Green Bay Packers: TE remains a position of concern w/ recent moves

After two recent waiver claims at the tight end position, it is clear that the Green Bay Packers still have some concerns heading into the upcoming season.

It’s no secret that the tight end position is one that has perplexed the Green Bay Packers for a number of years now. It has been since the days of Jermichael Finley that the Packers have had consistent production at tight end.

Over the years, Green Bay has been reluctant to use a top draft pick on a tight end and rather has tried to solve the issue in free agency to no avail.

However, as we shift our focus to the 2019 season, the tight end position is expected to play a much bigger role in Matt LaFleur’s offense than it did under former head coach Mike McCarthy.

In addition to the four main tight ends on the roster during offseason programs, the Green Bay Packers have recently added Pharoah McKever and Michael Roberts off waivers.

Given the overall uncertainty surrounding the position in Green Bay, adding competition for training camp and into the preseason makes a lot of sense as there are a number of unknowns on the roster at tight end.

While Jimmy Graham wasn’t the red zone threat and he didn’t have the overall production last year that most expected, his 55 receptions and 636 receiving yards weren’t as bad as many think.

With that said, he clearly isn’t the same athlete that he once was and ideally, in LaFleur’s offense, the tight end is expected to be just as good of a blocker as he is a receiver, which isn’t Graham’s strong suit. The hope is that we see the Graham of old in this offense and the potential is definitely there, but it is not a given.

The other veteran in the mix is Marcedes Lewis, who in his defense was grossly underutilized by McCarthy last season. However, in the opportunities that he was given, Lewis didn’t show the same blocking ability that we had become accustomed to over the years.

According to Pro Football Focus, Lewis received the lowest pass blocking grade of his career and the third lowest run blocking grade he’s ever had. Like Graham, Lewis is likely past his prime, so hopefully, the new offense will help him bounce back and put him in a position to succeed.

Moving on we have Robert Tonyan who quickly became a fan favorite in Green Bay and flashed some big-play potential in 2018, but overall he still has a lot of growing to do.

As a former college receiver, Tonyan is still very raw as a blocker and needs to improve on the technical side of being a receiver such as with his route running. All of the tools are there to develop into another weapon for Aaron Rodgers but as of now, I don’t know how heavily he can be relied upon.

Lastly, we have rookie third-round pick, Jace Sternberger, who had a huge Junior season at Texas A&M with 48 receptions, 10 touchdowns and a whopping 17.3 yards per catch. To put it simply, Sternberger is a YAC monster.

Yet, like Tonyan, Sternberger is inexperienced as an inline blocker and will need time to develop that aspect of his game. Of all the positions, outside of quarterback, tight end is perhaps the biggest jump from college to the NFL as they have to do a little bit of everything.

Tight ends have to know blocking schemes like a lineman and need to be proficient route runners like a wide receiver, amongst a number of other areas. Realistically, expectations for Sternberger should be low in 2019 and his impact may be minimal.

Of the four most likely candidates to make the 53-man roster at tight end come week one, two of them are on the back nines of their careers while the other two still have plenty of learning to do.

And not to mention that neither of them are currently the “prototypical” tight end for a Matt LaFleur offense.

The fact remains that the tight end position is a bit of a question mark heading into 2019 and based on their recent moves, the Green Bay Packers must have a similar feeling. Which is why bringing in the extra competition for the summer programs was a wise move.