Involving everyone is a key for Packers success

After the week one loss to the Minnesota Vikings, it became clear that the Green Bay Packers had to involve more players in their offense in order to be successful.

This came on the back of only giving running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon 15 combined carries in that week one loss. Head coach Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers reconciled that by giving Jones and Dillon 37 combined touches in the team’s 27-10 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Those results immediately paid off, as the team rushed for 203 yards and Jones scored two touchdowns. With that being a step in the right direction for the Packers, getting all of the receivers involved is still a priority.

“Those are two good players and you are always trying to get your best players the ball,” said LaFleur.

Without Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers completed 19 passes to eight different receivers in week two. The biggest benefactor was Sammy Watkins, as he recorded three catches for 93 yards. Randall Cobb, Aaron Jones and Christian Watson also tied Watkins with the team lead in receptions with three.

With 19 pass completions spread out over eight receivers, that begs the question, is this what Packer fans can expect from the offense this year?

“The days of one guy getting 15 targets and the next guy getting four or five are kind of over,” said Rodgers. “We are going to have to find ways to get different guys the football in different spots.”

While that may be the case, it may not necessarily be a bad thing for Green Bay’s offense. Becoming predictable has been a crutch for Packers teams in the past, so to have seven or eight guys who can serve one part of the offense may be better in the long run than what Packer fans saw with Adams’ 28% target share in 2021.

“All of those guys made big plays,” said LaFleur on the balanced passing attack against Chicago. “There’s a lot of plays where (wide receiver coach Jason) Vrable does such a great job subbing those guys in and out that I don’t even know who is going to be in the game necessarily and that is such a far cry from what we’ve done in the past here in terms of featuring a guy like Davante.”

Allen Lazard, who seemingly took over the No. 1 receiving spot when Adams left, logged his first game of the season in 2022, in the win over the Bears. Though Lazard only had two catches, one of them came in the red zone for a 5-yard touchdown.

That should be a bright spot to Packer fans, as while Lazard is not the same player that Adams is, it became obvious that the Packers wanted to get Lazard involved in an area where he can use his 6-foot, 5-inch frame to succeed.

To go along with Lazard, guys like Romeo Doubs, Cobb and Watson are being used in positions that play to their strengths, rather than the Packers asking the receivers to do more than they are accustomed to. Lazard in the red zone, Cobb on third down and Doubs catching screens were the major roles that those three respectfully served in Green Bay’s week two win.

“There’s a lot of different plays for specific guys,” said Rodgers. “We had a package for Christian, we had a package for Romeo, obviously a lot of plays for Sammy and for Allen … and then a couple of wrinkles for Cobby. We have had (Cobb) in the backfield on third down, so that is kind of the way it’s going to go.”

The most intriguing newcomer that Green Bay brought to town in the offseason though is Christian Watson. The North Dakota State product started training camp with an injury, but worked his way to starting week one. The first play of his career, saw Watson drop a pass that would have been a 75-yard touchdown.

Continuing to get the ball to Watson seems to be a focal point for LaFleur’s coaching staff. After Watson’s drop early against the Vikings, the Packers have yet to try another deep shot to him, instead, the Packers have tried to get Watson out into space with sweeps and touch passes.

While Watson does have the makeup to be a deep threat in the NFL, getting him comfortable with the ball in his hands may be the first step to unlocking that potential.

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com