An increased group benefit
LaFluer utilizing position more than McCarthy
Latest in a series of position previews leading up to the Green Bay Packers’ 2021 training camp.
GREEN BAY – By the end of Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach, tight end was a withering position in the Green Bay Packers’ offense.
The Packers used two tight ends on the field in “12” personnel just 16% of the time that season. That ranked average in the NFL at 17th, according to Sharp Football Stats, which tracks personnel groupings throughout the league. McCarthy talked about prioritizing the tight end position in public, occasionally calling it a premier position, but his usage did not reflect that belief.
There are many schematic differences between McCarthy and successor Matt LaFleur, but tight end usage is one of the starkest.
The Packers tied for 11th in the league using “12” personnel on 20% of their snaps in LaFleur’s first season. A year ago, their “12” usage jumped to 24%, ninth most in the NFL.
(For context, the Dallas Cowboys’ usage of “12” was 21% in McCarthy’s first season as head coach last year, though that only tied for 13th in the league.)
It is no surprise then that the Packers have seen a renaissance of sorts from their tight end group.
Robert Tonyan has blossomed into a potential Pro Bowler, but the depth chart also has versatility, with tight ends assuming specialized roles in LaFleur’s offense.
The front office has prioritized tight end in part because of LaFleur’s schematic focus on the position, with general manager Brian Gutekunst spending third-round picks in 2019 and 2020 on tight ends as well as a second-round tender this spring to ensure Tonyan would remain with the team.
The Packers are expecting more from their tight ends than in the past. Slowly, they have started to deliver.
Tight ends
Roster lock: Robert Tonyan.
Good bets: Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara.
On the bubble: Jace Sternberger, Dominique Dafney.
Long shots: Isaac Nauta, Bronson Kaufusi.
Biggest offseason move
After Tonyan tied the single-season franchise record last season with 11 touchdown catches from a tight end, a record that had stood alone since Paul Coffman did it in 1983, he became a restricted free agent. The Packers needed to be bold to secure one of the league’s most promising tight ends. They did not hesitate, signing Tonyan to the secondround tender worth $3.384 million. With the second-round tender, the Packers guarded themselves from the possibility another team might swoop in for Tonyan. The Packers would have received second-round compensation if Tonyan left for another team, good value for an undrafted player they signed as a “street” free agent after being released by the Detroit Lions at the end of training camp in 2017. The move solidified the future of the Packers’ tight end position. For Tonyan, it left nothing uncertain about what his team thinks of him after his breakout year.
Position battle
Sternberger showed some improvement last season after a mostly redshirt rookie year in 2019. He caught 12 passes for 114 yards in 12 games in 2020, but through two years the former thirdround pick has shown little to reflect a premium draft pick. That includes a pair of healthy scratches during the postseason. Sternberger’s season ended with a concussion against the Chicago Bears in Week 12, but he was dropped from the injury report entering the playoffs. Still, Sternberger was left inactive for Dafney, who was elevated to the active roster to replace Sternberger and never relinquished the job. Dafney, initially signed to the practice squad in October, had only two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown in five games, but his versatility as a blocker had hidden value to the offense. Sternberger will start this season on the suspended list for two games resulting from (according to Sternberger on Twitter) falling asleep while driving after drinking on antidepressants in February 2020. When he is eligible to return to the 53-man roster, the Packers might have a difficult decision to make at No. 4 tight end, though it is possible the team could keep five.
Keep an eye on
At some point, Lewis’ athleticism is going to decline past the point of his being a serviceable NFL tight end. That point was not 2020, his 15th NFL season. In a year when Lewis became only the fifth tight end in NFL history to play 15 seasons (joining Hall of Famers Jackie Smith, Tony Gonzalez and future Hall of Famers Antonio Gates and Jason Witten), Lewis lined up almost entirely inline while playing 422 snaps as the Packers’ primary blocking tight end. If he plays anything like he did last year, Lewis will retain what was a significant role in an offense designed by a head coach who values in-line, blocking tight ends. But beware that ticking expiration date. Father Time is undefeated, and Lewis’ longevity has surpassed almost any other tight end in NFL history.
Key question
Before Deguara’s rookie season derailed with a torn ACL, it seemed the Packers might have big plans for the third-round pick. LaFleur loves his young tight end’s versatility, how Deguara can line up all over the formation, even in the backfield. His skill set includes receiving as well as blocking, and perhaps Deguara might get a carry or two as a fullback at some point. However, Deguara’s rookie season never unfolded how the Packers hoped. After playing 26 snaps in the Packers’ opener at Minnesota, Deguara missed the next two games with an ankle injury. He returned in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons but tore his ACL after just seven snaps. It will be interesting to see how the Packers devise a role to maximize all of Deguara’s abilities when he returns.
Prediction
Tonyan’s breakout season, as unsuspecting as it might have been, was no fluke. Tonyan, a former small-college quarterback, has always been a freakish athlete. If he has another big year in 2021 — his contract year — Tonyan will align himself for a big payday next spring. It took time for Tonyan to transition from Indiana State to the NFL, but last year indicated that transformation resulted in one of the league’s best tight ends. It’s hard to crack the Pro Bowl, so predicting that seems difficult — even if Tonyan should be on the radar more than 2020. Either way, expect Tonyan to receive a multiple-year extension before next year. The Packers have waited too long to find a tight end of this caliber to let him walk in free agency.