It's been nearly two decades since the Green Bay wide receiver room was as void of elite talent as it is now, heading into the 2022 regular season.
Rewind just 12 months and the roster included the NFL's top receiver in Davante Adams, who had been Green Bay's undisputed WR1 dating back to the heydays of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Before that, it was a myriad of premier pass catchers, ranging from James Jones to Greg Jennings to Donald Driver. You'd have to trace back to the early stages of Driver's career - before the 2002 selection of Javon Walker - to find a Packers receiving corps so lacking in overall talent.
However, if you were to ask the Packers' coaching staff about the state of the WR corps, you'd be met with utter contentment around the bodies already on the roster. In the minds of head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff, the combination of vets Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins - plus high-potential youngsters Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Amari Rodgers and Juwann Winfree - is more than enough to pace the passing game in 2022.
While that may be true, the idea of this group supplanting the 2019 - 2022 production with Adams in the lineup is simply misguided. To build on their recent success in the passing game, Aaron Rodgers will need to lean on other members of his offensive supporting cast.
Since early 2020, the running back duo of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon has been nothing short of electric in the passing game. Both are regularly split out wide (yes, even the 250-pound Dillon) and sent on out routes or crossers that take advantage of stale linebackers in coverage. Jones, in particular, has been something of a deep threat in the passing game, thanks to size that makes it hard for defenders to account for him in coverage.
However, it's really the short-range passing game where Jones and Dillon are the most dangerous as receivers, in packages where they are lined up disguised as potential ball carriers or pass protection and then schemed open, with lots of green in front of them. Jones is often cast off into the flat as an outlet, where his nimble running style can turn a two-yard gain into a 20-yard pickup down the sideline.
One favorite personnel package for LaFleur is the "Pony Package," which flanks Rodgers with his two backs, side-by-side, in the backfield. LaFleur occasionally experimented with the set last year and could make it even more of a focal point in 2022 with the two backs fully healthy to begin the year.
As Rodgers himself remarked recently, it's important for the Packers to play their best 11 players on each side of the ball, as much as possible. While the starting lineup you see on the broadcast may show just one running back in that group, both Jones and Dillon are, without question, members of the offense's best 11 players. They simply need to be on the field a lot - together and, particularly this year, as part-time receivers.
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