Green Bay Packers need vintage Jimmy Graham or else
By Dan Salem
Following a lost season, Aaron Rodgers faces an uphill battle to make the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers and their QB need vintage Jimmy Graham, or else.
No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s continue the team-by-team overview with the Green Bay Packers.
Aaron Rodgers can make any wide receiver good. Do you buy that (essentially) he was making Jordy Nelson good? We know a lot more went into the decision to release Nelson, but it seemed Green Bay both thought he was not the same player he once was and that he was somewhat a product of Rodgers. It was a ballsy decision for sure, essentially leaving Green Bay without an outside receiver opposite Davante Adams (with Randall Cobb in the slot). This puts pressure on Jimmy Graham, because both QB and team need his vintage self.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Green Bay Packers in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
The addition of Jimmy Graham should help mask the Nelson loss, which was certainly the point. But would you rather try to restructure a deal with Nelson off of the $10 million he had left due to him, or sign Graham for three years, $30 million? If Nelson’s decline has been alarming, what of Graham’s, who hasn’t been an elite performer in four or five years? A touchdown-heavy line from last year can’t mask the fact that he never became a focal point any season in Seattle.
With the defensive addition of Muhammad Wilkerson and the return of Tramon Williams, I think the Packers are overall better than they were in 2017, which is the only goal. But it felt like a circuitous route to get there, especially offensively. The team has an interesting running back committee. The offensive line should be of quality if healthy. All the pieces are here, except for the Nelson hole.
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That could mean a wide receiver is in play for the 14th pick in the draft, but that doesn’t feel like a course Green Bay will follow. The team could be better served adding a cornerback or pass rusher anyway. It will be up to Rodgers to make it work with what remains on offense. He always does. And if he goes down again, that’s a wrap anyway. As former Indianapolis offensive coordinator Tom Moore used to say in regards to Peyton Manning‘s backups not getting practice time, “if 18 goes down, we’re f——d, and we don’t practice f——d.”
Dan Salem:
Aaron Rodgers might be the best player in the NFL, accounting for the added value of his position. If he’s not the best quarterback in the league, then he’s arguably top three. The consistency with which he’s been able to dominate and keep Green Bay atop the NFC is incredible. Without him the Packers are certainly screwed, but that already happened last season. It’s unlikely to reoccur in 2018, so place your bets now. It’s a prove it year for Rodgers and his offense.
When you’re the best, you make everyone around you better. But I’m not willing to discount Nelson as a player. It’s unfair to assume his success came solely from his quarterback. Furthermore, because he’s been playing with Rodgers and had such high success as a player, he’s likely to carry that to his new team. All players decline and Nelson’s has been less dramatic as compared to Graham these past few seasons.
That being said, I’d rather have Graham at tight end than Nelson at wide receiver. It’s more difficult to find a top-tier tight end than it is a high-end receiver. There are simply fewer in the league, let alone available. If we assume that Graham and Nelson are equally diminished from their former heights, the value of Graham is still higher. Plus, the Packers have Adams and Cobb. The running game, or lack there of, worries me more than filling Nelson’s shoes in the passing game.
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Green Bay needs to add to its defense in the draft as well, because it has been a weaker link for this team the last few seasons. Wilkerson is excellent, but he too has shown diminished returns of late. If the Packers can get lucky and find a later round running back and receiver to go with their first round defensive selection, they will be all set to make a deep playoff run. If the running game and defense are still issues in 2018, then Green Bay is going to struggle to reach the wildcard round. Rodgers is amazing and he will make Nelson’s replacement a stud, but he can’t do anything if the opposing defense won’t respect the running game. That is a sure-fire way to get injured all over again.