Adams needs more helping hands
Others must assist Packers’ top receiver
Third in a series of nine position previews leading up to the Green Bay Packers’ 2019 training camp.
GREEN BAY - Just a year ago, there was still some question as to whether Davante Adams was ready for the mantle of “No. 1 receiver.” It feels silly in hindsight, as he was one missed game away from setting Green Bay Packers franchise records in receptions and yards after one of the more impressive individual seasons a pass catcher has ever had for the organization.
Adams flourished, catching 111 of his 169 targets for 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns. The targets were second in the league only to Julio Jones’ 170, and in one fewer game. Adams tied for sixth in catches, seventh in yards and second in touchdowns among his peers.
It gives Matt LaFleur a heck of a
starting point with this group, a receiver he hasn’t seen operate in this offense since 2015-16 in Atlanta with Jones.
It’s worth noting Jones nearly had career lows in targets and receptions in the Falcons’ Super Bowl year of 2016 thanks to a more diversified offense, including the league’s fifth-ranked rushing attack. It is a scheme designed to open up opportunities for other pass catchers.
“I’d like 169 targets,” Adams joked. “No, it’d be great to have it spread out. Obviously, all the balls thrown my way, I’m not going to tell him don’t throw it. But the other guys doing things, making it easier on me, on Aaron (Rodgers) and on our run game, that’ll definitely help.”
Which puts a bit of a spotlight on the rest of the receivers room for 2019. Geronimo Allison is entering his fourth year, but with a promising 2018 derailed by injury he’s never caught more than 23 passes in a year. Marquez ValdesScantling (38 catches), Equanimeous St. Brown (21), Jake Kumerow (8), Trevor Davis (8), Jawill Davis (4), J’Mon Moore (2) and Allen Lazard (1) have combined for the same number of career catches as Adams had through 12 games last season.
Wide receiver
Roster locks: Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown.
Good bet: Jake Kumerow.
On the bubble: Trevor Davis, Jawill Davis, J’Mon Moore.
Long shots: Allen Lazard, Teo Redding, Darrius Shepherd.
Biggest offseason move
For the second straight year the biggest move of the offseason was letting go of a standard bearer in the position group. In 2018, it was the release of Jordy Nelson. This offseason, it was allowing Randall Cobb to depart to Dallas via free agency. The club bet on the emergence of Adams in letting Nelson go, and it was correct. Clearly, the organization is gambling that Allison, the three second-year receivers and Kumerow are more than capable of filling Cobb’s shoes.
Position battle
Wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted mentioned unprompted how well Trevor Davis had come along during the OTA period, and it highlights an important part of the receiver question for the Packers: Is the 2019 kick returner already on the team?
Trevor Davis, when healthy, can be a dynamic kick returner, but he was not healthy in 2018. The Packers claimed Jawill Davis on May 7, and he averaged 24.4 yards per kick return and 7.4 yards per punt return for the New York Giants last year. But, he ended up on seasonending injured reserve after dislocating a knee cap, reportedly from dancing in the locker room. They both will need to show they can command the offense and continue to flip the field in the return game, but also that they can be healthy.
Special teams could matter quite a bit with the back end of this room, so it will be important to see how the Packers divvy up those snaps and if any of the players outside of Adams are put in positions to contribute on return or coverage units. While LaFleur was not the final decision maker for the roster makeup in Atlanta, Los Angeles or Tennessee, those offenses kept six wide receivers from 2016-18. If they go with that number, there will have to be players that new special teams coordinator Sean Mennenga can deploy on a weekly basis. Of the returning group, Moore (148) and Kumerow (74) have the most experience in the third phase. Jawill Davis played 97 snaps on special teams for the Giants a year ago.
Key question
Which of the second-year wideouts take the big leap in year two? Mike McCarthy often said the biggest leap for a player is year one to two, notably because that player gets a true offseason to train for the NFL.
Last year, Valdes-Scantling started strong and St. Brown finished well. Moore, admittedly, didn’t do enough on the practice field to warrant significant game reps. The Packers’ front office gambled on this trio making an improvement by not drafting a receiver for the first time since 2012 and also by making no free-agent acquisitions. Who it is — or how many — may yet determine how well this offense works in 2019.
“A lot of receivers don’t usually see production until the second or third year,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said in February. “I thought those guys had a lot of challenges and they met ’em. They met them head on and gave us help, especially down the stretch. Both EQ and Valdes-Scantling had big moments. J’Mon was a little bit behind but at the same time he worked every day, showed up, we saw definite improvement throughout the year. I think the futures for those three guys are pretty bright.”
Prediction
Allison turns in a career year. Before suffering a series of injuries that ultimately ended his 2018 season, Allison was on pace for a 76-catch, 1,156-yard, eight-touchdown campaign. And that was in an offense that didn’t move him around as much as this one is projected to. From the earliest stages of the offseason, LaFleur has said Allison is a great fit in the slot position, as well as outside. In 2016 Atlanta’s Mohamed Sanu caught 59 passes for 653 yards and four scores; in 2017 in L.A. Cooper Kupp caught 62 balls for 869 yards and five touchdowns. If there is a more-than-capable option inside, this offense utilizes it.