Through two weeks of Training Camp, the wide receiver position for the Packers has gained a large amount of attention from both the media and the fanbase, and rightly so. Beyond the top two of Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, the depth players have all made their presence known, making big plays day after day, including in their preseason game against the Titans.

But while Jake Kumerow, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, and J’Mon Moore have taken the headlines, one guy has quietly had a very strong camp. In the battle for the receiver depth chart, don’t forget about DeAngelo Yancey.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2017 (see the PackersTalk draft profile here), Yancey has all the measurables a team would want out of a receiver. Big (6’1″), strong (21 reps at his Pro Day), and with solid speed (4.53), Yancey was one of the more underrated deep threats in the Draft. After averaging 19.4 yards per catch in his final year at Purdue (a terrible passing team in a tough defensive conference), Yancey showed enough to be drafted 175th Overall.

However, Yancey came into camp having bulked up and  lost some of that explosiveness and durability that made him a Boilermaker hallmark for four years. He ended up falling short in Camp and spend the year on the practice squad. However, he came into this year’s camp in slimmer shape, down 15 pounds from his rookie season, and has shown more explosiveness in camp, starting to get some reps in with the starters.

He also had a solid showing in the preseason game, even though the stat sheet might not show it.

DeAngelo Yancey with a couple nice catches near the sideline to convert thrid downs and keep drive going – Wes Hodkiewicz, Twitter.

When analyzing the pick last year, one of the players Yancey compared with was former Falcons first rounder Michael Jenkins, who carved out a solid eight year career as a big receiver who was strong down the field. Yancey also has a lot of the same traits as James Jones. That’s not to say he’ll be the next Jones, or that he’ll even make the roster in 2018, but DeAngelo Yancey is a name that people should remember when evaluating the receivers. It’s not out of reason to see him as one of the top four or five receivers during Week 1.

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Mike Wendlandt is originally from Iola, Wisconsin and graduated from Drake University in 2015 with a degree in History. With a significant journalism background both in writing and broadcasting, Mike can be heard as the play-by-play voice of Central Wisconsin High School sports on WDUX FM 92.7 and on Twitter @MikeWendlandt.

Mike Wendlandt is a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for PackersTalk.com.

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