The Packers Red Zone Offense Will be Among the League’s Best:

With the return of a healthy Aaron Rodgers and the additions of Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis who had a combined 15 touchdowns last season, The Packers are looking forward to a season with a high percentage of red zone drives that finish with six points and a Lambeau Leap.

In 2018, the Packers will be sporting a diverse red zone offense that will feature a capable trio of running backs who will be able to display an explosive ground and pound style in short yardage situations, along with a fullback who can carry a pile of defenders on third and fourth and short if need be.  In addition to their diverse running styles, Jones, Williams, and Montgomery will all play important roles in the screen game as well.  If defenses are able to shut down the running game, they will be forced to contend with quite the quartet of red zone targets on both the outside and inside.

The Green Bay Packers Red Zone Quartet:

Aaron Rodgers will have two massive tight ends who each stand over 6’5 in Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis. He will continuously look to utilize their size with plenty of jump ball routes in the end zone.  If one or both are covered in crunch time, Rodgers can always utilize his two most trusted targets;  Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, who have experience exposing corners with quick first steps on both inside and outside routes inside the red zone.

In the event that the Packers have to split out and go five wide on an obvious third and long passing situation, they will have the option of overloading the left side with Davante Adams, Jimmy Graham, and Geronimo Allison.  With this lineup of targets and formations, the Packers look almost certain to improve on their percentage of touchdowns per red zone play of 26.7% (as of November 15, 2017) and their 4th ranked red zone offense from last season.

The Packers main quartet of red zone targets (Adams, Graham, Lewis, Cobb) had a combined total of 29 touchdowns in 2017.  Look for those numbers to rise with Aaron Rodgers throwing them the football this year.  If healthy, this is shaping up to be one of the better Packers offensive units in years.  I look to see a resurgence from Randall Cobb, a jump from Geronimo Allison and believe that Davante Adams and Jimmy Graham will continue to put up pro bowl numbers in 2018.  If the defense struggles early on, the offense will certainly be more than capable of bailing them out and winning a high scoring affair.

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David Michalski is a recent college graduate from Princeton New Jersey who has been a life long Green Bay Packers fan. Like the great Vince Lombardi, he values God, family, and the Green Bay Packers in that order. You can follow him on twitter at @kilbas27dave

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