Green Bay Packers 10 Keys to success: #5 MVS as WR2

The Green Bay Packers chose not to address the receiver position this offseason and instead they”ll need a big year-two leap from Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

The Green Bay Packers used to have a stable of weapons that made every team in the NFL jealous. “The Perfect Pack” was the name of the Sports Illustrated cover that included Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb, James Jones, and Jermichael Finley. It was truly an embarrassment of riches.

However, the 2019 version of the team does not boast such weaponry. The Packers have a legitimate star in Davante Adams at one receiver position but behind him, there are a ton of question marks.

Out of all of their options, Geronimo Allison is the only player with more than one season of significant experience at the receiver prediction. And as promising as Allison has looked at times, he’s a limited athlete, so his upside is limited as well.

Trevor Davis, Jake Kumerow, and J’Mon Moore have all suffered with injuries or inconsistency. At this point, Moore is unlikely to make the team and although Davis has looked much better this preseason, we still do not know if he can stay healthy.

With that said, some bright spots at the position include Equanimeous St. Brown (EQ) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS) who both stood out last season.

EQ was the more consistent option, while MVS was more dynamic and oozes with big-play potential. As we look ahead to this season, MVS’ skillset is the most tantalizing in regards to fitting into Matt LaFleur’s new offense.

Thinking back to 2014, which is the last time the Packers’ offense was consistently great, they had a diverse group of receivers. Adams was a rookie, but capable of beating the other team’s third-best cornerback, while Randall Cobb was an assassin from the slot as he destroyed teams underneath and on intermediate parts of the field.

What made that team special, however, was the deep speed they had on the boundary. Jordy Nelson had arguably the best season of his career in 2014 as it seemed like Nelson scored one deep touchdown every week.

Nelson took the top off of defenses allowing his teammates to feast once defenses took the deep ball away. And as a result, the Green Bay Packers took that offense all the way to the doorstep of the Super Bowl that season.

Unfortunately, Nelson tore his ACL the following season and the team has not been the same since on offense. But that is where MVS comes into play this season.

Davante Adams is a star and he has the ability to do anything on the field. In fact, he might be the most talented receiver that Aaron Rodgers has ever played with.

That being said, he needs help opposite of him. The Packers will need help in terms of taking the top off of defenses once again if they hope to bring back the dynamic offense of years past.

Although the sample size is small, it appears that MVS can be the player to do just that. In terms of receivers on the roster, he has the best deep speed that the team has had since the days of Nelson running the shot play.

In a two-week stretch, MVS caught a deep touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams, and another deep post against the New England Patriots the following week. It was those type of plays that made you wonder just how much MVS was capable of.

MVS, of course, is far from a finished product at this stage of his career. He was a raw, fifth-round pick when the Packers brought him in a season ago and the draft was another avenue they could have used to bring in another option at receiver.

While the free agent prices proved too rich for Green Bay’s desires, they had two separate opportunities in the draft to add a high pedigree pass catcher. They had two picks between 30 and 45 when the draft started, but they traded up to take Darnell Savage in the first round and with their second round pick they could have taken a plethora of receivers on the board.

And while the second round has been the sweet spot for Green Bay in terms of picking receivers, they instead took Elgton Jenkins to potentially be a long-term fixture at offensive guard.

That has put the pressure and faith squarely in the shoulders of the three rookie receivers the Packers drafted a season ago. One of them in Moore is unlikely to make the team. Another in EQ is injured and has fallen behind players like Allison and Kumerow on the depth chart.

That leaves MVS as the last man standing. Because of his athletic profile and the potential he flashed a season ago, he gives the Green Bay Packers’ offense a higher ceiling if he is on the field more often. He also gives the Packers a chance to convert on big plays in the passing game that they’ve been largely unable to since 2014.

For the Green Bay Packers’ offense to return to its dynamic ways, they need MVS to become the second option in the passing game.