Packers: Allen Lazard’s Impending Return will Provide WR Room with Jolt

The Green Bay Packers’ WRs not named Davante Adams have underwhelmed over the last month, but the impending return of Allen Lazard will provide that unit with a jolt.

In terms of overall production, it’s not as if the Green Bay Packers’ offense has been struggling this season. In each of their six wins, they’ve scored more than 30 points, and entering Sunday, they ranked second in the NFL in points per game. Not to mention that they also rank second by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric.

However, even with their success, outside of Davante Adams putting up ridiculous numbers as of late, it’s been a quiet stretch for the other Packer receivers since Allen Lazard last played in New Orleans.

Over Green Bay’s last five games during Lazard’s absence, the Packer receiving core made up of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Darrius Shepherd, Malik Taylor, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Tyler Ervin have combined to catch just over 53 percent of their passes for 322 yards with three touchdowns. But even those underwhelming numbers are a bit inflated after Valdes-Scantling’s and Ervin’s performances in San Francisco, which accounted for 101 of the 322 total yards and two of the three touchdowns.

Despite the lackluster play, as I mentioned already, the Packer offense continues to thrive for the most part. They, of course, have Adams to lean heavily on, along with what may be the best running back room in football. Additionally, Aaron Rodgers has relied on his tight ends and running backs in the passing game during this stretch as well. And that is by no means a bad thing; in fact, it’s encouraged in the Matt LaFleur offense.

With that said, the return of Lazard, which appears to be soon, is going to be a welcomed sight as this receiver unit looks for more production from players not named Adams.

Prior to Lazard’s core muscle injury in New Orleans, he had by all accounts made a big leap between last year and this year and had emerged as a bonafide No.2 wide receiver. In three games this season, Lazard had hauled in 13 receptions on 17 targets for 254 yards with two touchdowns. This includes a 146-yard performance in New Orleans.

Just as he did in 2019, Lazard has been a reliable target for Rodgers on third and fourth downs. He had been targeted six times over his first three games, making all six catches for an incredible 162 yards while also picking up the first down each time.

A big difference, however, in Lazard’s game this season compared to last is his effectiveness as a deep ball receiver. In 2020, Lazard is averaging 2.62 yards per route run, according to Pro Football Focus ($), which is a full yard more than what he averaged in 2019, and it’s tied for the ninth-most in football. For reference, Lazard is tide with DeAndre Hopkins, and Julio Jones is just ahead of him in eighth place.

Lazard has also totaled 158 deep passing yards this year, which are receptions on throws of 20 or more yards. Despite playing in only three games, he still ranks 20th among all receivers in this category and is just 11 yards shy of his entire 2019 total.

As of now, Lazard is still on IR, but he has returned to practice, giving the Packers 21 days to reactivate him. In Kamal Martin’s case, he came back to practice for about a week before being added to the 53-man roster from IR. So I would say that there certainly is the possibility that we see Lazard this Sunday against Jacksonville.

Either way, regardless of when Lazard returns – which is hopefully sooner than later – this Green Bay Packers’ receiving core and passing game will get a much-welcomed boost over the second half of the season as they make their Super Bowl push.