Green Bay Packers Offensive Success Next Year Relies on Development of Young WRs

The Green Bay Packers are in trouble at wide receiver, but if you watched the second half of their 2015 campaign, you knew that already. From the St. Louis Rams-San Diego Chargers stretch on, when teams dared the Packers to win with their receivers on islands, the wheels fell off the offense.

There are several factors that led Green Bay to drop from the best team in terms of offensive points scored in 2014 to the 15th the year after, the franchise’s worst mark under quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The squad also slipped to 23rd in offensive yards, even though in 2013, when Rodgers missed the better part of eight games, they still were third in the NFL in that statistic.

The wideout troubles of the team started with their best receiver: Jordy Nelson. Nelson tore his ACL in a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which led to him missing the entire season. Randall Cobb, the team’s second-best target, is best used as a slot receiver,.

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Even heading into the year, we knew the unit was in trouble. When they signed James Jones, a former Packer who had been told by both the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, bottom-10 teams in terms of record in 2014, that they were better rosters without the target, it was a move of desperation.

Jones is now a free agent. When looking down the roster for possible starting outside receivers opposite Nelson, the names that come up are the three third-year receivers, Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, and Jeff Janis, who combined for only 61 receptions, 673 yards and one touchdown in 2015. That is just one reason why the squad selected Trevor Davis, a California target, on Day 3 of April’s draft.

In an attempt to look for a savior among the Packers wideout unit, we’ll break down exactly what each receiver’s resume looks like heading into Green Bay’s summer training sessions.

 

Davante Adams

A sloppy sluggo, but Aaron Rodgers was able to put it in the perfect spot for Davante Adams to make a play. pic.twitter.com/DieV9xI9Ko

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) May 23, 2016

2015: Started 12 of 13 games played, 50 receptions for 483 receiving yards and one touchdown.

2014: Started 11 of 16 games played, 38 receptions for 446 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Heading into the 2015 regular season, there were big expectations for Adams. First, he was a rookie starter for the Green Bay Packers, which meant something given general manager Ted Thompson’s history at the receiver position.

The other top-100 picks Thompson had drafted at the time were Terrence Murphy, Greg Jennings, Jones, Nelson and Cobb. Other than Murphy, who had to retire after a spine injury that occurred early on in his rookie campaign, the other Thompson receiver selections were among the best in their respective drafts. To some extent, there was a feeling the Thompson Packers could do no wrong when evaluating that particular position.

Adams also started more games than any rookie receiver in the Mike McCarthy era. In fact, his 11 starts as a first-year receiver matched Jones, Nelson and Cobb’s combined totals. Paired with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was coming off of an MVP season, many expected a breakout sophomore year from Adams.

Unfortunately, when you turned on the tape, Adams’ potential was sobering. Matt Harmon of Backyard Banter, who might be the best receivers evaluator preaching on a public forum, noted Adams had the second-worst success rate against man coverage, the worst success rate against zone coverage and the second-worst success rate against press coverage of the top 14 receivers drafted in the 2014 class, based off of their rookie seasons. 

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Despite posting 11 starts in 16 games, his 446 receiving yards in 2014 fell short of Jennings’ 632 in 2006, in 14 games, and Jones’ 676 in 2007, in nine starts. Nelson, as a rotational player with only two starts in 2008, was only 80 yards short of Adams’ mark. Cobb, with no starts as a rookie in 2011, was 71 yards short of the former Fresno State Bulldog.

Adams did not perform better than any other young Packers receiver in recent memory—he was just given more opportunities. When you realize Adams’ only true accomplishment as a professional to date is beating out Jarrett Boykin, a former undrafted free agent who is on a futures contract with the Buffalo Bills, his reason for seeing the field so often makes more sense.

The Adams-Boykin combo replaced the 2013 reps of Jones, the second-most targeted receiver in Green Bay who left in free agency for the Oakland Raiders. After a one-year stint with the Raiders and a cup of coffee with the New York Giants, Jones returned to Green Bay for 2015, and he was able to lead the team in yardage and touchdowns, off of 50 receptions—the same amount Adams had.

The 32-year-old is a free agent despite blowing Adams out of the water statistically and on film.

As Ben Fennell of NFL Network and ESPN pointed out late in the season, if the Packers rolled out in single-receiver …

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