Green Bay Packers: 3 Players on Offense Primed for a Big Leap in 2020

These three players, in particular, on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive side of the ball are primed for big jumps in production during the 2020 season.

If I had to pick a word to sum up the offensive performance in 2019 from the Green Bay Packers, I would choose: fine. Davante Adams was the same playmaker that he has been for a few seasons now. We saw Aaron Jones have his breakout season after finally being featured more in the offense. And Aaron Rodgers still had plenty of vintage Aaron Rodgers-esque throws.

But overall the consistency from week to week just wasn’t there. While they’d string a few drives together or maybe even a quarter or two of good football, it was rarely maintained. Green Bay finished 17th in the NFL in passing yards per game, 15th in rushing yards per game, and 15th in points per game. Which seems fitting. They were average and did just enough each week to secure the win.

Now as we look ahead to 2020, if they are going to continue progressing in the Matt LaFleur offense, of course, they’ll need to bring in some outside talent at the wide receiver position and adding some more dynamic depth at tight end will go a long ways as well.

However, when it comes to current players on the team, these three in particular, are primed for a big leap in production this upcoming season. And that will greatly help this Green Bay Packers team as they look to make another Super Bowl run.

Allen Lazard

With disappointing seasons from Geronimo Allison and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, it’s scary to think about where this Green Bay Packers’ passing game would have been without the emergence of Allen Lazard.

After bursting on to the scene against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night football, Lazard would continue to see his role increase as the season progressed. And by the end, he was Rodgers’ second favorite target behind Davante Adams.

Lazard finished the year with 477 receiving yards at 13.6 yards per catch with three touchdowns. But perhaps more importantly, he clearly had earned the trust of Rodgers, which as we’ve seen in the past isn’t easy to do, and he became a reliable third down target for him.

Although the Green Bay Packers will very likely add some new receivers to the mix in 2020, Lazard is going to have a role in this offense next season and it’s difficult to envision a scenario where he doesn’t take a step forward after having another offseason in the system.

Jace Sternberger

Although Jace Sternberger missed the first half of the year with an injury, upon his return he was given a few opportunities over the remaining portion of the season and while it was a small sample size there was a lot to like about what we saw.

In the passing game he was targeted just four times but did catch three of those passes, including one for a touchdown. It’s also worth pointing out that there were a few other times that he was open downfield but Rodgers didn’t see him.

Sternberger had also shown that he was a willing blocker, which is key in the LaFleur offense and that ability will be a big part of his success on this Packers team.

Moving forward Sternberger gives Green Bay tremendous positional versatility at the tight end position. He can lineup in-line, out-wide, in the slot, and even play out of the backfield. That coupled with his ability as a blocker and pass-catcher makes him a real matchup problem for opposing defenses. Expect Sternberger to be a big factor in this offense in 2020.

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers? Yes, Aaron Rodgers.

It may seem odd to have a former Super Bowl MVP and two-time league MVP on this list, but given his performance in 2019 along with another year in the LaFleur offense, I think there is the strong possibility that we see a much more Rodgers-like season in 2020.

Overall last year was a fairly average one from a numbers standpoint for Rodgers. While we still saw some spectacular throws, the passing game still struggled for much of the season. Of course, there are always a number of contributors to those issues, but I think two prominent ones were the lack of dynamic receiving talent as well as being in a new offense.

Well, I’m banking on at least one electric receiver being added to this team in the offseason and I also think that another year in the LaFleur system will do wonders for Rodgers.

If we take a look back at Matt Ryan’s 2015 and 2016 seasons, I think that shows the potential that Rodgers has to make a big jump in the second year of this offense. For a quick refresher, 2015 was Kyle Shanahan’s first season in Atlanta as play caller and Matt LaFleur’s first season there as the quarterbacks coach. And while Shanahan’s and LaFleur’s offenses have their differences, they also have a lot in common.

During the 2015 season, Ryan completed 66 percent of his passes for 4,591 yards with 21 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. However, in 2016 he would go on to win MVP and lead Atlanta to the Super Bowl as he completed 70 percent of his passes for nearly 5,000 yards with 38 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

Now, I’m not going to predict that Rodgers is going to be league MVP once again, but I think there is the strong possibility that we see his numbers and overall performance take a solid step forward in 2020 with an additional weapon or two and another year of experience with LaFleur.