Green Bay Packers: Geronimo Allison’s Role Should Be Reduced

Through 11 games for the Green Bay Packers it is evident that Geronimo Allison isn’t getting the job done so it is time for him to see less snaps.

Outside of Davante Adams the wide receiver position as a whole has been unproductive this season and it all culminated on Sunday Night against the San Francisco 49ers. During that game the Green Bay Packers’ receivers not named Adams would total just five receptions on 10 targets for a measly 23 yards.

However, despite the underwhelming numbers there have been some positives. Allen Lazard has been one of Aaron Rodgers’ top targets and clearly has his trust, while Jake Kumerow might be the best route runner on the team, of course, not including Adams. But perhaps the biggest disappointment has been the play of Geronimo Allison.

Prior to the season beginning, a big question around this Green Bay Packers team was, who would be the number two wide receiver? And naturally, most of us expected Allison to fill that role.

Although he was bitten by the injury bug in 2018, when he was on the field he was impressive. Allison would catch 20 of the 30 passes thrown his way for over 15 yards per catch along with two touchdowns. One of which was a fantastic catch in the corner of the end zone against Chicago during Green Bay’s week 1 comeback.

Not to mention that with Randall Cobb now gone, Allison was taking over as the primary slot receiver which is a significant part of the Matt LaFleur offense. So it was expected that he was going to play a larger role in 2019.

Yet through 11 games as we’ve all seen, Allison has really struggled. Up to this point he’s caught 26 passes at only 8.5 yards per catch with two touchdowns. He’s also had a crucial fumble against Minnesota, been called for three penalties, and he has four recorded drops, however, it feels like more.

With that said, his numbers over the last four games in particular, have really plummeted. Since Green Bay’s game against Kansas City, Allison has hauled in nine receptions for just 43 yards. And for those without a calculator handy, that’s only 4.8 yards per catch.

In fact, Andy Herman of the Packer Report – who grades every player on every play for the entire season – has Allison as his worst graded Packer this season. Both on offense and on defense.

For whatever reason it’s clear that the coaching staff and those at 1265 Lombardi Avenue love Allison. And while I don’t know why, Matt LaFleur continues to use him on wide receiver screens even though he isn’t nearly athletic enough to be a dynamic player in those situations.

So far this season Allison has played in nearly 61 percent of the offensive snaps – the second most among receivers – but to put it simply, he’s been unreliable and clearly isn’t succeeding in the positions that he is being put in. It’s obvious that the wide receiver production is an issue for this Green Bay Packers team and at this point it is time to start reducing Allison’s snap count and giving more opportunities to Lazard and Kumerow.

All stats via Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, ESPN, Packer Report