Boy, Are Packers’ Rookie Receivers Looking Good!

I always love these types of stories. The Green Bay Packers drafted three receivers in the 2018 NFL Draft and boy have they been crushing it so far!

Those guys are fourth-round pick J’Mon Moore, fifth-round pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling and sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown.

Crisp routes, soft hands, good speed and athleticism.

But oh, what’s this? Someone actually saying what pretty much everyone knows?

“If you’re a receiver and you don’t look good running routes in shorts, I don’t know,” offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “That’s not a great sign.”

That is referring to the obvious — although one that coaches usually don’t mention — that no one really knows anything until the pads go on in training camp.

“It’s one thing to beat a guy right away and get wide open and catch the ball, but can they catch in traffic, can they catch with a guy hanging on them, can they extend and reach out and really pluck the ball and finish plays?” Philbin said. “That’s something that’s a little hard to gauge at this point.”

No shit, Sherlock.

Thing is, the Packers are likely going to need contributions from at least one of their rookie receivers in 2018. Behind the established Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, the Packers are kind of… meh.

Geronimo Allison and his 455 yards over two seasons? Ooooooooooooh. Impressive!

Trevor Davis? A whopping eight receptions in two seasons. Sweet!

DeAngelo Yancey? Drafted in 2017 in the fifth round. Spent the year on the practice squad. Promising!

Michael Clark? Intriguing athleticism, but is raw as hell. Played in two games at the end of 2017 and caught four passes. Sure to double that production in 2018.

We obviously expect the Packers to come up with a solution if none of these other guys can play and the rookies aren’t ready. They have plenty of flexibility at the tight end position, where Jimmy Graham can line up as a receiver and Marcedes Lewis and Lance Kendricks can man the trenches. There’s also the flexibility that Ty Montgomery creates as a running back. How about a two-back set with Montgomery and Aaron Jones or Jamaal Williams?

Here’s the other wild card. We’ve brought it up many times. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t trust rookie receivers. The rookie he’s had the most success with is Davante Adams, who went for 38 catches, 446 yards and three touchdowns. No other rookie receiver has approached those completely mediocre numbers since Rodgers has been around.

Will this year be different? We have our doubts, but surely the Packers will figure it out.