Green Bay Packers: 3 Biggest Surprise Players from 2020 Season
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Surprise No. 2: TE Robert Tonyan
I mean, did anyone see this type of season coming for Big Bob Tonyan? And the biggest surprise might not even be his production but the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, was pronouncing his last name wrong the past few seasons.
Tonyan was signed to the practice squad in December of 2017 as a player who needed some major refinement. He was a receiver coming out of Indiana State, so he needed to bulk up, learn how to handle the blocking responsibilities and techniques of a tight end while also honing his receiving skills.
Even early-round draft picks at the tight end position struggle to make an impact right away because of the difficulty of the position with having to be an effective blocker as well as a route runner and pass-catcher. But the Green Bay Packers gave him time, and Tonyan rewarded their patience this past year.
In addition to time, I also imagine those offseason workouts with San Francisco 49ers’ star tight end George Kittle were a major help in his development as well.
When it was all said and done, Tonyan caught a ridiculous 88.1 percent of his targets for 586 yards, and he had 11 touchdowns–wow. In fact, a wild stat is that Tonyan had more touchdown receptions than incompletions (7) when targeted. As a result, Aaron Rodgers had a near-perfect passer rating of 148.3 when throwing his direction.
While many wondered who was going to step up in the passing game this past season alongside of Davante Adams, it was Tonyan who provided the unexpected — at least to this degree — boost.
It’s been since the Jermichael Finley days that the Green Bay Packers have had a real weapon at the tight end position, but in 2020, Robert Tonyan gave them just that. And, of course, some of the credit needs to go to Matt LaFleur and his tight end friendly offense.