Green Bay Packers: Allen Lazard Activated Off IR & Could Play Sunday
By Paul Bretl
Allen Lazard has been activated off IR, and upon his return, he will give this already potent Green Bay Packers’ offense another weapon.
No, the Green Bay Packers didn’t land a wide receiver at the trade deadline as everyone had hoped, but the offense is still getting a major boost with the return of Allen Lazard, who, according to Adam Schefter on Tuesday, was activated off of IR.
Lazard hasn’t played since the Packers’ Week 3 matchup with New Orleans after suffering a core injury during the game. And as I’m sure you all remember, that wasn’t just the game that Lazard suffered his injury in, but it was also the most productive game of his career. When it was all said and done, Lazard caught six of eight passes for a whopping 146 yards and a touchdown.
After most of us spent the offseason wondering if the Green Bay Packers had enough firepower at the wide receiver position, through three games Lazard was playing like a legitimate No. 2 option next to Davante Adams. And while, yes, that is a small sample size, given Lazard’s performances over the last year, there’s no reason not to think that he won’t continue to produce at a high level.
As he did in 2019, once again, Lazard has been a reliable third and fourth down target for Aaron Rodgers when he has been on the field. This season he’s caught all six of those passes thrown in his direction for 162 yards – wow – and picked up the first down each time.
One major difference in Lazard’s game in 2020 compared to last year has been big-play ability. By Pro Football Focus’ ($) metrics, a deep pass is a ball that travels at least 20 yards in the air, and in only three games, Lazard’s 158 deep passing yards is just 11 yards shy of his 2019 total. On top of that, his 2.62 yards per route run is a full yard more than what it was last season and ranks as the ninth-best in football among receivers.
Fortunately, over the last two games, we’ve seen the emergence of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, which has helped this Packer passing game. However, prior to playing San Francisco, receivers not named Davante Adams were non-factors for the most part, and although we are all thrilled to see a productive Valdes-Scantling, it is fair to wonder if he can maintain this level of play for the remainder of the season; something that he is yet to do in his career.
As it currently stands, the Packers are up three games in the loss column on the Chicago Bears and hold the NFC’s top seed heading into Week 11, where Lazard could take his first snaps since Week 3. And call it good timing because Green Bay will be up against an Indianapolis Colts’ defense that ranks as the fourth-best by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric.
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Due to injuries, there have been only about one and a half games where both Lazard and Adams have been on the field together this season, and yet, Green Bay has one of the most productive offenses in football. While everyone wanted the Packers to make a splash at the trade deadline to give this offense a boost heading into the second half of the season, despite remaining quiet, they will still surely get that boost, but it’ll instead be in the form of Allen Lazard.