Despite not having a receiver with over 1,000 yards on the season, Green Bay finished with a 13-3 record and advanced all the way to the NFC Championship game. Head Coach Matt Lafleur brought his West Coast outside zone scheme to the Frozen Tundra and thrived. General Manager Brian Gutekunst has done a fantastic job attacking the Packers area’s of weakness over the past two years. If the Packers are going to progress to the Super Bowl, more weapons are needed on the outside.
This off-season must be dedicated to offensive improvements. At age 36, Aaron Rodgers can no longer carry the team on his back. While he still shows flashes of superpowers, Rodgers is not the same quarterback he once was. Green Bay must not rely solely on the right arm of number 12.
While Aaron Jones had an amazing season in 2019, additional ammunition is needed. Davante Adams finished the season with 997 yards, while missing 4 games with a turf toe injury. No other pass catcher ended the season with over 500 receiving yards. More reliable targets at wide receiver and tight end are needed.
Since Randall Cobb was released, the Packers have had a void at slot receiver. Cobb’s skills were sorely missed in the offense in 2019. A shifty slot receiver should be at the top of Green Bay’s wish list. Speed is the name of the game for this offense. An electric talent such as Jalen Reagor of TCU, or K.J. Hamler from Penn State would work wonders in this Packers’ offense. Both could be draft targets in the early rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The tight end position has been a sore spot in Green Bay since Jermichael Finley’s career was cut short. Jimmy Graham is simply not worth his bloated salary at this stage in his NFL life. Fortunately, there are a number of tight ends available through the middle rounds in this draft class. Brian Gutekunst could look to add Cole Kmet of Notre Dame, Harrison Bryant out of Florida Atlantic, or Mitchell Wilcox from South Florida. A field stretcher down the seam is a piece that Green Bay has been missing in this offense.
Nick is a lifelong Packers fan. 4th and 26 was on his 13th birthday, unlucky. Follow him @CANDRAFTGEEK647 on Twitter for all your Packers draft needs and questions.
10 responses to “Packers must add weapons for Aaron Rodgers”
Given all the holes on this team, I see at least 2 WRs being added this off-season, 1-2 via draft and 1 FA if the value is there. Realistically I think Reagor and Hamler are in play, but they would be at the end of round 1 or trade back scenarios. It pains me as a Badger fan, but I think there’s something special about KJ Hill too. OSU’s all time leading receiver who is not a pure burner, but his route running, play speed and hands are truly elite. I also think Quintez Cephus and Jauan Jennings could provide great value in round 4.
I was on the hype train the last couple years for GMo, Kumerow, but I think they will not be on the team next year. Adams & Lazard are safe, but I think MVS, EQ, Shep, and anyone else will be fighting for the 5th, possibly 6th WR spot.
I think it would be a mistake to let Kumerow go . He didn’t get enough chances , every target he had he caught , more then you can say for Allison . MVS, Allison are the ones to go ..
I agree with you on Kumerow. Rodgers said he trusted him, but Rodgers and Lafluer schemes failed miserably to use him enough. Kinda like MM with Jones!!
That’s fair, I just expect a few locks being Adams, Lazard and 2 draft picks. With EQSB & MVS having far more athleticism than Kumerow, I just don’t think it’s likely he makes the team this time around.
“Cobb’s skills were sorely missed in the offense in 2019”. Cobb did very little for the Packers his last 3 years. We didn’t miss Cobb, we missed having a good slot receiver.
When you’re spending $35 million on a QB, you don’t give him receivers like Graham, Tonyan, MVS and Allison.
They didn’t use Lazard and Kumerow enough , Lazard was good across the middle , maybe 5 times , and Kumerow right side with extra yardage and good blocking , am I the only one who can see this … MVS, Allison, Tonyan , drops ,waste of time on the field . They have to stat using the W/R’s right . How many screen passes were put into play , not many . Take some of the pressure off of Adams .
Stan: You make sense to me as seen by all of us.
Another brillant article! Who the hell doesn’t know this?