You wouldn’t be alone if you hadn’t heard of Green Bay Packers receiver Jake Kumerow before now. However, he clearly become the darling of training camp.
Kumerow is a former undrafted free agent from Division III Wisconson-Whitewater. He’s largely kicked around on practice squads in the NFL. He was with the Bengals for two seasons and the Patriots and Packers last year.
And now, it looks like he might end up being the Packers’ fourth receiver.
Everyone has been raving about the guy, including Aaron Rodgers.
“I was telling Jake the other day, I watched a play that he was in on, he ran a certain route, he was open on the route. I wasn’t the quarterback, we came back three practices later, same call, same coverage, same player — him — running the route, and he wasn’t expecting the ball,” Rodgers said. “I said, ‘Hey, I watched that rep three days ago. I saw this play and I reminded myself at the time, if we had that opportunity again, where to go with the football.’ I said, ‘When you’re out there, I’m coming your way.’ I have confidence in him. He’s in the right spot all the time, he makes contested catches, finishes the right way. He practices like a pro.”
And there’s more.
Have gotten teased a bit about how much I've talked up/written about Jake Kumerow during the early part of #Packers camp. That's OK. But when Aaron Rodgers says what he did today about the @WarhawkFootball alum, you should probably give far more credence. pic.twitter.com/yJOk82Dnm8
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) August 3, 2018
Jake Kumerow having a big day: a couple of catches in the 2-minute drill and then made a leaping sideline grab from Hundley in pass-under-pressure drills. Doing @UWWhitewater proud
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 27, 2018
The real question for the Packers is, if they keep Kumerow, who do they cut?
None of three rookie receivers they drafted have made much of an impression yet. But will the Packers risk them not being claimed if they try to sneak them onto the practice squad?
We’ve also been hearing good things about second-year receiver DeAngelo Yancey, who spent last season on the Packers’ practice squad.
So there you’re getting into too many receivers territory, much like 2016 when the Packers initially kept seven.
There are going to be some tough decisions, but right now it looks like Kumerow has a spot.