Green Bay Packers: Making the case for TE Wes Saxton

The Green Bay Packers may have quietly found the long-term answer to their tight end position last offseason, nabbing California’s Richard Rodgers in the third round. Despite posting just 225 yards in his rookie season, Rodgers rounded in to form nicely as the season ended, giving the Green Bay Packers a solid, albeit unspectacular, option for their 2015 starting tight end. Regardless, there is still room to add a more athletic threat at the position, and South Alabama’s Wes Saxton should be in the crosshairs.

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A report emerged late last week from Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel that the Packers had met with Wes Saxton “two or three” times at the Indianapolis Scouting Combine alone. While the position is not something that I consider a pure need, largely due to my belief in Richard Rodgers and my confidence in Andrew Quarless as a backup, Wes Saxton could fit perfectly as an athletic project on day three.

Saxton wowed at the combine with a 4.65-second 40-yard dash time, recording 19 reps on the bench press with a 36″ vertical jump. Saxton measured in as 6’3″, 248 pounds, and his unique athleticism allowed for the South Alabama Jaguars to use Saxton heavily from the slot, matching him up against slower and smaller linebackers or nickel corners.

Off the snap, Saxton has a fantastic first step which allows him to eat up coverage cushions quickly. Where I see his real potential coming from as a slot weapon in the NFL is his ability to dip a shoulder inside his defender and cut aggressively in to the heart of the field. His physical cuts box out defenders and his burst gives him a window of openness that Aaron Rodgers could work wonders with.

Jan 11, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers (89) catches a pass for a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys defensive back

Sterling Moore

(26) and free safety

J.J. Wilcox

(27) in the fourth quarter in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a reason that Saxton could fall to the fifth round region, however. After a 2013 season that saw him haul in 50 balls for 635 yards, he plummeted to 20 catches for 155 yards in 2014 with zero touchdowns across his past two seasons. Changes to the offensive scheme and inconsistent short throws from quarterback Brandon Bridge, who I profiled last week as a late-round sleeper himself, certainly had an impact on his production, but the drop off is worrying.

Many scouts have also questioned his willingness and skill as a run blocker, which Saxton has explained as being a byproduct of an achilles injury that he played with throughout 2014. While playing in front of Aaron Rodgers makes blocking absolutely imperative, I’ll suggest that Green Bay may overlook this flaw to a certain extent because Saxton would not be asked to block in-line early in his career.

It’s important to take a look at South Alabama’s game against Mississippi State in 2014, which was his best statistical performance with 6 catches for 30 yards. These highlights show the variety of positions that the Jaguars lined up Saxton at, but the most encouraging play on this tape is one where he isn’t targeted. Flick to the 1:08 mark, and watch as Saxton gets inside on his defender with physicality, opening up for a red zone target that does not go his way. This reminded me of the dangerous slant routes that Aaron Rodgers once loved to hit Jermichael Finley with.

This potential pick would remind me very much of Brandon Bostick in terms of roster makeup, who the Packers held on to for three seasons as an athletic project. The measurables line up, as well, with Bostick entering the league at 6’3″, 243 pounds with a blazing 40-yard dash of his own. Neither Rodgers or Quarless have the ability of Saxton to stretch the seam and dominate athletically from the slot. Don’t forget about Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in this situation, either.

With Cobb and the young Adams poised for big seasons over the middle of the field, having another athletic mismatch like Saxton would spread a defense’s interior coverages very thin. Again, I do trust Richard Rodgers to do this to some extent and I foresee him doing it from a starting role in 2015. Rodgers’ routes often come with a 10-12 yard cap, however, where the presence of Wes Saxton would leave safeties on their heels and give the Green Bay Packers a new, high-ceiling offensive project from the late rounds.

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