Green Bay Packers: Early draft picks signal shift to new regime
By Kenny Jilek
The Green Bay Packers have drafted a running back and an H-back type to block which shows a shift to a new run-heavy offensive scheme.
After Matt LaFleur’s first draft as head coach of the Green Bay Packers was mainly focused on offense, he appears to have taken control and pounded the table for guys that fit the scheme he wants to run. With running analytically condemned in modern football, taking a big running back and essentially a fullback is akin to drafting two back-to-the-basket post-up centers in the NBA.
LaFleur is a student of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree and is committed to running the ball and using play-action off of those run actions to open up the passing game. One might wonder why you need to pound the ball and use play-action to throw when you have a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers when instead they could potentially get some receivers to open up the passing game. That’s not the direction LaFleur wants to go, however.
Jim Owczarski of Packers News tweeted about this apparent shift to a commitment to running and away from valuing receivers.
After a great 13-3 season last year capped off with a disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, the Packers had two choices if they wanted to try and win next year: Try to be like the 49ers who beat them, or try to be like the Chiefs who beat the 49ers and won the Super Bowl.
They possess all the tools to make themselves a similar team to the Chiefs. A top-tier quarterback, a phenomenal wide receiver, some great offensive line pieces, and a good secondary. All they needed was some speed to be able to score quickly at wide receiver with a guy like Devin Duvernay, KJ Hamler, or someone like Brandon Aiyuk or Jalen Reagor who they would have had to trade up to pick.
Instead, they went with the option of attempting to become the San Francisco 49ers. They saw a three-headed monster in the backfield and finished theirs off by taking A.J. Dillon in the second round. They saw Kyle Juszczyk terrorizing them as a fullback, destroying any linebacker the Packers threw at him and promptly drafted Josiah Deguara in the third round.
Related Story. Packers Take Josiah Deguara in Round 3. light
Plain and simple, Matt LaFleur wants to make this a running team and build his passing game off of that. So Brian Gutekunst has obliged and given him the tools to do exactly that. Possibly the reason they didn’t get a top receiver is that the plan is to only have two on the field most of the time and they think they can run with Adams and Lazard or Adams and Funchess.
Last season, the Green Bay Packers’ offense was a mashup of old Mike McCarthy concepts mixed with LaFleur’s new zone and screen scheme. With the picks they made in rounds two and three, they are fully gearing up to completely switch to 100% pure Matt LaFleur offense in 2020 and beyond.
Finally, the Jordan Love pick will be the signature pick of the LafFur-Gutekunst regime for better or for worse. They’re embarking on two big experiments with Love and their new run scheme and if they don’t work out in a few years they could both be gone and Love could be the bust that broke their back.
On the other hand, Love could pan out and be the third in a prestigious line of Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers quarterbacks, and running the ball could take the pressure off of Davante Adams leading to his biggest season yet. There are a lot of “ifs” and these two guys at the helm will be defined and remembered by this year’s draft.
Packers Select Bruising RB AJ Dillon. dark. Next
Whether you like it or not, the new Green Bay Packers’ regime is here and big changes are on the way. LaFleur charmed the fans in year one, returning winning football to Green Bay after two years out of the playoffs, but now he’s making it truly his team, and the next couple seasons the chips are on the table and he’ll have to continue winning with this new philosophy to keep the support of fans, the locker room, and most importantly management headed by Mark Murphy.
What are your thoughts on the picks and how they impact the future of Green Bay Packer football for the next few years? Let us know in the comments below or @DairylandXpress.