Since the early spring, talk within Packer Nation has centered around the neglect that Green Bay's front office has had toward the wide receiver position. Aside from the now-meaningless acquisition of Devin Funchess in the offseason, the Packers haven't upgraded the position at all. And, as true as those assertions may be, it's also true that a related positional group has been an even greater liability for the team in recent years.
A Little History
When Jermichael Finley suffered a career-ending neck injury in October of 2013, Packers fans had no idea of the revolving door that the tight end position would become for years into the future.
Since regularly linking up with Finley during his early days as a starter, Rodgers has received little help at tight end on offense. Replacing Finley as TE1 in 2014 was fellow Cal Bear Richard Rodgers. Rodgers was a reliable pass catcher but his severe lack of speed and versatility played a defining role in several offensive breakdowns throughout the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Rodgers was a third-round draft pick to forget but his three-year stint in Green Bay at least gets a passing grade compared to the free agent adventure on which the team would then embark.
In the 2017 offseason, then-GM Ted Thompson chose not to resign tight end Jared Cook, who was instrumental in the Packers' historic run-the-table streak that got them one game away from the Super Bowl in 2016. Instead, he overpaid for free agent Martellus Bennett, who quickly proved to be a bust on the field and highly unethical off.
Thompson's heir at GM, Brian Gutekunst, didn't learn from the front office's collective mistakes, bringing aboard another has-been tight end, Jimmy Graham, in 2018. Outside of a few strong games (including a game-sealing catch in the 2019 NFC Divisional Round), Graham caught only five touchdown passes over two seasons and, more generally, failed to become the dependable red zone threat for which he was once known.
Where To Turn Now
With Graham signing with the Bears in March, the Packers are now left with unproven, second-year tight end Jace Sternberger, in addition to veteran Marcedes Lewis, pedestrian Robert Tonyan and rookie Josiah Deguara.
Sternberger had a relatively quiet camp after coming off the COVID-19 list in mid-August. Tonyan has shown flashes of playmaking ability, but, all things considered, has a fairly low ceiling as a TE1. Lewis, at age 36, will continue to be a block-first tight end while Deguara is expected to play more of an H-back role than a that of a downfield receiver.
A number of veteran quarterbacks in the 2010s have benefitted greatly from the presence of a high-caliber tight end, including Peyton Manning (via Julius Thomas), Tom Brady (via Rob Gronkowski) and Tony Romo (via Jason Witten). With that said, the Packers should be kicking themselves every time that Drew Brees and the former-Packer Cook hook up for six in New Orleans.
Without much depth at wide receiver, finding a reliable tight end would have been an excellent alternative for supporting Aaron Rodgers in the passing game - in addition to Matt LaFleur's inordinate use of running backs out of the backfield. Instead, the Packers are left with question marks at both wide receiver and tight end heading into the 2020 season.
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