Green Bay Packers: Give wide receivers time to develop
By Hunter Noll
The Green Bay Packers have their main pieces at the top of the wide receiver list already. Let the young names develop instead of giving up on them though.
The Green Bay Packers brought Davante Adams back to the team on a four-year deal near the end of the 2017 season. With Adams returning, he joins Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson to give Aaron Rodgers a fantastic trio at receiver.
Last season was proof that three players don’t make a position as deep as wide receiver though. With injuries and other problems, the passing game for Green Bay wasn’t what it was expected to be in 2017. Now, most of that could be chalked up to the Rodgers injury, but the depth at receiver was tested as well.
Adams missed two games, while both Cobb and Nelson missed one. Nelson missed the majority of another game as well. During those times, the other names on the roster were asked to step up.
In one instance, Geronimo Allison did just that, picking up 122 yards on six catches in a matchup against the Chicago Bears. This was an outlier though. While he had a decent string of appearances at the end of the season, Allison’s one big game was the only standout performance by a non-big-three receiver for the Packers last season.
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Due to that, the thought process might be to find help elsewhere. The advantages of sticking with the group Green Bay knows are obvious though.
First of all, they would be cheap to return. Players like Allison and Michael Clark aren’t going to command a lot of money. Therefore, the Packers can spend it in other areas. Next, there’s the familiarity. The players already know the system, and everyone is comfortable with one another. No need to worry about Rodgers’ having issues with a new face.
Then there’s the potential. Both Clark and Allison have potential and showed it at times last year. As did Trevor Davis, despite very limited time. Meanwhile, DeAngelo Yancey is a fifth-round pick from last season that, while not seeing game time, undoubtedly learned a lot last year.
Finally, there’s the draft picks. This is kind of the “cheap” argument but based on the draft. Instead of spending big free agent money on receivers, it would be wise for the Packers to build at other positions. Same thing here. Instead of spending draft picks on a position that isn’t desperate for help, use them elsewhere.
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The Green Bay Packers “big three” receivers didn’t receive much help last season. With that fresh in their minds, a lot of fans might want to make some moves. Don’t discredit the importance of growth and familiarity though. Maybe bringing in one veteran would be useful, but this shouldn’t be a position the Packers focus on this offseason.