Green Bay Packers: 2021 Regular Season Superlatives
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Unsung Hero: Josiah Deguara
Josiah Deguara will have his games, but overall, and in an offense with so many weapons, I don’t see him being someone who is going to consistently fill the stat sheet with eye-popping numbers. However, he is going to play a very important role in this offense.
Although it’s a small sample size, we saw against Minnesota in 2020 what Deguara is capable of in this LaFleur offense with his versatility, presence in the passing game, and ability as a blocker–all of which helps LaFleur unlock that “illusion of complexity” that he talks about.
As I said, we may not always see Deguara’s fingerprint on a game via the stat sheet, but his teammates will benefit from his presence on the field and it will show up in the film room.
X-Factor: Royce Newman
From the looks of it, Royce Newman will be the Green Bay Packers starting right guard, which puts two rookies on the interior of this starting offensive line unit. Typically we see experienced offensive lines in Green Bay, and don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty of experience, but there may also be a few more errors — at least early on — than what we are accustomed to due to the youth inside.
Newman certainly earned the starting job with his play this preseason, allowing no pressures in three games and grading out as the best offensive lineman on this Packers team by PFF’s metrics.
Success on offense all begins with the play up front, and although he may be a fourth-round rookie, this is a Green Bay team with Super Bowl aspirations, and as Aaron Rodgers said, both Newman and Myers can’t play like rookies; they’ll need to play like veterans.
Darkhorse: Krys Barnes
Krys Barnes really surprised us all last season as an undrafted rookie and was wearing the green dot on defense by Week 15. This summer he quickly assumed the starting job once again, along with De’Vondre Campbell, and according to Andy Herman of Packer Report, Barnes looks like he is playing much faster this season.
Couple that with the Joe Barry defense that should make life easier in the linebackers with his five-man defensive fronts, and the overall playmaking ability of this unit should increase–meaning that I like the potential that Barnes has when it comes to putting together an impressive season.