Green Bay Packers: Andrew Quarless one to watch?

By Kevin Parvizi | Jun 16, 2015

Although Andrew Quarless led the Green Bay Packers tight ends in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns last season, Cal rookie Richard Rodgers started to take on an increased role as the season wore on and was picking up some more hype than the 26-year-old Penn State product. Quarless finished the 2014 season with 29 receptions for 323 yards and 3 TDs, and while the receptions were down from last year, his yards were up thanks to a 9.8 to 11.1 bump in yards per reception.

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As a whole, Quarless was also a better blocker than Rodgers last year, according to Pro Football Focus, despite the fact that Rodgers had more snaps as a run blocker than a pass-catcher, whereas the more senior Quarless had more snaps running routes than staying in to block in the running game. The differences in blocking ability will be worth watching this season, as perhaps Rodgers can close that gap as he gains experience, since transitioning to the position isn’t an easy thing to do.

Quarless knows how hard it is to play tight end in this league, and even though his rather modest 323 receiving yards were a career high, he sees himself as a top player at the position. Back in April, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tyler Dunne quoted Quarless as saying that he believes he is a part of the “top echelon of tight ends. … That’s where I’m trying to take it.”

Confidence is important, but Quarless seems to understand that hard work and results trump everything else. It’s why he’s been doing CrossFit this offseason, and Aaron Rodgers, who seems to have a knack at calling the players that will make a big jump as contributors in his offense, has certainly taken notice of Quarless’s work this offseason.

In fact, Rodgers singled the fifth-year tight end out as a player who has “jumped out” at him early in the offseason.

Rodgers told ESPN Wisconsin’s Jason Wilde, “I’d say the two guys who’ve jumped out to me just in the workouts, and one of them is not a young guy – I mean, he’s still younger than I am – but Andrew Quarless has had a great offseason. I think he’s really, something clicked in for him at the end of last year and he’s been taking the jump.”

Davante Adams was unsurprisingly the other guy whom the league’s reigning MVP chose to praise, as he could make a big jump as a second-year player if given more opportunities behind stars Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

But while Adams is a touted second-year receiver with clear upside, Andrew Quarless is a tight end who has produced ho-hum numbers in four NFL seasons and is fighting another second-year pass-catcher for a starting job in the offense. And while most people have viewed Rodgers as the player with the arrow pointing higher due to his youth and success in the passing game towards the end of the 2014 season, perhaps Quarless could actually be the real favorite to start.

After all, Quarless was more productive last season, he was the much safer bet as a blocker, and he isn’t exactly old either at 26. When Rodgers praises a player in the offseason, it isn’t just empty speech, and his words automatically mean that Quarless will have much more attention directed at him in training camp (and not just because he sees himself as being in the “top echelon” of players at his very valuable position).

Oct 19, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Andrew Quarless (81) during warmups prior to the game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Some thought that the Green Bay Packers could even draft a top tight end in this year’s draft (they did draft Kennard Backman in the sixth round), but they stuck with Quarless and last year’s draft prospect Rodgers.

Based on Quarless’s blocking ability, status as the starter last year, and the praise he received from Aaron Rodgers, it’s hard to see Richard Rodgers usurping him this year after receiving 154 less snaps last season.

But Quarless vs. Rodgers is an interesting battle in the passing game, as Rodgers had a higher catch rate, more yards per reception, and more yards per target last season in both of their limited sample sizes, per Advanced Football Analytics.

That said, Quarless did average more EPA per play, though Rodgers’s efficiency stats were better across the board.

Hopefully Quarless’s work this offseason will allow him to make strides in 2015, but his most important role on the Packers offense will be as a blocker, as he’s clearly the team’s best blocking TE right now.

Even though he earned some key praise, a certain second-year TE is lurking and could easily overtake him in the targets department, though opportunities could be thin for TEs in the Packers offense, especially with Adams set to potentially take on a bigger role.

He’s worth watching after this praise from Rodgers, but he doesn’t strike me as someone with the upside to be a true breakout player in the passing game.

Next: Expectations for Ty Montgomery

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