Green Bay Packers Trade Targets: TE Austin Hooper

With the NFL trade deadline quickly approaching, tight end Austin Hooper of the Atlanta Falcons is a name that should be on the Green Bay Packers’ radar.

The NFL trade deadline is less than two weeks away as it falls on October 29th, and while the Green Bay Packers are sitting at 5-1 overall as well as 3-0 in the division, there is definitely still room to improve. Particularly in the passing game.

Even before the season started, there were a number of question marks surrounding this Packers’ receiving core but now with Davante Adams sidelined with turf toe, Geronimo Allison in concussion protocol and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the injury report as well, those concerns have been heightened.

GM Brian Gutekunst should be exploring all options when it comes to adding a receiver to the team, but depending on the trade market, adding a pass-catching tight end like Austin Hooper of the Atlanta Falcons could do wonders for the Green Bay Packers as well.

We all know how much of a struggle it has been over the years to find a quality tight end for this offense and that remains an issue in 2019. Jimmy Graham hasn’t lived up to his contract. And although Marcedes Lewis has had some nice moments in the passing game this season, he isn’t a matchup that most defenses worry about. Meanwhile, Robert Tonyan is injured and still developing, while Jace Sternberger is coming off of the IR and realistically, most rookie tight ends just don’t produce in their first season.

Enter Austin Hooper who is in the final year of his contract in Atlanta and has a base salary of just $2.025 million this season. The Falcons currently find themselves in a free fall as they sit at 1-5 on the season in the midst of a four-game losing streak. It certainly looks like the Dan Quinn era is coming to an end and some changes need to be made. This could prompt GM Thomas Dimitroff to start unloading some players who may not be apart of their future plans in exchange for draft picks.

During his first two full seasons in 2017 and 2018, Hooper caught 78.4 percent of his passes for 1,186 yards with seven touchdowns. Well this year through the first six games, he is on pace to set career highs in a number of offensive categories. So far this season he already has 480 receiving yards at 11.4 yards per catch with three touchdowns and is catching an incredible 80 percent of the passes thrown his way.

Outside of his outstanding production, Hooper would also be a very good fit for this Matt LaFleur offense. For one, he has the ability to line up inline, in the slot, or out wide which is something that LaFleur asks of all of his receiving targets. And of Hooper’s 338 total offensive snaps this season, 124 have come from the slot. This is an area that the Green Bay Packers have been struggling to find consistency in this season and Hooper could add that element to this offense.

We also have to take into account his ability as a blocker as we know that is an important aspect of the LaFleur offense as well. Over his career, he has been very good, especially as a pass-blocker. One metric is Pro Football Focus’ grading system who has given Hooper a pass-blocking grade this season of 69.4, which is higher than both Graham and Lewis.

Given Hooper’s minimal contract and that the Green Bay Packers have nearly $10 million in cap space still available this season according to Spotrac, this is a financial move that they could easily make work. While he is a free agent at the end of the season, after spending half of the year with LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers, it could give Green Bay the inside track to bringing him back if they so choose.

The Green Bay Packers are sitting pretty right now and have a real chance to make some noise in the playoffs and even make a Super Bowl run. Adding a player of Austin Hooper’s caliber to the passing game would really bolster the Green Bay passing attack, which is a need. At this point, we do not know if Hooper is even available, but Gutey should be on the phone trying to find out.