Packers Have Viable WR Options But Who Will Step Up as the No. 2?

The Green Bay Packers have plenty of viable options at the wide receiver position, but who is going to step up as Aaron Rodgers’ No. 2?

The NFL Draft came and went and to the chagrin of many fans, the Green Bay Packers unexpectedly went all seven rounds and nine picks without selecting a wide receiver. And if you watched even a portion of last season, it’s easy to understand why there was so much frustration among the Packer faithful.

Outside of Davante Adams, of course, and the emergence of Allen Lazard over the second half of the season, the Packers’ receiving corps was quite underwhelming. They would struggle to make plays with the ball in their hands and the lack of production was certainly a contributor to the offense going stagnant at times.

Geronimo Allison who was the team’s primary slot receiver battled dropped passes and frankly just wasn’t dynamic with the ball in his hands. Jake Kumerow didn’t see much playing time and Marquez Valdes-Scantling saw his snap count decrease as the season went on after playing a much bigger role early on.

However, despite the inconsistencies, General Manager Brian Gutekunst mentioned after the draft that when it came to selecting a receiver early on, the board just didn’t fall the right way where it made sense. And once they got past Rounds 2 and 3, any receiver that they took wasn’t going to be an upgrade over who they have on the roster now.

Although some may not like to hear the latter as a reason why Green Bay didn’t leave the draft with a receiver, it is true. The problem for the Packers isn’t that they are lacking depth or NFL talent at the position, they have a roster full of capable players.

This issue for them is that those players may be better suited as third, fourth, and fifth options. So the big question heading into the 2020 season is, who – if anyone – is going to step up as a true No. 2 behind Adams?

As it currently stands, there are as many as four receivers who could assume that role. In no particular order, the first being Lazard who was the second leading receiver last season. He clearly has the trust of Aaron Rodgers, which is very important, and he was a very reliable third-down target.

A new option is the recently acquired Devin Funchess who is already the second-most accomplished receiver on this roster behind Adams.

Funchess would miss just about all of the 2019 season with an injury and the Packers are hoping that he can regain his form from 2017 in Carolina where he totaled 840 yards with eight touchdowns. But it’s worth mentioning that drops have been a major issue throughout Funchess’ career and athletically, he struggles to separate from defenders.

The third option is Valdes-Scantling who gives the Green Bay Packers a downfield threat with his 4.37 speed. However, last season we would see him misplay some deep balls and he ended up in the dog house, hardly seeing the field in those final weeks.

Lastly is Equanimeous St. Brown who spent the entire 2019 season on IR but made some noise as a rookie the year before. He could give Green Bay that big slot presence that they had hoped Allison would and he has already received some high praise from Rodgers during his short career. As we’ve seen in the past, being a young receiver on Rodgers’ radar is certainly not a bad thing.

Two other names who may not end up as Rodgers’ secondary target but will likely see some playing time is Jake Kumerow and former CFL standout, Reggie Begelton. Kumerow has shown that he has big-play potential, albeit limited, as he is averaging over 16 yards per catch in his career.

Meanwhile, Begelton hauled in a whopping 102 receptions last season with over 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns. Coming from the Canadian League he may be a lesser-known name at this point but 100 receptions and 1,400 yards is some serious production. So keep your eyes on Begelton who could very well become a contributor.

Excluding Adams, we just went through six different receivers who will all likely contribute to some degree in 2020. While they all must continue improving, as I’ve already pointed out, this Packers’ roster isn’t lacking depth or NFL talent.

With that said, as we saw in 2019 if this offense is going to be at its best and firing on all cylinders, then someone needs to provide more in 2020 and step up as the No. 2 option for an entire season.

So who is it going to be?