King with the 33rd overall pick, a first-round talent they expect to become their No. 1 cornerback. They got Wisconsin edge rusher Vince Biegel in the fourth round.

Yet using free agency to bolster the Packers’ tight end position didn’t just help set up their draft plans. Together, Bennett and Kendricks could represent a fundamental shift in the Packers’ offense.

Already, there are signs coach Mike McCarthy plans to change things this fall. At the NFL meetings in Phoenix, McCarthy shared his desire to use more formations with an in-line tight end, an option he believes Bennett gives the offense. It would be a major adjustment from last season, when the Packers often used Cook as an oversized wide receiver.

The vision for how this Packers offense will look in the fall remains an idea on paper, nothing more. It will start crystallizing when the Packers open their organized team activities Tuesday. Considering their personnel, the Packers’ passing game could be similar to that of Bennett’s former team, the New England Patriots.

That’s not to compare the Packers the Patriots. There are plenty of differences between McCarthy and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The Packers are rooted in the West Coast offense, while the Patriots are among a handful of NFL teams running the Erhardt-Perkins system.

But McCarthy has made clear his mission is to attack the middle of the field more, and no team in the NFL does that better than the Patriots.

Other than a Hall of Fame quarterback, the most obvious similarity between the two offenses is their two-tight-end personnel. It’s a formation the Patriots made famous at the turn of this decade, drafting Rob Gronkowski (second round) and Aaron Hernandez (fourth) in 2010. In their rookie season, Gronkowski and Hernandez combined for 26.2% of the Patriots’ catches, 27.5% of their receiving yards and 43.2% of their receiving touchdowns.

Those splits jumped to 42% of the team’s catches, 42.5% of the receiving yards and 61.5% of the receiving touchdowns in the duo’s second season.

It took the Patriots a few years to adjust after Hernandez’s career ended with a murder conviction after the 2012 season. But their two-tight-end personnel returned last season after the Patriots acquired Bennett in a trade with the Chicago Bears. Bennett and Gronkowski combined for 21.7% of the Patriots’ catches, 27.8% of the receiving yards and 31.25% of the receiving touchdowns, impressive ratios considering Gronkowski missed half the season because of injuries.

If McCarthy tailors his offense to match its strength, the Packers will get much more production from their tight ends. In his 12-year tenure, McCarthy occasionally has been gifted a special tight

end. He never has had two the caliber of Bennett and Kendricks.

It’s interesting to look at the timing of the Packers’ remodel. The Patriots reinvented their passing attack after trading Randy Moss early in the 2010 season. Without Moss, they lacked a No. 1 perimeter threat on their roster, so they turned their focus to dominating the middle of the field.

The Packers didn’t trade their No. 1 perimeter threat, receiver Jordy Nelson, last season. But he was clearly a different player after returning from his torn ACL, no longer most effective on the perimeter. Of Nelson’s 148 targets last season, 45.2% came from the slot, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Nelson’s gradual improvement last season was attributed to shaking off rust after missing all of 2015. Maybe a bigger factor was his slot usage increasing. Only 25% of his snaps came in the slot during the season’s first six games. Nelson lined up in the slot on 46.4% of his snaps in his final 10 games.

Results were immediate. Nelson averaged seven catches, 93.6 yards and 0.9 touchdowns. In his first six games, Nelson

averaged 4.5 catches, 53.5 yards and 0.83 touchdowns.

Given his success in the slot, it seems likely the Packers would use a 32year-old Nelson even more in the middle of the field this fall. If they do, their two highest-paid receivers — Nelson and Randall Cobb — will be best used in the slot. That, too, mirrors the Patriots.

Since 2010, the Patriots have had three No. 1 receivers: Wes Welker, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. Each was a slot receiver, with Edelman and Amendola sharing the role the past two seasons.

Similarities to the Patriots even extend to the backfield. Ty Montgomery is the Packers’ starting running back, but he’s most known for his receiving ability. From Danny Woodhead to Shane Vereen to James White, the Patriots long have flourished with a receiving running back as a staple of their passing attack.

To attack the middle of the field, you need tight ends, slot receivers and a running back who can expose linebackers in coverage. The Patriots have been setting that template for years. It appears the Packers have molded themselves the same way.