The Green Bay Packers made headlines on the eve of free agency when news broke that the team would release longtime wide receiver Jordy Nelson. After nine productive seasons with the Packers, Nelson will be searching for a new home in free agency. The Packers weren’t going to let one of their primary red zone targets get away without a contingency plan, though.
The biggest name on the tight end market was Jimmy Graham and the Packers made a strong effort to secure his talent. Signed to a three-year deal worth up to $30 million, Graham remains the league’s highest paid tight end. He should instantly step in as a strong contributor in the pass game, especially in the red zone. The league year is just beginning and the Packers receiving corps already has undergone a swift change by substituting a long time receiver for one of the league’s premier tight ends.
Green Bay Packers Receiving Corps Will Look Different in 2018
Void on the Boundary
The Packers are moving on from fan favorite Nelson after a remarkable career with the Packers. Known for his incredible sideline catches and field-stretching double moves, Nelson cemented his own legacy in Green Bay after beginning his career alongside Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. He has accumulated nearly 8,000 career receiving yards and 69 touchdowns over his first nine NFL seasons.
Nelson became Aaron Rodgers’s top target by his fourth season and the two had some of the best chemistry of any quarterback-receiver duo in the league. Nelson posted three seasons with 13 or more touchdowns and over 1,200 yards. The Packers will struggle to replace one of the franchise’s best playmakers on the outside.
Davante Adams and Randall Cobb
The emergence of fifth-year wide receiver Davante Adams mitigates the losses at wide receiver. Adams was the only receiver capable of maintaining any level of production after Brett Hundley took over at quarterback last year. Adams has always had impressive athleticism but finally proved he could be a consistent number one receiver for this offense. He should be the most targeted receiver on the team next year and will hopefully continue to impress after signing his four year, $58 million contract just before the off-season.
Adams mans one outside position while Randall Cobb should continue to line up primarily from the slot. Many thought Cobb could be the odd man out as opposed to Nelson. Cobb has posted just a single thousand yard season in seven years and has a cap hit over $12 million for the upcoming season. Cobb should have every opportunity to improve upon his 653 yards and four touchdowns last season with Nelson out of the lineup.
Depth
There is little proven depth at receiver beyond Adams and Cobb. Jeff Janis is a free agent, leaving Trevor Davis and Geronimo Allison as the only receivers that have caught a pass from Rodgers. Davis has been the team’s primary return man over his first two seasons but would need to improve his route running ability and hands in order to play opposite Adams on the outside. Allison has definitely outplayed his status as an undrafted free agent in 2016 but doesn’t have any particularly dominant qualities.
There are several intriguing youngsters in fourth-round pick DeAngelo Yancey and undrafted former basketball player Michael Clark but the Packers will almost certainly add a body or two over the next several weeks or in the draft. Furthermore, Mike McCarthy has already stated that he plans to keep Ty Montgomery at running back even though that position has more depth than receiver now. There is some potential in this group but the Packers should look towards the draft for some younger, more explosive options.
Reworked Tight End Position
For the third straight off-season the Packers have added a veteran tight end through free agency. Jared Cook had decent production and chemistry with Rodgers when healthy in 2016 but signed on with the Oakland Raiders last off-season. The Packers thought Martellus Bennett would be the long-term solution at the position but that backfired in one of the league’s sloppiest break-ups in recent memory. This year’s tight end addition is Jimmy Graham, one of the premier seam stretchers in the NFL over the course of his career. But Graham is coming off a season where he posted under ten yards per catch and didn’t look as explosive with the ball in his hands.
Graham’s impressive resume consists of five Pro Bowl nominations, first and second team All-Pro nods, nearly 7,000 receiving yards, and 69 touchdowns. The six-foot-seven Graham is still a matchup nightmare, especially in the red zone. He may be a bit slower at 31 years-old but Graham should be the best tight end Rodgers has ever played with. Hopefully Graham will at the very least be able to replicate Nelson’s redzone production in 2018 even if he struggles to pick up big yardage after the catch next year.
Lance Kendricks is the lone tight end from last season that remains with the team. He posted just 203 yards and one touchdown, not making much of an impact even after Bennett was cut. He had some success with the Las Angeles Rams but the Packers still need to add depth at tight end in the 2018 NFL Draft. There is still the possibility of Richard Rodgers re-signing with the team but he should be just an insurance policy for Graham and Kendricks.
Moving Forward
A current look at the starting offense would show a major hole at the boundary receiver position across from Adams. Cobb will most likely see more opportunities on the outside but is clearly better suited for the slot. A combination of Allison and Davis doesn’t inspire much confidence at such a premier position. Unless Yancey or Clark have meteoric rises as second year players, the Packers will almost certainly need to add a starting caliber receiver through the rest of free agency or the draft.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst made the decision to move on from the established Nelson in favor of a matchup nightmare in Graham. Hopefully Graham has patched the hole at tight end for the near future, but it will be very interesting to watch how the team moves forward at the receiver position.
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