Green Bay Packers: 5 biggest questions facing special teams

5. Who will be the gunners?

Outside of some late heroics against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2016 playoffs, Janis never caught on at receiver. However, he did catch on at gunner. Following in the footsteps of Jarrett Bush, Janis used his size and speed to be one of the game’s best gunners. He frequently got down the field to either eliminate a return or stop it for a short gain. After leaving for the Browns, someone will have to step up and fill the void.

The presumed favorite to take his spot as the lead gunner is Marwin Evans. Evans has been functioning as the gunner opposite him. He was behind only Janis in snaps and had similar speed. He ran a 4.47 to Janis’ 4.42 40-yard dash. Assuming Evans takes the spot, there will be a new role to fill and a few faces to fill it.

One of these faces is Jermaine Whitehead, who is the presumed odd man out in the strong safety battle. The team values Whitehead’s ability enough to bring him back, despite the fact he has only played 12 games in his two seasons. Although on the smaller side compared to Evans and Janis, he has played significantly on special teams. Players make careers out of special teams and Whitehead could do the same.

Other possible players are the rookie receivers outside of J’Mon Moore. The team could also go with someone like Herb Waters or Donatello Brown. Gunners are an underrated aspect of special teams. The team will need to successfully replace Janis with someone to make the best of rookie punter Scott.