Green Bay Packers: Allen Lazard has been Clutch on 3rd Downs

This season the Green Bay Packers have gotten some surprise help at the receiver position from Allen Lazard, and he has been particularly effective on 3rd downs.

The Green Bay Packers finished the season 13-3, reclaimed the NFC North title, and also earned a first-round bye. It has certainly been a successful season, but like any team, they have areas that they can improve upon and perhaps the biggest has been in the passing game.

Prior to the season beginning, it was supposed to be either Geronimo Allison or Marquez Valdes-Scantling who stepped up and became the Packers’ No. 2 wide receiver after the departure of Randall Cobb. But either way, both were expected to play major roles on this team. However, that hasn’t been how things have worked out.

Instead, Allison is averaging a measly 8.4 yards per catch and has had numerous drops. Meanwhile Valdes-Scantling has all but disappeared from the offense as he has seen his playing time dwindle over the course of the season. But despite the underwhelming performances from Allison and Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard has been there to pick up the slack.

It was in Week 6 at home against the Detroit Lions that we saw the Allen Lazard coming out party and since then he has seen his role continue to increase. Especially in the month of December. During that span, Lazard has been targeted 52 times and has caught over 67 percent of those passes at nearly 14 yards per catch, with three touchdowns.

This includes a game against the New York Giants where Lazard had 103 receiving yards with a touchdown, and over the last three weeks, he has had the second most snaps among receivers – behind only Davante Adams – and 17 targets over the last two games.

His role on this Green Bay Packers team continues to expand which shows that he has the trust of Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers, but to really understand the important role that he plays and the confidence that Rodgers has in him, we have to take a look at his effectiveness on third downs.

Overall the Packers haven’t been very efficient on third downs this season, in fact, they rank 23rd this season in third down efficiency at only 35.9 percent. However, when Rodgers targets Lazard they have been much better.

This season on third downs, Lazard has been targeted 19 times and has caught 13 of them at nearly 15 yards per catch with two touchdowns. And of those 13 receptions, 12 have gone for a first down. Quite impressive if you ask me.

With the playoffs just about here, Lazard’s emergence is only going to help the passing game as it takes some of the burden off of Adams and gives Rodgers another reliable target. But where Lazard can really give this Green Bay Packers team a boost is on third downs, where they certainly need the help and he has already shown that he can be a trusted target.