Geronimo Allison is exceeding expectations as Aaron Rodgers third option
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Geronimo Allison is off to a great start in 2018, but the only people who are surprised are those outside the organization.
All the hard work in the classroom is paying off for third-year receiver Geronimo Allison. Through the first three games of 2018, Allison leads the Green Bay Packers in receiving yards (209), yards per catch (16.1) and catches for over 20 yards (three). This offseason the team trusted Allison with taking over outside receiver duties and so far he’s surpassed expectations.
The name of the game is consistency in the realm of NFL wide receivers. It’s hard to make an impact week after week once defenses start to focus on taking you out of the game. As Green Bay’s third option, Allison doesn’t have to worry much about that but he still has to worry about being reliable.
He replaced Jordy Nelson this offseason as the second boundary receiver opposite of Davante Adams. Randall Cobb stayed in the slot where he’s more effective.
Filling the shoes of Nelson is no easy task and as an undrafted free agent Allison understood the bar was low coming out of the University of Illinois in 2016. However, after he made his way on to the Packers roster, all he’s done is impress which made it easier to part ways with an aging Nelson.
The Packers selected three wide receivers in this year’s draft in order to start developing more talent for Aaron Rodgers. Allison took it in stride.
“At the time, there’s nothing that’s going to be given – it’s got to be earned,” Allison said via packers.com. They brought these (rookies) in to help us, and at the same time, it’s my job to get these guys up to speed.”
During practice, Allison continued to earn the trust of Rodgers, and Rodgers, being the great leader that he is, talked about the confidence he had throwing to the 24-year-old receiver.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in him (Allison),” Rodgers said prior to the regular season opener, according to Green Bay News-Gazette‘s Ryan Wood. “He knows the offense really well, and that’s the starting point of any type of trust, is the mental part.”
Rodgers has a perfect passer rating (156.3) per Pro Football Focus when targeting Allison meaning Rodgers will continue to look his way. He’s been the Packers best deep threat as he continues to catch momentum shifting touchdowns with a 39-yard score in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears in week one and a 64-yarder last week in Washington.
Stability has been Allison’s best trait as he’s yet to fall short of the 60-yard mark in the first three games. Maybe he won’t ever be a Pro Bowler, however, Allison’s efficiency is hard to come by and he continues to prove people wrong. At the very least, he’s well on his towards a breakout year.