Green Bay Packers wide receiver battle opening up

By Keegan Matheson | Aug 10, 2015

The Green Bay Packers are fast approaching their preseason opener against the New England Patriots on Thursday night, and like any team in August, injuries are playing a role in roster opportunities. The wide receiver position is loaded with talent from top-to-bottom, with Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and rookie Ty Montgomery locked in. Second-year man Jared Abbrederis was expected to join Jeff Janis as the fifth and sixth options, but the battle is now wide open following Abbrederis’ concussion.

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The situation with Abbrederis, which I detailed here following his July 30th diagnosis, is worrying due to his concussion history at the NCAA level. Already returning from a torn ACL suffered last season and relying on his football IQ and instincts over raw physical skill, this has quickly become an uphill battle for the Wisconsin product. The main benefactors of this opening will be Myles White, Jimmie Hunt and Adrian Coxson.

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White, a 2014 practice squad holdover, has turned heads throughout camp despite the younger talent around him. After catching nine passes for 66 yards in 2013, the perceived demotion last year wasn’t all that encouraging, but recent reports on the speedy 25-year old suggest he’s made a jump. According to Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel, White’s focus through the preseason will be gaining yards after the catch, an area that Green Bay has traditionally excelled in.

“I just want to be strong enough to break some tackles in this league,” White told Silverstein. “Me and EB have had many discussions about just trying to be a run-after-the-catch guy. You have to be able to run through some things.”

Hunt, the Missouri product, has shown flashes throughout training camp, but also dropped some inexcusable balls. That seems to be the narrative with many receivers in this bottom group, but his college potential gives the Packers something to work with. He was Missouri’s second-leading receiver in 2014 with 40 catches for 698 yards, and exploded for 168 yards in the SEC Championship against Alabama.

Dec 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Jimmie Hunt (88) catches a long pass as Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Jabriel Washington (23) defends in the third quarter of the 2014 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome. Alabama beat Missouri 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Coxson, signed out of Stony Brook, offers the Packers elite speed from the outside with a 40-yard dash that was clocked as low as 4.28 seconds leading up to the draft. In his final season of college ball, Coxson hauled in 43 passes for 664 yards and six touchdowns. Once rated a top-20 receiver nationwide in his High School class by several scouting services, the talent remains, but like Hunt, Coxson needs to put it together on a consistent basis.

The race for the sixth receiver job, if that job even exists come early September, could be a race to learn the playbook. In this sense, Myles White stands out from the crowd. The quickest ticket to a release or practice squad designation with the Packers as a skill player is a missed audible or blown route. The trust of Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy is of the utmost importance, and the preseason will be their opportunity to shine.

This group of receivers may see the odd preseason snap with Rodgers under center, but it’s more likely that they’re paired with Scott Tolzien, Brett Hundley and Matt Blanchard for the majority of August. Unless Abbrederis recovers quickly, this position is turning into an old-school tryout that will be one of the best roster battles to track over the next few weeks.

Next: Brett Hundley is finally scratching the surface

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