The Green Bay Packers front office made the conscious choice to trade away Davante Adams, arguably the best receiver in the NFL, during the offseason. Eight games into the season, it’s quite clear that the Packers could use some help at the receiver position.
Let’s be clear: things are bad in Green Bay, but their season is still alive, though likely on life support at the moment. The Packers are 3-5 and still have an outside chance of making the playoffs in a weak NFC, but will struggle to catch the Minnesota Vikings in the division. The defense has had moments of promise between inconsistent spells and the run game has been one of the more efficient units in the NFL when Aaron Jones has the ball in his hands. The sky isn’t quite falling, but there are a lot of dark clouds looming over Lambeau Field.
Most of their issues this season stem from an incredibly poor passing offense. Historically, that would be a surprising admission. The Packers’ passing offense has been one of the best in the NFL over the last five years, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs in EPA per dropback, per RBSDM. In 2022, they’re 22nd in EPA per dropback.
Rodgers is completing 66 percent of his passes for 1800 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, but even he is flying well below the standards set through previous years. Rodgers is a back-to-back MVP winner but currently sits 22nd in EPA per dropback, one place behind Russell Wilson. A worry, considering how the Broncos’ offense is performing. The numbers and film tell a similar story, there’s a clear disconnect in the offense.
Trading away Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason set the wheels in motion. Adams was Rodgers’ go-to receiver over the last six seasons and made a name for himself as a dominant number one, catching 581 passes for 7192 yards and 69 touchdowns. Adams has carried on his dominance in Las Vegas, but the Packers’ offense has sputtered without him.
Left in his wake in the Packers’ receiver room is a mix of rookies and veterans and their impacts have been mixed. The Packers drafted Christian Watson in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft but so far, injuries have limited him to just eight catches across five games. The rookie that has impressed is fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs, who has 30 catches for 296 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, the Packers are moving the ball downfield, but they’re struggling. They rank 22nd in yards per drive, and 27th in points per drive, per Football Outsiders, and are struggling to generate and execute big plays downfield. Historically, that hasn’t been a problem for Rodgers. He had the 11th most completions of 20+ air yards in the NFL last season and the third-most in 2020.
It’s been a problem this season. Rodgers is completing just 30 percent of his deep passes, 27th out of 36 qualified quarterbacks, per PFF. This Packers offense feels more static and condensed. A lot of it has to do with the weapons Rodgers has at his disposal. Allen Lazard isn’t a receiver who can seamlessly separate down the field, and overall, the Packers don’t have a player that can really be a reliable deep threat. Watson could, but he’s struggling to even get on the field and is still raw.
If the Packers want to get ahold of their season, they have to be active in the trade market before it’s too late. It doesn’t have to be a star receiver in the ilk of D.J. Moore or Tyler Lockett – though you could make a case that Lockett has a better chance of making the postseason in his current scenario anyway – but the Packers just need help. They need to add anything that can kickstart a spluttering offense.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
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