Green Bay Packers: It’s been Another Quiet Month for Marquez Valdes-Scantling
By Paul Bretl
After averaging nearly 23 yards per catch during the Green Bay Packers’ first two games, since then, it’s been another quiet month for Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Like a roller coaster at a theme park, the Marquez Valdes-Scantling Experience – trademark pending – has been incredibly up and down during his relatively short NFL career. While we’ve seen a number of big plays, we’ve also seen plenty of drops and games where he is a non-factor as well.
In fact, the Green Bay Packers’ Week 1 matchup with Minnesota was a perfect microcosm of Valdes-Scantling’s career up to this point. Although he would finish the game with 96 yards on only four receptions with a touchdown, there were two crucial drops – one on third down and one on a shot play – also mixed in there.
However, at that time, I considered that game a big success for Valdes-Scantling. Not just because of his overall production but because we saw him bounce-back from those dropped passes with a downfield reception on a free play. Although that may seem insignificant, that ability to rebound was something we’ve rarely seen happen during his career.
The following week against Detroit, Valdes-Scantling would record 64 yards on three receptions. Before the season even began, Matt LaFleur stressed that a big area of emphasis for this offense in 2020 was creating more explosive plays, and through two weeks, Valdes-Scantling and his 22.9 yards per catch were doing just that.
Unfortunately, other than a few receptions here and there, we haven’t heard much from him over the last four games. During that span, Valdes-Scantling has caught only eight passes for 82-yards on 21 targets with no touchdowns, and he’s averaging a measly 10.3 yards per catch. Most recently, in Hoston, he went without a reception.
Now, with that said, Valdes-Scantling is never going to be a high-efficiency target; that just doesn’t come with being a downfield threat. However, he is supposed to create big plays, but that hasn’t been the case the last month.
According to Pro Football Focus ($), on deep passes – which are passes of at least 20 yards – Valdes-Scantling’s 125-yards ranks 32nd in the NFL. Meanwhile, his 1.31 yards per route run ranks 77th out of 107 eligible receivers, and his four drops are the fourth-most in the NFL.
With Allen Lazard on IR, Valdes-Scantling had a prime opportunity in front of him to take on a larger role within this offense and make a bigger impact. Instead, you could argue that he’s gone in the opposite direction.
Earlier this offseason, along with creating more explosive plays, LaFleur mentioned that this Green Bay Packers team needed Valdes-Scantling because of his “incredible speed” and that “he scares the defense when he’s out on the field.” And this 100 percent true. The Packers do not have another player on the roster that can stretch defense like Valdes-Scantling can, and for this offense to truly be firing on all cylinders, they need that downfield element.
Having said all of that, the good news is that we are only six games into the season, and there’s still time for Valdes-Scantling to turn things around. And I believe he will. We certainly haven’t seen the last Aaron Rodgers to Marquez Valdes-Scantling deep ball; I’m not saying that at all. But the big question is, will we see more consistency, which is what has alluded him during his career.
Of course, we hope that answer to that question is yes, but as Packers’ salary cap guru Ken Ingalls points out, if we do not see Valdes-Scantling begin producing with more regularity, he may not be back in 2021. Remember, this is a Green Bay team that is up against the salary cap with four high-profile free agents of their own to worry about, so perhaps the $2.183 million in cap savings from moving on from Valdes-Scantling will be a more worthwhile move than bringing him back.
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Ultimately, only time will tell, and as I said, there is still time for Valdes- Scantling to rewrite the narrative, but at some point, he will have to produce. Not only for his own job security but also so this Green Bay Packers’ offense can maximize its potential.