Packers have plenty of holes on offense, too
Now that the Packers have extended the contracts of receiver Davante Adams and center Corey Linsley, Ted Thompson can concentrate on other areas of concern.
Like, the rest of the offense. Giving Aaron Rodgers something more than pedestrian or declining skillposition players and addressing an injury-prone offensive line have to be offseason priorities.
The defense is another story. Like many others, I’m convinced coordinator Dom Capers, a fine man who has long been respected around the league, has to go. For whatever reason, what he and his assistants are teaching has not translated to cohesion or production on the field.
But Packers fans should be just as concerned about the offense. Green Bay was 4-1 when Rodgers suffered a broken clavicle at Minnesota on Oct. 15 and proceeded to circle the drain without him, which only served to underscore his value.
Whether Adams, who turned 25 on Dec. 24, deserves to be the fourth-highest paid receiver in the NFL is open to debate, but he’s the Packers’ only real game-changing threat.
Ask yourself this question: If you’re a defensive coordinator, who else scares you?
Certainly not the tight ends. The Martellus Bennett experiment was a colossal failure. He was damaged goods with a me-first attitude, never a good combination. Lance Kendricks and Richard Rodgers are, unfortunately, reliably average.
The receivers after Adams? You love what Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb have meant to the Packers, but it’s time to cut ties with one if not both. Nelson has one year left on a four-year, $39 million contract and Cobb has one year left on a four-year, $40 million deal.
Maybe you bring one back, at a big discount. If so, I’d take Cobb over Nelson, who will turn 33 in May and has slowed considerably. Some think he’d be OK in the slot, but he typically falls immediately to the ground after catching anything over the middle and isn’t dynamic with the ball in his hands.
Perhaps the Packers have something in Michael Clark, but Jeff Janis and Trevor Davis are just bodies. They have value as special teamers but will be going into their fifth and third seasons, respectively. If they were going to contribute on offense, they’d have done it by now.
Running backs Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones are adequate for what the Packers do. Neither will average 20 carries per game, because truly committing to the run is not in Mike McCarthy’s DNA. Both are better than Ty Montgomery, who can’t stay healthy.
The line is problematic. Only Linsley has started every game this season. There have been 10 starting combinations, with three different left tackles, three left guards, two right guards and four right tackles.
Right guard Jahri Evans was a good free-agent acquisition because he came cheap and addressed a need. He’ll miss the season finale against Detroit on Sunday with a knee injury, however, and will be 35 in August. He’s obviously not the answer long term.
Given right tackle Bryan Bulaga’s extensive injury history, can the Packers depend on him returning to form and being able to stay on the field? Both are far from a sure thing, which means Thompson probably has to spend a high draft pick or mine free agency for at least one lineman.
Last but not least, what to do about the back-up quarterback? Few teams can afford to pay big money to the No. 2, but if Thompson and McCarthy stick with Brett Hundley, then they must be willing to suffer the consequences if Rodgers goes down again.
Since 2013, Thompson has used 10 of Green Bay’s 15 picks in the first three rounds of the draft on defensive players. Still, he hasn’t unearthed a pass rusher, which remains the team’s No. 1 need.
As bad as the defense has been, though, the offense has just as many holes. Maybe more.